ELK GROVE, Calif. – Juniors Brianna McGahan and Chidera Okoye scored 15 of their team's 16 unanswered points in a pivotal third period as St. Francis pulled away from a 17-17 halftime battle to a 50-35 win in the varsity nightcap of Friday's Delta League girls' basketball doubleheader at Cosumnes Oaks.
The Troubadours improve to 17-4 for the season and remain atop the league standings with a 7-0 mark. The varsity win followed a 57-38 victory by JV Gold over the Wolfpack.
McGahan had nine of her 14 total points in that third-quarter outburst, while Okoye had half of her 12 in the stanza. Okoye also had 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes to complete her fourth double-double of the season. Jadyn Weaver added 12 points and Sydney Teoh chipped in another 10 to give the Troubies four in double digits. Senior Emily Dusel contributed six rebounds and a team-high five steals for the game.
The two teams battled to a 6-4 defensive impasse in the first quarter, with Teoh scoring two field goals for the only Troubie points. The second frame featured four total ties, with Weaver scoring nine of SF's 13 tallies. Her pull-up jumper at the elbow with 6:08 left knotted the game at 8-8, the first of the four ties. Weaver's three-pointer at 3:40 then evened the proceedings at 13-13. Teoh was fouled on a drive with 1:41 remaining, then hit both free throws to make it 15-15. Finally, Weaver provided the Troubies with a brief lead, cutting through the lane and converting a feed from Emma Karamanoukian to go up 17-15.
Cosumnes Oaks' junior post Kym Hartman erased the SF lead with her bucket at :07 to square up the scoreboard at 17-17 going into the intermission.
Nicole Tran opened the third quarter with a corner three to restore the Wolfpack lead at 20-17, but that proved to be the last CO score for more than five full minutes as St. Francis broke loose for its 16 straight points. Okoye got things started on a drive at 3:42 to bring her team to within a 20-19 deficit, then her two free throws with 3:23 left marked the final lead change. McGahan had four makes in a span of 2:20 in adding to the lead: a baseline drive at 2:51, a three-pointer at 2:01, a fast break with Teoh with 1:40 to go, then a 19-foot bank shot with 33 seconds left. The Troubies held a 33-20 lead at that point before point guard Isabel Tan ended the Wolfpack's scoreless spell with a three-pointer.
The Troubie basketballers then got an unusual assist in the fourth: the varsity soccer team walked over from the stadium following its 3-0 shutout win. SF never allowed CO to within single digits the rest of the way. Teoh assisted McGahan on two more scores, including a three-pointer with 3:07 left. Dusel, Okoye and Weaver also successfully drove the lane in the finale, while Teoh drained 3 of 4 from the line when the Wolfpack was forced to foul in the final 90 seconds.
St. Francis' varsity win followed a JV Gold victory with an opposite shape: the younger Troubies led 16-9 through the first quarter before exploding to a 32-17 halftime lead on their way to their ninth consecutive win. Mackenzie Tan buried three three-pointers as part of 15 points, Colleen Medina added another 12 offensively, and Reese Walker contributed 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
JV Gold improves to 16-3 for the year and 7-0 in Delta League play. Friday's win also marked the sixth straight game that the defense held opponents to fewer than 40 points.
All three SF basketball teams return to action on Tuesday: JV Gold and varsity in Delta League action at Franklin, with JV Red in a newly added game at Folsom.
