SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Brianna McGahan posted a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds, junior Sydney Teoh poured in another 19, while sophomore Laila Mendoza made her return to action a pivotal piece of St. Francis' 66-62 win over Davis in the varsity nightcap of Friday's home Delta League girls' basketball doubleheader.
The Troubadours improve to 7-8 overall and 2-0 in league play.
Both McGahan and Teoh hit three three-pointers toward their game totals. All three of Teoh's treys came as part of her 11-point second period. McGahan spread her long-range scores across the first three frames, with her third providing the 40-40 equalizer in a wild third quarter. She also had three assists and a team-best seven steals in the contest. Sophomore Lexi London chipped in another nine points.
Mendoza – making her first appearance since November 22 – added six points and six steals, including three takeways in the second period. Besides scoring on a baseline runner to start that quarter, her defensive work proved crucial in an 11-3 Troubie run that turned an 18-18 tie into a 29-21 lead. Teoh scored five while McGahan knocked down a three on an Aubrey O'Donnell feed during that stretch. St. Francis led 32-24 at the break, with McGahan assisting Teoh's longball with a second remaining in the half.
The third period featured a wild swing for both teams, with Davis going on a 14-1 run to take a 38-35 lead, then St. Francis later scoring 10 unanswered to reclaim the lead for good. The Blue Devils stormed back in the contest on the strength of their twin towers, 6-foot-1 Alia Cordone and 6-foot-2 Tessa Schouten. Cordone buried two three-pointers and Schouten dominated the boards on both ends while adding two buckets of her own. Additionally, Davis converted 5 of 6 at the free-throw line in its comeback run, compared to 13-for-26 for the remainder of the game.
Facing a 38-35 deficit, the Troubies ended a four-minute span without a field goal with Teoh finding McGahan in the key with 3:07 to go. Cordone answered on the other end with her successful drive, keeping the Davis lead at three, 40-37. But this began SF's rally: McGahan hit a pull-up three off the right elbow to equalize at 2:38, Teoh drew contact in the lane and hit the charity shots to make it 42-40. The two Troubie leaders them teamed up on a transition play. Teoh made a hard charge to the hoop, pump faked, then assisted a trailing McGahan to extend the lead to four. Finally, McGahan hit 1 of 2 on a trip to the stripe and Teoh finished a fast break in the final minute, bumping the SF lead to 47-40.
St. Francis never surrendered the lead in the fourth, despite the better efforts of Cordone. The senior post exploded for 14 of her 30 total points in the finale, helping the Blue Devils cut the deficit to two points on five different occasions. Still, the Troubies held on, with London powering her way to six points in the paint and Mendoza scoring another five. Mendoza even scored two field goals in a span of 25 seconds, one of which came on a stolen inbound pass in the backcourt. Impressively, Cordone's night comes in her first week back from almost a year-long absence due to injury.
McGahan's 25 points marks her fourth 20-plus game of the season, and the sixth of her varsity career. Teoh's performance is her sixth straight game with double-digit offense, and her 13th of the 2023-24 season. Teoh entered the contest averaging 16.2 points per game, with McGahan close behind at 14.7.
Friday's game also featured an unusually lively student section, especially since St. Francis' students do not return to campus until next week. However, the Troubie varsity soccer team came back to campus after its 7-0 shutout of Sheldon to support varsity basketball. Their presence also drew additional SF students, who honored the hoopsters with a victory gauntlet after the game.
The Troubie varsity's win followed a 48-45 victory by St. Francis' JV Gold squad. Freshman Layla Hernandez compiled yet another double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, sophomore Annie Swanson hit a three-pointer and converted 5 of 6 from the line, and freshman Audrey Bashore grabbed 11 boards to supplement her six points. Natalia Zitelli dropped in a pair of three-pointers as part of her eight points on the night.
All three SF basketball teams return to action on Wednesday in a home tripleheader. JV Red hosts Oak Ridge for the 4 p.m. opener, then JV Gold and varsity take on Cosumnes Oaks at 5:30 and 7 p.m., respectively. Please note that these start times are 30 minutes later than usual for a Delta League doubleheader to allow for the SF-OR frosh game.
