SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Kate Watley had 13 saves to lead the St. Francis water polo team to a 10-3 victory Thursday at Jesuit High School over Rio Americano.

“I was anticipating the shot, working with my defense and making sure everyone was dropping back,” said Watley, who had 13 saves in the contest.

The game was tight early as St. Francis managed a 1-0 lead after the first eight minutes on a Zoe Slater goal off an assist by Malia Arnott.

“We were not focused coming into the first quarter,” said Watley. “It took some time to find the rhythm. We have to play defense first before we can play offense.”

Rio tied the game at 1 before Arnott and Kendall Houck scored to extend the lead to 3-1 before the half.

“Tonight was a good lesson to make sure we come out strong in the first quarter,” said Moody. “I feel if we play that first quarter against other teams, we are going to get in a hole. It is a good lesson to learn now.”

The Troubadours exploded in the second half with a five-goal third quarter. Slater started the scoring at the 5:45 mark for a 4-1 lead before junior Alyssa Jaconsen, senior Reagan Garcia, Houck and Slater added goals.

“It was a great second half of the game,” said Moody. “They knew what they needed to do. They came out and played solid defense the second half of the game and started putting the ball away offensively. It was a real good positive.”

Houck added two goals in the fourth quarter to finish with a team-best four goals with two assists and team-best seven assists. Slater tallied two goals in the contest.

“It was a good win for us,” said Emalee Lavezzo. “We came out stronger in the second half and we still have a big improvement and work to be done.”

Watley allowed only a single goal to go with her 13 saves over her three periods of action.

“She did a phenomenal job taking ownership of the cate,” said Moody. “She had some really great saves that kept us in the game. We could have really been in the hole. She did a great job keeping us in the lead.”

St. Francis plays in the Capital Challenge this weekend starting with a game against Los Gators at Noon on Friday.

St. Francis 10, Rio Americano 3

SF – Houck 4, Slater 2, Arnott, Garcia, Jacobsen, Sloat.