Cats win another nailbiter

The Saddleback women's water polo team kept within an arm's length of first place in the Orange Empire Conference with a 13-12 victory over Fullerton College on Wednesday afternoon inside the Saddleback Aquatics Center.  The Bobcats remain in a tie for second place, one game behind Orange Coast.

Saddleback never trailed in the game but had to battle until the bitter end before knocking off a Fullerton squad that was ranked No. 7 in the state in the latest state rankings.  It was a second straight win against a ranked opponent.

Saddleback had an 8-4 lead at halftime after outscoring the Hornets 4-1 in the second quarter.  Sophia Banua, Meetra Jabbour, Razann Kotarche and Hannah Goering all scored two goals apiece in the opening half as Saddleback a balanced attack.

The third quarter was back and forth, with Fullerton scoring the first four goals to even the score at 8-8 before Saddleback scored four of its own to take a 12-8 lead into the fourth quarter.

Fullerton then made another charge, scoring three straight goals to get to within 12-11 with 3:38 left on the clock.  Again, the Bobcats responded when Jabbour scored her third goal of the game with 1:09 remaining to give Saddleback a 13-11 lead. 

Fullerton scored with 45 seconds remaining when Addison Spoonhower got the Hornets within one in the closing minute.  The Bobcats would end up making a stop in the final seconds to preserve the win.

Jabbour and Goering led the Bobcats with three goals apiece for the game. 

Saddleback is now 10-8 overall and 3-1 in Orange Empire Conference play following the win.  The Bobcats will play in the Battle at the Beach  on Friday when they face San Joaquin Delta College at Cerritos College at 11:30 AM.