Senior Jadyn Weaver and Brianna McGahan each scored 12 points, including 14 of their team's 18 points in a pivotal second period, as fifth-seeded St. Francis held on to a 42-37 win over 12th-seeded Rocklin in the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I girls' basketball championship tournament at the SFHS gym Tuesday night.

The Troubadours improve to 23-4 for the season and will move on to a second-round matchup with No. 4 seed McClatchy, which breezed past Inderkum in its playoff opener. 

Weaver hit a three-pointer from either corner while McGahan poured in four field goals in a second quarter that began with SF in a 12-10 hole and concluded with the Troubies holding a commanding 28-16 halftime lead. Weaver's first trey, on a McGahan feed to the left corner, flipped the score to a 13-12 SF edge – the first of four times that the lead changed hands in the first 1:41 of the period. McGahan hit both ends of a two-shot trip to the free-throw line at 6:48 to make it 15-14, then sophomore point guard Sydney Teoh matched that when she drew contact on a drive at the 6:19 mark. 

Teoh's shots lifted the Troubies to a 17-16 edge, and ignited a 13-0 overall run. Weaver hit a three-pointer from the right side, again from McGahan, with 5:33 to go to extend the lead to four. Junior Chidera Okoye drove the lane just nine seconds later to bump the advantage to 22-16. Then McGahan scored on three straight possessions: a backdoor cut and an assist from Emma Karamanoukian with 4:07 left, a long coast-to-coast push after her defensive rebound at 3:07, then a putback with 2:10 before halftime.

Rocklin managed to cut the deficit to single digits twice in the third, but each time, the Troubies responded. Reina Herndon's steal and fast break at 5:24 brought the score to 30-22. But McGahan's block and defensive rebound gave way to a Karamanoukian runner at 4:04, pushing the SF lead back to 32-22. Rocklin junior post Dawny King later pulled her team to within a seven-point hole of 32-25 on her up-and-under bucket with 2:53 to go. However, Teoh sank a pull-up from the elbow with 2:40 left then subsequently assisted Karamanoukian on a corner jumper in the final seconds, putting the Troubies up by a 36-25 edge heading into the fourth.

King continued to carry her team offensively, scoring eight points in the finale, including a three-pointer over a leaping Weaver at the top of the key with 2:24 left. Bianca Slone drew a one-and-one trip to the charity stripe after a tie-up with Emily Dusel on the defensive end, then hit the front end to make it a one-possession game at 38-35. Missing the second throw ultimately paid off, as King scored on the ensuing offensive rebound to set the board at 38-37 with a whole 2:07 left in regulation.

Ultimately, that drive proved to be the last offensive output for the Thunder, which committed two traveling violations down the stretch. With just 31 ticks left, McGahan buried a 10-footer from the right side of the paint to provide a three-point cushion at 40-37. Rocklin called a timeout, then set up a three-point attempt by Savanah Lorenzini just above the right elbow. McGahan caught a piece of the shot, and SF freshman Lexi London pounced on a contested rebound with 13 seconds left. The alternating possession went to the Troubies and with Rocklin having only committed three team fouls in the second half, the Thunder had virtually no way to regain possession save for a turnover.

Weaver tacked on an insurance goal – once again, on a McGahan assist – to close out the five-point St. Francis victory.

The win marks the first St. Francis victory in Sac-Joaquin Section postseason play since February 9, 2018, when Nika Bagetelos and Ally Gage led the Troubies to a 41-37 win over Roseville in the first round of that year's Division 2 tourney. The program's last Division I postseason win was an 81-52 upset of James Logan to kick off the 2017 NorCal Regional. Julia Razo, now a professional player in Spain, led four SF scorers in double figures with her 24 points that night.

Thursday's game at McClatchy tips off at 7 p.m. The Lions have won their last two matchups with the Troubies in 2022-23 and 2013-14. The last SF win in the series was on January 12, 2008, thanks to four three-pointers and 20 points by future Stanford golfer Marissa Mar.