SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomore Tayli Paeu-Lindgren posted her third straight double double with 19 points and a career-high 22 rebounds, but St. Francis failed to protect what had grown to a seven-point lead in the second half in a 49-44 loss to Monterey Trail in the varsity nightcap of a non-league girls' basketball doubleheader Tuesday night.

The Troubadours even their season record to 2-2. The Mustangs move to 1-1. Both teams were former leaguemates in the Delta League as recently as 2018, with Monterey Trail returning to that conference this season after St. Francis' move to the Sierra Foothill League.

Senior Sydney Teoh drained a pair of three-pointers en route to 14 points, while juniors Lexi London and Laila Mendoza chipped in seven and four points, respectively. Unfortunately, St. Francis shot just .281 as a team, with everyone other than Paeu-Lindgren combining for just a .190 clip.

The two teams battled to seven total ties, including a 23-23 deadlock at the halftime break, and scores of 39-39, 41-41 and 43-43 in the fourth period. The Troubies had battled back from a 21-17 deficit in the second, with London successfully driving the lane at the 4:20 mark, hitting both free throws at 3:09 then assisting Mendoza for a pull-up jumper in the paint with 1:44 left. Paeu-Lindgren then scored on a put-back with 1:10 remaining in the half to send the teams to the break in the 23-all impasse.

Paeu-Lindgren almost singlehandedly boosted SF to a 30-23 lead to start the third: she converted a Mendoza assist on the opening possession and added the and-one free throw, then stuffed Mustang senior Alia Wilson for one of her three blocks for the night. Paeu-Lindgren followed with two more second-chance buckets to craft the seven-point margin at the 6:40 mark, completing an overall run of 11 unanswered.  

Monterey Trail's Sydney Wilson ended her team's scoreless drought with a three-pointer with 5:39 to go in the third, but once again, Paeu-Lindgren provided an immediate response. She collected a baseline pass from London, then drained the turn-around shot to give the Troubies a 32-26 edge at the 5:20 mark.

Teoh's three-pointer on a Karly Okamoto feed later made it 35-30 for St. Francis, but the Mustangs filled the hole with a three-pointer from Alayh Leali at 2:19 and a Jameise Stigler bucket with 1:41 left, tying up the contest at 35-35. Paeu-Lindgren and Teoh each made 1 of 2 from the line in back-to-back possessions to restore the Troubie lead, then Teoh found Mendoza for a jumper at the left elbow in the final second of the third, pushing the margin back to 39-35.

Wilson scored twice in the first minute to erase the deficit, then yet another put-back goal from Paeu-Lindgren sent SF up to a 41-39 lead with 5:35 remaining in the game. Leali's shot over Paeu-Lindgren's block later gave Monterey Trail its first lead of the second half at 43-41 with 4:59 to go.

St. Francis took one last lead of 44-43 on a third-chance score from Paeu-Lindgren and Teoh's made free throw following a Mustang technical foul. But with just 1:17 left in the game, senior Hunni Nadal came through with her only field goal, a three-pointer from the left side that boosted MT to a 46-44 lead.  

Later clinging to a one-possession lead with almost a full minute remaining, Nevaeh Butler missed a shot but it had the secondary benefit of resetting the shot clock one last time when she grabbed her own rebound. Butler went back up with a hook shot and drew the and-one foul in the process. She completed the three-point play with 21 ticks remaining, then the Mustangs regained the ball on an SF turnover to seal the win.

The varsity loss followed a 49-38 setback for the Troubadour junior varsity squad against the Mustangs. Jocelyn Dickinson (11 points), Catherine Gustafson (10) and Keanna Daneshvar (8) each scored four field goals, with Dickinson adding team highs of seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Both teams return to action in one week against another Elk Grove team, Laguna Creek. The 5:30/7 p.m. doubleheader features the program's Booster-Q barbecue and the annual Christmas toy drive for the Stanford Settlement Neighborhood Center's Operation Cratchit. Check the Troubie athletics department's Instagram (@sfhstroubies) or Facebook (SFHS.Athletics) for links to an Amazon wish list.