ELK GROVE, Calif. – Senior wing Brianna McGahan tied her career high of 28 points while sophomore Lexi London hit 9 of 10 from the three-throw line as part of her 13, but St. Francis' fourth-period comeback fell just shy in a 63-57 loss at Pleasant Grove in the varsity end of Friday's Delta League girls' basketball doubleheader.

The Troubadours slip to 9-11 for the season and 4-2 in league play.

McGahan shot 10-for-27 from the floor and had her team's only field goals (four) during the first 14 minutes of the contest en route to her 28, a total that matches her output against Maria Carrillo at the West Coast Jamboree back on December 28. It also marked her fifth game with at least 20 points. London chipped in two more buckets but did most of her scoring work from the charity stripe, including a 7-for-8 stretch in the final 2:13 of the contest.

Senior Chidera Okoye led SF with 10 rebounds, although the Eagles dominated the boards on each end of the court, thanks to the size advantage gained by posts Emily Bowman (6-foot-1) and Leila Williamson (5-foot-11), who led PG with 22 and 14 points, respectively.

McGahan had the Troubies' only buckets in an otherwise slow start, as the Eagles led 13-9 through the first period, then stretched that margin to 23-9 after just 2:16 elapsed into the second. Sophomore Laila Mendoza scored on a McGahan inbound pass with 0:48 to go, then her midcourt steal helped send Sydney Teoh to the line for 1 of 2 with 17 seconds. Teoh then assisted McGahan for a baseline jumper at the buzzer, bringing SF to within a single-digit halftime deficit of 29-21.

Still, the Eagles continued their charge in the third. Sophomore Kate Myers drained a three-pointer to send PG up by a 44-30 margin midway through the frame, then she assisted both Bowman and Williamson down the stretch to extend the lead to as much as 16 points, or 50-34, with 1:09 to go.

McGahan got SF back into contention early in the fourth, converting passes from Colleen Medina and Teoh into three-pointers while assisting London in an 8-0 run back to 51-44. London brought the Troubies to within two possessions with her success at the line. She drew a foul in the lane and hit the ensuing free throws with 1:06 remaining to close the gap to 59-53. London then stole from Eagle senior Neama Othman, then drew a foul by Othman to return to the line for two more.

Unfortunately for St. Francis, PG made two plays down that final stretch. Myers assisted Williamson down low for a bucket at 0:50, then Bowman found Naveiya Maneja underneath for a layup with 26 ticks left. This kept the Eagles in front, despite two more London free throws and two steals by Teoh in the backcourt.

Prior to the varsity matchup, the Troubies' JV Gold squad extended its win streak to eight, thanks to a 60-17 drubbing of PG in the opener. Sophomore Reese Walker shot 6-for-11 with five rebounds, freshman Lizzie David and sophomore Annie Swanson each hit another 3 of 4 from the floor, and sophomore Bianca Espanola drained a pair of three-pointers. In fact, every Troubie scored in the win, with Layla Hernandez (8), Audrey Bashore (6), Nevaeh Gavino (6) and Abigail Hall (4) adding multiple field goals.

St. Francis returns to action in a rare JV-only doubleheader at Folsom on Tuesday, with games at 6 p.m. (Red) and 7:30 (Gold). Delta League play resumes on Thursday with varsity and Gold at Cosumnes Oaks.