SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Sydney Teoh scored 15 points while senior Brianna McGahan added 12 points and freshman Tayli Paeu-Lindgren posted 10 rebounds, as St. Francis pulled away late in a 46-28 win over Cosumnes Oaks in the varsity nightcap of a Delta League girls' basketball doubleheader Wednesday night.

The contest represented a battle of the top two teams in the league standings, with the Wolfpack entering at 3-0 and the Troubadours coming in with a 2-0 conference mark.  

Both teams went through relatively wild swings en route to that final score. CO started with a 6-2 lead in the first 5:31 of the contest, SF held its guest scoreless for nearly five full minutes to enter halftime with an 18-8 lead, CO answered with 10 straight to open the third, SF responded with five straight to reclaim a 25-20 lead heading into the fourth, then the Troubies finished on a 17-4 run to pull away to victory.

Additionally, St. Francis shot just 7-for-29 (.241) in the first half before improving to 11-for-20 (.550) from the floor after the intermission. The Troubadours never trailed in the second half, but the 10 straight Wolfpack points to kick off the third equalized the game at 18-18 with 4:31 to go. McGahan halted the CO run with a successful runner through the key at 3:33, but Wolfpack senior and reigning Delta League Player of the Year Isabel Tan knocked down an 18-footer to beat the shot clock on the next trip down, evening the contest at 20-20 with 3:03 to go.

From that point, SF righted its ship. Junior Aubrey O'Donnell drew contact underneath and hit both free throws to provide the go-ahead points at 1:37 in the third. Teoh grabbed a defensive rebound then assisted Paeu-Lindgren on a bucket with 1:05 left. Teoh then made it five straight points when she drew a foul on the baseline and hit the second try from the line.

SF continued to roll into the fourth, starting with Laila Mendoza's drive on the opening possession. The Troubies later scored three three-pointers to pad the lead to double digits: Paeu-Lindgren found an open McGahan at 6:32, Lexi London set up Teoh with 4:52 left, then Teoh struck again from the right side at 3:35 to set the board at 38-26. That 9-2 run swelled to a 17-4 finish, as SF went from dominating the perimeter to converting in the paint. Okoye, Teoh, Paeu-Lindgren and Okoye again made plays down low for the final stretch.

Okoye chipped in six points and seven rebounds in just 18 minutes. Mendoza, who made her return to action last Friday against Davis, had four points, three rebounds and a team-leading three steals.'

Prior to the varsity win, JV Gold dominated wire-to-wire in its 45-8 win over CO. Sophomore Nevaeh Gavino buried a three-pointer in the first period as part of her team-leading nine points, then sophomore Bianca Espanola drained back-to-back treys as part of her eight points in the fourth. Lizzie David added six points and four steals, while Layla Hernandez led the boards with 10 rebounds.

St. Francis led 8-0 through the first frame and 21-6 at halftime. Swanson and David each had two assists to Hernandez and Gavino, respectively, as the Troubies grew its lead to 45-8 after three stanzas. Then Espanola bombed away for her eight in the finale, starting with a rare three-pointer off the glass two minutes in.

The Delta League twinbill was actually part of an overall tripleheader, with JV Red falling by a 59-6 to Oak Ridge in the matinee opener. Meredith Little assisted Minna Brindle in the first and hit a pull-up jumper in the fourth, while Jocelyn Villaflor sank a baby hook with 0:27 left in the first half.

St. Francis varsity and JV Gold continues league play at Franklin, with the 6:30 varsity game to be televised on Access Sacramento Channel 17 (https://www.accesssacramento.org/watch/watch-now-17/). JV Red's next game is Saturday against Pleasant Valley, serving as a 2 p.m. lead-in for the Holy Hoops rivalry doubleheader against Christian Brothers.