LA VERNE, Calif. — The La Verne women's water polo team could not over a slow start and lost 15-8 in the semifinals of the 2017 SCIAC Women's Water Polo Championships on Saturday.

The Sagehens scored the first four goals of the game and eight of the first 10 and the Leopards never recovered.

The Leopards closed the first half on a 3-0 run on goals by Guarina Garcia, Stephanie Rosero and Jasmine Bustamante to trim the deficit to 8-5 and looked to carry the momentum into the second half. But the Sagehens put a damper on the rally as they opened the second half on a 3-0 run to get back up by six goals.

La Verne answered with another 3-0 run keyed by two goals from Bustamante but the Sagehens closed the game on a 4-0 streak to advance to the championship match.

Bustamante led the Leopards with three goals. Garcia and Rosero each had two.

The Leopards face Cal Lutheran tomorrow at 1:15 p.m. in a third-place match.