Panther girls water polo makes Valley Finals

The Porterville High girls water polo team were the odds on favorites as the No. 1 seed and proved its mettle on Wednesday night, winning the CIF Central Section Division III semifinal showdown against the No. 13 seeded Strathmore Spartans 17-8.

PHS advanced to the Valley finals where it will host No. 2 seed El Diamante at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The evening started off with a healthy cheer as both sides raced to the ball before the Panthers quickly put it into the Spartans net 40 seconds into period one. After the second Panther goal at only 5:43 of the first quarter, the Spartans called for a time out that was quickly followed by good play on both sides before Panther scored goals three through six to end the quarter.

The Panthers once again scored first during the second quarter, followed up by a Spartan goal seconds later at the 5:30 mark. After a quick turnover, the Panthers called for a timeout before scoring another goal, bringing the score to 8-1. The impressive performance by the Panthers continued as they extended their lead to 12-2 with 34 seconds left in the second quarter.

House of Pain’s “Jump Around” ushered in the halftime and as the third quarter started the jumping stopped. A speedy match played out as the Panthers extended their lead to 15-3.

The fourth quarter featured two shining plays for the Panthers as they used a fake to score a goal 20 seconds into the final period and scored on a behind the back shot for the final margin.

The Panthers now have a winning streak that has lasted four weeks.

For PHS goalie Ahna Davis had nine saves, four assists and a steal, Claire Lee had one goal, five assists, eight steals and one earned ejection, Alondra Arroyorico had five goals, an assist, two steals and five earned ejections, Maycee Hyder had five goals, one assist and two steals, Addy Merritt had four goals, one assist, two steals and one earned ejection, Aubrie Cardoza had two goals, and one assist.