LBCC women’s water polo team pulled off a dominant 24-3 win over Pasadena on Wednesday to add to their impressive 11-1 overall record this season.
Freshman attacker Madalyn Barley began the game with a goal within the first 15 seconds of play and scored two more to help the Vikings establish a 16-2 lead to end the first quarter.
Leilani Sanchez, a freshman attacker from Lakewood High School led the game in scoring with six goals.
Five goals were made in just two quarters to improve the lead to 21-3.
Sanchez also had six assists and one block that helped the team seal the win against the Lancers.
Center Wendy Garcia and attacker Avery White both had 4 goals each while Gabrielle Gillott, Jasmine Lopez, Jovana Bogosavljevic, and Maya Lopez combined for 7 points.
A key factor in the win was a great defensive effort from goalkeepers Marlene Isaacson and Janay Robertson who combined for nine saves and only allowed Pasadena to score three times despite many attempts.
The win brought the Vikings’ in-season record to 2-0 and overall to 11-1, with their only loss being against Riverside.
“Our conference games are usually like this but when we get to the playoffs it gets a lot more competitive,” sophomore Olivia Slavens said.
Roberson credited team chemistry as a big reason for their success this season.
“Our team’s strength is just chemistry and awareness on the court. I think that since we have good relationships outside of just water polo practice and we hang out outside of this it’s really good for us during games,” Roberson said.
After a dominant win, freshman attacker Jennifer Conelly said she’s excited to play teams that offer a little more competitiveness and intensity later on in the season.
“We lost to Riverside the first time and beat them the second time so we’re one and one with them. Santa Barbara was ranked first in the state so it was cool beating them and I’m sure the next time we play them they’re gonna come out with a lot more fire and it’ll be a more intense and competitive game than the first,” Connelly said.
The Vikings’ next home conference game is against Rio Hondo on October 9th at 3 pm.