ELK GROVE, Calif. – Freshman guard Lexi London and junior wing Brianna McGahan combined for 15 of 23 from the floor en route to 19 and 17 points, respectively, as St. Francis rides a whopping 61-13 halftime lead to an 86-18 victory over Elk Grove in the varsity half of a Delta League girls' basketball doubleheader Monday night.
The Troubadours, ranked eighth in the area in 49ers Sac-Hi Sports Tracy Toyota Top 10, improve to 16-4 overall and remain undefeated in league play at 6-0. Their JV Gold sisters also dispatched the Thundering Herd in commanding fashion by a 75-26 final for their eighth straight win, moving to 15-3 for the year and 6-0 in Delta League games.
London drained four of her five attempts from the three-point range for her career-high 19, leading her team's overall 56.3 percent success rate (9-for-16) from long distance. McGahan did most of her damage inside the arc, pouring in 7 of 10 as part of her 17 tallies.
Seniors Jadyn Weaver and Sophie Harris each hit two three-pointers, with Weaver also leading SF in rebounds (7) and steals (5). Another senior, guard Emily Dusel, posted her usual strong numbers in the hustle stats: six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Also among the highlights was sophomore post Aubrey O'Donnell, who scored six points with two blocked shots. However, she enjoyed an unusual moment stepped back to the three-point arc and knocked down a corner jumper with 0:51 left in the third. O'Donnell reported later that she was hoping for her first three-pointer, but her feet were ruled across the stripe for a long two.
London and McGahan reached double-figure offense in the opening quarter. London buried three three-pointers in that frame for 11 points, while McGahan had five field goals in the paint for 10, in helping the Troubies establish a 32-7 lead. Then Harris, Weaver, London and McGahan each hit treys in a high-scoring second quarter. Chidera Okoye delivered six more points in that second period to extend the advantage to 61-13.
St. Francis eased up on the offensive throttle in the second half, but continued to play stifling defense in surrendering just five points after the break, all in the third frame. Emma Karamanoukian took part in three straight SF buckets in the fourth, scoring a putback at the 6:35 mark, assisting Dusel on a fast break on the next trip down, then receiving an assist from Dusel with 4:55 left. Overall, the Troubies finished the game on an 18-0 run during the final 9:15 of play.
Overall, all 10 SF players scored at least one field goal in the contest. Sophomore point guard Sydney Teoh finished with 10 points to match Weaver in double digits. Okoye added eight points, Harris and O'Donnell had six each, Dusel and Karamanoukian chipped in four, and Kyla Escalante sank a jumper from the left elbow midway through the third.
Like London and McGahan did in the varsity nightcap, sophomore guard Mackenzie Tan reached double-digit points in the first quarter during the JV Gold win in Monday's opener. She sank two three pointers as part of her 10 to boost the Troubies to a 22-11 start, then added two more buckets in the second to extend the lead to 37-18 at the break. Tan put up two more threes in the third quarter before sitting out of the game in favor of the SF reserves for the entirety of the fourth.
Tan's 24 points marks her fourth 20-plus game of the year, and surpasses her previous best of 23, set at Oak Ridge on December 22 and at Davis on January 10.
Sophomore guard Karly Okamoto won head coach John Bashore's "Hard Hat" award for hustle, thanks to team highs of seven steals and five assists. Fellow guard Colleen Medina supplemented Tan's total with 15 points while chipping in four points and four assists of her own. Tan also had five steals as did Caitlyn Lee, who added a pair of blocked shots.
Both JV Gold and varsity return to action on Friday for continued Delta League play at Cosumnes Oaks. In the interim, St> Francis' JV Red returns to Oak Ridge for a 6 p.m. game on Thursday. The all-frosh Red squad also added a game to its schedule: a Monday 4:30 tip at Folsom on January 31.
