Cats snag three in RCC Tournament

The Saddleback women's water polo team won three games at the Riverside City College Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Riverside.  The Bobcats are now 7-2 on the season.

Saddleback was solid in the RCC Tournament, beating Golden West, Los Angeles Valley and Citrus while dropping a game to Orange Coast.  The Bobcats had a big weekend from Marin Hickson, who tallied 11 goals and 10 assists for the tournament.

Saddleback opened with an 8-5 win against rival Golden West in the opening game of the tournament.  The Bobcats and Rustlers were tied 3-3 heading into the third quarter when Saddleback scored four straight goals to take control.  Hickson had four goals and five steals in the game as the Bobcats improved to 5-1 overall on the season.

Saddleback finished the day by blasting Los Angeles Valley, 17-5.  The Bobcats opened up a 4-0 lead in the opening four minutes and never looked back.  Carson Mackenzie led the team with four goals in the game while Brielle Horner had five steals.

The Bobcats dropped an opening game to Orange Coast on Saturday, 17-10.  Saddleback led through 1.5 quarters before OCC found its mojo.  The Pirates scored five straight goals to take a 12-7 lead early in the second half and had it on cruise control the rest of the way.  Aaliyah Burns, Marin Hickson and Amanda McFadden all had two goals in the loss.

Saddleback finished strong with a 12-7 win against Citrus on Saturday afternoon.  The Bobcats led after the opening quarter 4-2 and methodically extended the lead every quarter thereafter.  Akemi Nakachi led Saddleback with five goals in the game in her highest scoring game of the season.

Saddleback will be back in the water on Wednesday when they host Riverside City College in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats and Tigers are scheduled to start at 3:00 PM.