LOOMIS, Calif. – St. Francis erased a 12-point halftime deficit to tie the game late in the third, but was held scoreless for the last five minutes of play, ultimately falling by a 54-37 final to Clovis in the title game of Del Oro's sixth-annual Mike "Tako" Takayama Memorial girls' prep basketball tournament at Bonner Gym Saturday.
The Troubadours drop to 8-2 for the season. The Cougars, ranked 19th in the state by MaxPreps, improves to 9-1 overall.
Sophomore point guard Sydney Teoh scored 13 points with a pair of three-pointers, while Jadyn Weaver and Brianna McGahan added six points apiece. Chidera Okoye and Lexi London each scored five, with all of London's points coming in a 40-second flourish to complete SFHS' comeback in the third quarter.
The Troubies held the early lead, with senior Emily Dusel finding McGahan for an open 17-footer in the corner at 3:15 in the first, boosting SF to an 8-5 edge. However, Cougar freshman Yazmin Aguilera scored three straight three-pointers within the span of a minute. After McGahan's bucket, Aguilera buried the first of the three treys from the left side to tie the game at 8-8. Then Devin Miller's steal led to Aguilera's corner three at 2:27. Another Troubie turnover led to Aguilera's make from the right corner with 2:03 left. Teoh finally ended the run with her drive at the 1:49 mark to bring SF to a 14-10 deficit closing the first.
Clovis pulled away in the second, with a two-pointer and three-pointer each from Miller and other freshman, guard Sadie Sin. Dusel assisted Weaver early in the frame then delivered the dime to McGahan at 1:40, but the Cougars forced turnover after Troubie turnover in extending their lead to 26-14 at the break.
St. Francis whittled away at the deficit in the third, with Teoh's three-pointer at the 4:51 mark and steal-and-fast break combo at 3:54 bringing her team to within a 31-28 hole. Miller interrupted the comeback by assisting Genevieve Tamondong on an inbounds play to extend the lead back to five, but London – one of the few SF players to see significant time off the bench in Saturday's game – responded with five straight points. The freshman converted a feed from McGahan for a runner in the paint with 1:39 left, bringing the Troubuies to within one possession at 33-30. As it happened, London had the next possession. Teoh found her open for a three-pointer with exactly one minute left in the quarter, tying the score at 33-33.
SF caught a small break down the stretch of the third when Tamondong scored and drew a foul but missed the and-one trip to the line. Sin also had an open look from beyond the arc in the final seconds but missed, keeping the Troubies just two points behind going to the fourth.
Unfortunately for the Troubies, Clovis came out firing in the finale, with Miller draining another three on the opening possession. Sin later drove to extend the Cougar lead to 40-33. McGahan jumped a passing lane, then took her steal all the way down for a transition goal at 5:46 and Weaver's running jumper at 5:00 kept SF within two possessions at 43-37. In the end, that was the last of St. Francis' offense. Tamondong and Miller each had two steals and accounted for the entirety of the Clovis offense for the next three minutes. Deja Lee also kept SF off the board in the final stretch when she stripped Weaver of the ball during a drive in the last minute.
The Takayama tourney, named in honor of the legendary DO girls' basketball and softball coach, is the first of two tournaments for St. Francis varsity in December. The Troubadours join their JV Gold and JV Red sisters at Oak Ridge's Trojan Toss-Up and Frosh Jamboree on Wednesday. Varsity opens its draw against Nevada Union at 4 p.m.
