EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. – Senior Emily Dusel and sophomore Sydney Teoh captured all-tournament honors while junior Chidera Okoye scored a team-leading 13 points in just 20 minutes of play, but St. Francis ultimately fell to area powerhouse Antelope by a 64-44 final in the title game of Oak Ridge's Trojan Toss-Up girls' basketball tournament Friday night.
The Troubadours move to 10-3 for the season. This is the second straight tournament in which they advanced to the championship final, only to face one of the state's top programs. The Titans entered the week as MaxPrep's No. 4 program in California, behind only La Jolla Country Day, Sierra Canyon and Etiwanda.
Junior Brianna McGahan added 11 points and six rebounds while Dusel chipped in six points and five boards, with several coming against Antelope's 6-foot-3 Cal Poly signee, Mary Carter.
Antelope came out strong, holding the Troubies without a field goal for the entire first quarter while crafting a 24-2 lead. McGahan was fouled while attempting a corner three and sank two of the foul shots for the only SF scoring in that period.
St. Francis effectively played the Titans evenly the rest of the way after the tough opening frame. Senior Jadyn Weaver finally cracked the seal on the hoop with her runner in the paint to start the second, but the Troubies continued to struggle offensively. Dusel was the lone bright spot in the second, pulling down three offensive rebounds – two against Carter plus another against 5-10 forward Michelle Rice – while drawing a charge and scoring her team's second bucket on a long outlet pass from McGahan at the 4:02 mark.
Dusel's drawn charge sparked a strong final three minutes of the half for St. Francis, which outscored the Titans by an 8-3 margin in that stretch. On that possession, Aubrey O'Donnell drew a foul down low and hit both ends at the free-throw line. Dusel's offensive board against Rice eventually sent Teoh to the line for two more successful foul shots, then another offensive rebound allowed McGahan to assist her on the inbound play. Okoye posted a steal and went coast-to-coast for the score with 30 seconds left, bringing the score to 33-15 for Antelope. Junior Isabella Azzolino finally ended the Troubie hot streak with a corner three in the final seconds before the break. The Titans held a 36-15 at halftime.
Antelope stretched its lead to as much as 44-17 to start the second half, but guard Emma Karamanoukian provided a spark off the bench in her four minutes of work. She coaxed a Titan turnover that allowed Teoh to score on a fast break at the 4:04 mark, then converted an assist from McGahan at 3:11 to make it 46-21. Karamanoukian then drew contact in transition at the 2:02 mark and hit both shots at the line. Sophie Harris also came in to spell the starters, and scored on a Lexi London assist to complete the 8-3 SF finish to the quarter.
Okoye scored nine of her 13 points in the finale, including five points and an assist to Dusel in the final 90 seconds of the game. She also assisted McGahan earlier in the quarter. McGahan also drained a three-pointer from London at 3:33 for another Troubie highlight down the stretch.
The Trojan Toss-up effectively ends the non-league portion of the schedule for St. Francis, save for the annual "Holy Hoops" rivalry matchup at Christian Brothers (Jan. 14). The Troubies return to action on January 3 for the Delta League opener at home against Cosumnes Oaks.
In Friday's earlier action, both of St. Francis' junior varsity programs scored wins to finish off their action at the Trojan tournament. Lauren Herbelin poured in a team-high 14 points while Nevaeh Gavino added 10 to lead JV Red to a 47-37 victory over Nevada Union in the Frosh Jamboree portion of the tourney, while Reese Walker's double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds helped JV Gold recover from a slow start to beat Heritage, 53-47, in the JV consolation final.
Walker's post play helped erase what had been an 8-0 hole after the first quarter of play. Colleen Medina, who later was honored with all-tournament honors, hit a three-pointer as part of the Troubies' comeback in the second, tying the game at 12-12 at the break. Walker then scored nine in the third frame, converting two assists from Medina and another from Caitlyn Lee in the final three minutes to propel SF to a 26-20 lead.
Mackenzie Tan's runner on the right side was the only Troubie field goal in the fourth, but the team managed to make just enough shots from the line while holding down the Patriots after initial scoring plays from Alyssa Ramos and Kennedy Kell to start the period. Sophomore Karly Okamoto had a key sequence for St. Francis when she drew contact in the lane, sank both free throws, then came up with a steal on a fast break to maintain a 29-25 lead.
The all-frosh JV Red also had to overcome a deficit although one in the second quarter. Folsom scored six unanswered to gain a 16-12 lead with 4:12 remaining, but Annie Swanson came up with blocked shots on two Bulldog trips down to halt that run. Meanwhile, Abbey Pavelchik hit the front end of a two-shot trip to the stripe to cut the lead to 16-13 at 2:20, then scored on a runner at 1:32 to reduce the Folsom lead to just 16-15. Then with eight ticks left before halftime, Lucia Vicio's steal and fast break restored the SF lead at 17-16.
The Bulldogs regained the advantage in the opening minutes of the third, taking a 26-21 edge on an untouched drive through the lane. But a Pavelchik steal helped Herblin assist Vicio on a fast break, igniting a 6-0 run. Herbelin had the other four tallies in that comeback, going 2-for-2 from the line at 3:35, then dropping in a hook shot just 20 seconds later. Credit wing Bianca Espanola for coming off the bench for two steals, both of which gave SF possession for Herbelin's scoring. Vicio had a blocked shot to further keep Folsom in check, then her offensive rebound led to an assist for Herbelin with 11 seconds left, giving the Troubies a 29-28 edge going to the fourth.
Unlike the previous two periods, SF got out to the hot start, with Swanson scoring twice to stretch the lead to 35-30. Vicio continued to shine on both ends of the court, with her steal giving rise to a Gavino fast break at 5:33 to make it 38-33. Vicio's own transition score stretched the lead to seven at 40-33 with 5:17 left. Folsom never cut the margin to less than five down the final stretch, with Vicio, Gavino and Pavelchik making plays to keep the Troubies in front.
JV Gold and varsity go idle until the January 3 Delta League opener with CO. In the meantime, JV Red resumes action from Dec. 28-30, facing Woodcreek, Oak Ridge and Chico as part of the Rocklin Winter Invitational.
