SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior forward Raquel Smith tallied a team-leading 16 points while sophomore Chidera Okoye recorded a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, helping St. Francis High varsity hold on to a 55-51 win over Grant in non-league girls' basketball action Monday night.

The Troubadours have now prevailed in three straight games, improving to 4-3 for the year.

Smith hit 7 of 11 from the field while grabbing four boards and blocking three shots for the night. Okoye, coming off an all-tournament nod at Valley just two days earlier, also led St. Francis with seven assists. 

Guard Carolina Ingenito returned to action with eight points, including six from the free-throw stripe. She hit two with 35 seconds remaining to effectively ice the contest. The Pacers crawled back from a 33-24 deficit early in the third quarter to pull within a one-point margin on two occasions and a 53-51 hole with just 46 ticks left in the game. But Ingenito went to the line and converted, making it a two-possession game.

This followed a resounding St. Francis JV Gold win in which four Troubies scored in double figures to lead a 67-13 win in the twinbill's opening game.

Sophomore guard Emma Karamounikian led the way with 13 points, while fellow backcourt contributors Eva Karamounakian, Sianna Squires and Sydney Teoh each added 10. Post Amanda Cloninger chipped in a career-best seven points and was described by head coach Melissa Triebwasser as "great defensively and on the glass.

The JV Gold improves to 7-1 for the year, winning its fifth straight game and its fourth consecutive by a margin of at least 35 points. 

All three St. Francis basketball teams – varsity, JV Gold and the all-frosh JV Red – retrun to action for a home tripleheader against Inderkum on Monday, Dec. 20.