ELK GROVE, Calif. – The St. Francis basketball team overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to tie the game late before falling 43-34 to first-place Cosumnes Oaks Tuesday night.

"I am proud of them," said Head Coach Heather Brownholtz. "We were right there. There was a collective movement, a fight and grit. Those are lifetime skills. There are girls on this team that really want to win. I am seeing it on the court."

Cosumnes Oaks built a 15-point lead on the Troubadours after SF opened with a five-point first quarter. The Troubies cut into the lead in the second as Mia Fleming-Mullins had four points and Nicole Rivera hit a three-pointer.

"We finally came together as a team," said senior Lauren Pank. "We can't start off with five point quarters. If we keep moving the ball, we see success and that is what we saw later in the game."

Senior Ally Gage and Mullins helped the comeback effort by combiningd for 26 rebounds on the night, each grabbing 13 each as the Troubadours fought for the upset over the Wolfpack.

SF closed to within three points at the end of third (31-28) after holding CO to five points in the quarter, eventually tying the game at 33 in the fourth. But the Wolfpack responded by out-scoring the team 9-1 over the final minutes to secure the wub.

"They are fighting and these are hard teams," said Brownholtz referring to Cosumnes Oaks Top-40 ranking in the state. "The mental toughness to put it together and grind for four quarters is hard."

Fleming-Mullins finished with a team-best 12 points and team-best tying 13 rebounds, earing Player of the Game honors from Access Sacramento. Pank added seven points and senior Nika Bagatelos had six on two three-pointers.

St. Francis takes on Franklin on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Cosumnes Oaks 43, St. Francis 34

SF – Fleming-Mullins 12, Pank 7, Bagatelos 6, Le 4, Rivera 3, Gage 2. CO – Hess 18, McCrae 10, Rosett 6, Jones 5, Williams 4.