SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Sydney Teoh scored a team-high 17 points while senior Brianna McGahan added 12 points with six steals and four assists, leading St. Francis to a 56-26 win over Laguna Creek in the varsity half of a non-league girls' prep basketball doubleheader Friday night.
The Troubadours even their record to 3-3 overall.
The varsity win followed an equally dominating 54-16 victory by SF's Gold junior varsity squad, with all 11 active players scoring at least one field goal.
Teoh shot 7-for-11 from the field, including 3 of 4 from beyond the three-point arc, despite just 20 minutes of on-court time. McGahan came off the bench for 6-for-12 from the floor. Sophomore Lexi London also broke double digits offensively with her 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Freshman Tayli Paeu-Lindgren was the leading Troubie rebounder with six. She also had four steals and eight points for the night.
Teoh scored all 10 of the Troubies' first-quarter points before the rest of her team found its shooting touch in the second frame. In all, SF scored 16 unanswered to craft a 26-7 lead with 2:09 remaining in the first half. London beat the shot clock for a trey with 2:51 to make it 23-7 and 13 straight, then Teoh converted an assist from Aubrey O'Donnell by knocking down a three on the opposite side of the key.
Trinity Thao temporarily interrupted the St. Francis hot hand with her three-pointer at the 1:47 mark in the second. In fact, Thao was easily Laguna Creek's highlight for the night, handling point guard duties, sinking five total threes and scoring 20 of her team's 26 points. After holding a 30-10 lead at the break, the Troubies continued their offensive outburst with 11 straight to start the third period. Paeu-Lindgren turned two steals into easy buckets, while McGahan assisted London for a three before scoring two goals of her own during that run.
Friday's win also enabled head coach Brittany Woodard to use her full roster, with Gianna Seghesio and Karly Okamoto coming off the bench for 14 and 13 minutes of playing time, respectively.
JV Gold dominated the Cardinals despite having no players in double-figure scoring. Instead, Abbey Pavelchik led the way with eight points and six rebounds, with Layla Hernandez and Natalia Zitelli following with seven points each. Pavelchik also had four steals on the defensive end, behind only Annie Swanson for the game.
So stifling was the JV Gold defense that Laguna Creek did not manage a field goal until midway through the second period. The Troubies scored 19 straight out of the gates, and did not surrender their first points until a technical foul – for a second delay warning on an inbound pass – with 14 ticks remaining.
St. Francis led 29-7 at halftime and 40-12 after three quarters. Abi Hall, who scored six points in the first three frames, assisted on four straight field goals in the fourth: Zitelli, after an interception at the high post; Jocelyn Villaflor, on a baseline drive; Grace Gustorf, on a midrange corner jumper, then Lizzie David in the paint. Hall then followed with a blocked shot.
Friday's doubleheader also featured the Booster-Q barbecue and marked the end of a four-week stretch in which the Troubies hosted 13 home games between their three squads. JV Gold and varsity return to action on Tuesday with a visit to McClatchy, while JV Red heads to Granite Bay earlier that afternoon.
