Girls' Waterpolo beats Temescal Canyon in CIF quarterfinals

Samo girls' waterpolo team will move up to the semifinals of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championships following its victory on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 21, against Temescal Canyon High School. Although the score was much closer than the team was used to, however, Samo was able to win with a score of 11-9.This win continued Samo’s undefeated season. While recent games have been won by a landslide like the game against Beverly Hills High School, this victory was narrower.The game started out slowly in favor of Temescal with Samo down by three points at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the pace of the game began to pick up. According to Audrey Hattori ('17), the game turned around in her team’s favor near halftime.”The real turning point of the game was when Caoimhe Whitebloom (’15) made a lob shot from half-court two seconds before the second quarter ended,” Hattori said.The second quarter ended at 5-4, with Temescal in the lead. The third quarter began with a goal from Temescal, which Hattori quickly responded to with a goal for Samo.After a consistent back-and-forth exchange between the teams, Samo managed to pull out a two-point lead, propelling the the team to the semifinals.Samo will play Santa Ana High School in the semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 25 in Santa Ana.