LOOMIS, Calif. – Senior post Chidera Okoye tallied team highs of 14 points and seven rebounds while senior wing Brianna McGahan and junior guard Sydney Teoh added 13 and 11 points, respectively, but St. Francis could not protect its five-point halftime leading in falling to Del Oro, 60-46, in the third-place game of the eighth Mike Takayama Memorial Tournament at Bonner Gym Saturday.
The Troubadours slip to 4-6 for the season. They moved to the third-place game after an 86-20 victory over Franklin of Stockton in the Thursday opener, followed by a 68-38 loss to McClatchy in the tourney semifinal Friday.
Okoye shot 6-for-12 from the floor while McGahan connected on 6 of 13. Overall, SF shot 17-for-39 (.436) from inside the three-point arc, but struggled to just 2 of 12 from beyond it.
Okoye and McGahan each scored five points in a 10-0 run in the first period, boosting the Troubies to a 14-7 start and a 16-9 lead across the first eight minutes. Okoye extended the lead to eight when she beat the shot clock for a layup, drew the and-one foul, and completed the three-point play at the 6:16 mark of the second, setting the board to 19-11.
However, Golden Eagle senior Shae Perry scored seven of her 25 total points in that frame, helping her team whittle away at the SF lead. Her drive through the lane at the 2:10 mark cut the deficit to just 23-22, then Alyena Estrada went 1-for-2 on a trip to the stripe to equalize at 23-23. Still, the Troubies responded with a strong finish to the half: McGahan on a spin move along the left edge of the key with 1:04 to go, Tayli Paeu-Lindgren's block against Perry on the next trip down, then a Teoh three-pointer that rattled in with 17 ticks left. St. Francis went to the break with a 28-23 halftime edge.
Teoh slashed her way to another bucket to start the third period, but that stanza belonged to DO and specifically to Perry. The senior post scored 12 points in the period, including a three-pointer that gave the Eagles their first lead since the 5:21 mark in the first. McGahan managed to score twice amidst a 17-4 run for Del Oro that resulted in the hosts taking a 40-34 lead.
The Golden Eagles enjoyed another nine unanswered to extend their lead to 55-40 by the midpoint of the fourth. St. Francis could not close the gap to within single digits down the stretch, even when DO struggled on its bonus free throws in the final two minutes.
Saturday's tourney finale marked the second time the Troubadours and Golden Eagles have met this season, with DO winning the previous matchup back on November 29. St. Francis varsity takes a weekend off for the Christmas holiday, then returns to action in the Tri-Valley Area for the West Coast Jamboree from December 28-30.
