LOOMIS, Calif. – Senior post Chidera Okoye shot 7-for-13 with a team-leading seven rebounds, junior guard Sydney Teoh scored 23 points, while junior Karly Okamoto sparked the defense in a key second-quarter comeback run, but St. Francis ultimately fell by a 58-52 final in the varsity nightcap of Wednesday's non-league girls' basketball tripleheader at Del Oro.

The Troubadours even their season record to 2-2.

The varsity loss followed setbacks by the St. Francis JV Gold (61-32) and JV Red (41-7) in the program's first road action of the year.

Okoye poured in 14 of her 16 total points in the first half, accounting for 10 of her team's 14 by the midpoint of the second quarter, at which the Troubies had fallen into a 27-14 hole. But Okamoto, an SF lacrosse standout making her varsity hoop debut, came off the bench to lead her team's backcourt defense down the stretch before halftime. DO struggled with the pressure, allowing the Troubies to score 10 unanswered to cut a 29-15 deficit to a 29-25 battle. Okoye began the onslaught with a putback at the 2:39 mark, then Teoh hit her first bucket with 2:05 left. Senior Brianna McGahan scored on a second chance 14 ticks later to close the gap to single digits at 29-21. Teoh followed with another drive and drew the and-one foul. She missed the shot, but McGahan grabbed the offensive rebound and assisted Lexi London for another score with 1:16 left, cutting the margin to 29-25.

Teoh fed Okoye down low in the final minute to bring SF to within a possession, 30-27, with 39 seconds left in the half. DO guard Alyena Estrada ended what had grown to almost three minutes without a field goal, boosting the Golden Eagles to a 32-27 halftime lead.

St. Francis managed to reduce the margin to three points on four occasions in the second half, but Del Oro had prompt responses to each. Teoh's three-pointer made it 34-31 with 6:21 in the third, only for Golden Eagle senior Grace Romani to answer with a baseline jumper on the next possession.

Then in the fourth, McGahan and Okoye's backcourt trap led to a McGahan score to bring the Troubies to within 42-39. DO post Hunter Gordon responded with the first of her four goals in the final quarter. Gordon also drew a foul on the play and missed the free throw, only to have Romani grab the rebound and putback, extending the lead back to seven at 46-39.

The Troubies then got another spark from one of its junior reserves, this time in the form of Aubrey O'Donnell. The 6-foot post hit a rare perimeter shot on Teoh's kickout, then followed with a blocked shot on the opposite end. This allowed Teoh to knock down a pull-up shot from the left elbow at 5:34, brining the DO lead to just 46-43. Guard Shaelyn Parry hit both ends from the line to briefly pad the lead back to five, then Teoh again slashed through the lane for another score, setting the board at 48-45 with 4:20 left in the contest.

Gordon clapped back with two more field goals within a span of 24 seconds, then Parry completed a three-point play with 2:12 left, pushing DO to a 55-45 lead. The Golden Eagles protected the lead down the stretch. Even when Teoh hit another three from the top of the key with 32 seconds left, it was Gordon who had the answer. She converted an Estrada assist on the ensuing possession to ice the win.

Okoye shot 7 of 13 and O'Donnell hit her lone attempt at the hoop, but the remainder of the SF roster struggled to 12 for 48 shooting (.250) on the night.

While defensive pressure allowed varsity to get back into the game, it hampered JV Gold to the tune of 39 total turnovers in the lead-in game. Freshman Layla Hernandez scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds – including 10 on the defensive boards – but the Troubies were held without a field goal for more than seven minutes in the second quarter. They went from a 10-8 deficit, after Lizzie David opened the second frame with a driving lay-up, to a 25-8 hole with 1:12 left. Reese Walker assisted Lauren Herbelin for a pull-up jumper with 20 seconds before the break to end the drought.

Herbelin finished with eight points while Walker and Audrey Bashore each added six.

JV Red opened the night with its 41-7 loss to Del Oro. Abi Hall had the lone Troubie field goal in the first half, Lily Frei hit a three-pointer late in the third quarter, and Jocelyn Villaflor finished the game with her points in the paint.

The SF varsity and JV Gold squads return to action in a week with home games against Monterey Trail. Meanwhile, JV Red hosts Granite Bay for a 4 p.m. game on Thursday, then precedes the MTHS series with a contest against El Dorado to form a tripleheader on that December 6.