SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior post Chidera Okoye compiled a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead St. Francis to a 71-18 win over Elk Grove in the varsity finale of a girls' high school basketball tripleheader Friday night.
The Troubadours' ninth-straight Delta League win preceded a split by two depleted SF junior varsity squads. JV Gold dispatched the Thundering Herd by a 60-28 final, while JV Red fell to Granite Bay, 47-31. Each jayvee team had just seven active players, with injuries and absences leaving both teams without two of their leading scorers.
In the varsity nightcap, sophomore Sydney Teoh added 11 points, junior Brianna McGahan hit a pair of three-pointers as part of her nine-point night while tallying four steals, while Jadyn Weaver and Lexi London matched McGahan's nine with four field goals each. Overall, all 10 Troubies scored at least one basket in the contest. Senior Sophie Harris also got to start the contest, responding with two buckets, two rebounds and an assist with no turnovers as one of the primary ball-handlers.
St. Francis scored 23 unanswered to begin the contest, with Elk Grove sophomore Zoe Rocha ending her team's scoreless drought with at three-point heave from the top of the key at the 47-second mark of the first quarter. The Troubies extended their lead to 50-9, invoking a running clock for the entirety of the second half.
One of the highlights after the break belonged to Okoye, who drained her first three-pointer of the year. Aubrey O'Donnell earned a trip to the free-throw line and missed the second attempt. Okoye grabbed the rebound, backed herself to beyond the arc right in front of her own bench, then buried the shot. The sophomore post had only three attempts from long range heading into the night after shooting 7-for-30 from such distance as a sophomore All-Delta League performer a year ago.
St. Francis varsity improves to 19-4 and remains atop the league standings at 9-0. The Troubies now stand one triumph away from their first 20-win season since the 2016-17 team went 22-9 as a follow-up to the program's state runner-up finish.
JV Gold notched a 60-28 win over the Herd despite missing its top two scorers. This allowed sophomore Lilian Vicio to step up for a season-high 20 points, including two three-pointers. Point guard Karly Okamoto added a strong all-around stat line of 11 points, seven assists and eight steals; while center Perpetua Nwaukoni narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Alexis Heise chipped in another eight points, while Caitlyn Lee scored six, but also had seven boards, four steals and three blocks. Guard Sam Martinez responded to elevated playing time with a pair of field goals and five total points. St. Francis stormed to a 19-7 win after the first period, then increased its halftime lead to 36-13.
In Friday's opener, scored 16 of her team's 31 points, but a short-handed and attrited JV Red saw a 21-21 second-half tie slip away to a 47-31 loss in its home finale. Herbelin had nine of her team's 12 points after the break. Lucia Vicio added seven points, including six in the second period. Gianna Seghesio and Annie Swanson netted two scores each for the remaining eight points.
St. Francis varsity and JV Gold returns to the road to face Pleasant Grove on Monday, while JV Red makes yet another trip to Oak Ridge for its season finale on Tuesday. This will be the fourth meeting between the Trojans and the all-frosh Troubie Red squad, and the third in El Dorado Hills.
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