ELK GROVE, Calif. – Sophomore point guard Sydney Teoh hit 6 of 12 from the floor en route to a team-leading 14 points while junior post Chidera Okoye grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds in just 12 minutes on the court, leading St. Francis to a 58-44 win over Franklin in the varsity finale of a Delta League girls' basketball doubleheader Tuesday night.
The Troubadours, ranked eighth in the area by 49ers Sac-Hi Sports, improves to 18-4 overall and remains undefeated atop the league standings at 8-0. The varsity win followed a 60-49 victory by the SF JV Gold squad over the Wildcats.
Teoh was one of three Troubies in double-digit offense, along with junior Brianna McGahan's 13 and senior Emily Dusel's 12. Okoye came one make shy of a double-double with eight points, matching senior Jadyn Weaver, who added a team-best four assists. Teoh also hit two of her team's five three-pointers and had four of SF's 12 steals.
St. Francis trailed early in each of the first three quarters before finishing strong for the win. Franklin drew first blood in the contest although the Troubies with 10 of the next 11 to craft a 10-3 lead by the 3:30 mark in the first period. However, Zhoee Fadrigon and Jasmine Clee each knocked down corner threes in a 10-0 Wildcat run into the second frame. SF also ran into some hard luck when Weaver blocked a shot right into the hands of Clee, who went back up for the second-chance make with 44 seconds left in the first, giving the 'Cats an 11-10 lead.
The lead changed hands again early in the second on back-to-back threes from Weaver and McGahan, putting the Troubies on top by an 18-14 margin. Weaver and McGahan later teamed up on a transition score, Dusel added two field goals in the paint and freshman Lexi London buried a trey from the top of the key down the stretch of the first half. However, Franklin stayed within reach of its guest, with Olivia Nicolas – normally the team's leading scorer – bouncing back from a scoreless spell with seven points in the final 2:15 before halftime.
St. Francis clung to a 27-26 lead at the break, only to see Franklin regain the edge to start the second half: Nicolas found an open Isabelle Whitehead for a three-pointer on the opening possession, putting the 'Cats back on top by a single tick. That ended up being the last Franklin field goal for almost six full minutes, as the Troubie offense found its stride. Teoh scored two field goals and assisted two others during a 16-2 run that left SF holding a 43-31 lead by the three-minute mark in the third.
Okoye and Dusel each scored twice in the fourth, with McGahan matching those four points as St. Francis maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder.
In Tuesday's opener, freshman Colleen Medina posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds while sophomore Mackenzie Tan had 10 of her team-best 17 points in the first quarter, leading JV Gold to a 60-49 win over Franklin. The Troubies improve to 17-3 for the year and also stay undefeated against the Delta League at 8-0.
Tan had eight of her first 10 points in an 11-0 outburst that lifted SF to a 20-6 start to the contest. Medina spread her offense throughout the game: a three-pointer to start, two steal/fast break buckets in the second, a 17-foot corner jumper early in the third, plus a three-pointer and a putback in succession in the fourth.
Medina's third-period make crafted a 39-23 lead for the Troubies, then Alexis Heise scored on a Tan feed soon after to pad the margin to 18. But Franklin's offense gained its footing while SF's went cold for the next five minutes. Avielin Tankiamco scored nine out of a 14-1 comeback run for the Wildcats, culminating in a trey to start the fourth. This brought Franklin to within five at 42-37. But Heise delivered an inbound pass to the top of the key to Caitlyn Lee, who clutched up for a three-pointer on the next Troubie possession, lengthening the lead to 45-37.
Sophomore post Perpetua Nwaukoni then came up huge in the paint, finishing second-chance opportunities at 6:55, 5:04 and 4:14 in the fourth. Each make pushed the SF lead back to 10: 47-37, 49-39 and 51-41. Medina drained a three-pointer with 3:48 left for added insurance at 54-44, then her putback at 2:51 made it a 12-point game. Lee and Tan each scored in the final minutes while Heise blocked a shot on the other end to keep the Troubies up by at least 11 for the remainder.
Medina's double-double is her first for St. Francis. Oddly, her previous high for rebounds was seven, set against Franklin at home just 11 days earlier.
The Troubie JV Gold and varsity return home on Friday for a doubleheader with Elk Grove. The JV Red will join them with a 4 p.m. against Granite Bay that afternoon.
