EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. – Freshman Audrey Bashore posted career highs of 15 points and 18 rebounds, and freshman Sienna Dukes and sophomore Gianna Seghesio each added double-digit offense, as St. Francis JV Gold held Rocklin scoreless in the second half during a 64-13 win in the Trojan Toss-Up seventh-place game at Oak Ridge's Trojan Arena Saturday morning.
The Gold Troubadours improve to 6-7 for the season in their final competition of the calendar year.
Bashore's previous bests were 11 points against Vista Del Lago (Nov. 22) and 11 rebounds against Folsom nine days earlier. She also had three assists for another high plus three steals. Dukes drained a pair of three-pointers and hit 2 of 2 at the free-throw line in the second period alone, totaling 14 points for her first double-figure performance of her young career. Overall, Dukes shot 5-for-9 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds.
Seghesio also knocked down a trey in the Troubies' 21-point second as part of her 11 points. All seven active JV Gold players scored in the win: Lizzie David contributed seven, Nevaeh Gavino and Abigail Hall had six apiece, with Annie Swanson continuing to convert at the charity stripe as part of her five points.
St. Francis led 35-13 at the halftime break, then scored 29 unanswered in the second half to finish with the team's largest margin of victory since a 60-8 win over Grant Union more than a year ago.
Meanwhile, JV Red lost by a 27-22 final to Twelve Bridges in the frosh bracket of the tourney to slip to 3-5 overall. Natalia Zitelli scored eight points, including six in the first half to give the Troubies a 16-12 halftime lead. Meredith Little added six more, Lily Frei chipped in two field goals, and Morgane Bertran and Minna Brindle scored once each.
Due to illnesses, injuries and holiday-season conflicts, that both teams got to compete in Saturday's portion of the ORHS tourney came as a result of a coordinated effort from the entire program. Seghesio joined JV Gold from the Troubie varsity squad, while Zitelli rejoined her old JV Red teammates to give each team sufficient personnel to play. Furthermore, assistant JV Gold coach Melanie Perron also stepped in – and stepped up – as JV Red's head coach for the weekend.
JV Gold returns to action as part of the Delta League opener against Sheldon on January 3. JV Red will play next against Oak Ridge as part of an overall home tripleheader on January 10.
In the meantime, St. Francis varsity took the weekend off from the Oak Ridge tourney, instead opting for a return to the West Coast Jamboree in the Tri-Valley area from December 28-30. Now in its 23rd year, the West Coast Jamboree brings in dozens of programs from multiple states, and awards scholarships to its top participating student-athletes.
