ROCKLIN, Calif. – Freshman Gianna Seghesio scored a game-high 12 points, Annie Swanson added another nine, and St. Francis held the Panthers scoreless for the entire third quarter in the JV Red squad's 39-30 win over Chico to wrap action at the Rocklin Winter Invitational JV girls' basketball tournament Friday morning.
The win improves the Troubadours' season record to 9-4, and avenges a previous setback to the Panthers just two days earlier. The withdrawal of Oak Ridge from the tourney revamped the schedule, forcing SF and Chico to square off immediately after Wednesday's game against Woodcreek.
Seghesio scored seven of her 12 in a relatively high-scoring fourth frame. She hit a runner in the paint followed by a baseline shot in the opening minutes, then completed a fast break on an outlet from sophomore Karly Okamoto, on loan to the otherwise all-frosh JV Red from SF's older JV Gold. Seghesio then hit the front end of a double bonus trip to the free-throw line, and would have added an eighth point if not for a lane violation. That 13th point would have tied her career high, matching the total she posted against Nevada Union eight days earlier.
Swanson had seven of her scoring output in the first quarter, converting two second-chance opportunities as part of the Troubies' initial 10-0 run, then burying a three-pointer at the 1:36 mark to make it 13-2.
Chico rallied back to within a 13-11 deficit, thanks to a three-pointer and steal-and-transition finish by Kylie Spencer in the first 70 seconds of the second period. Kylie Smith had a chance to equalize when she drew a foul on a putback at 5:28, but missed on both free throws. Hayden Henning later knocked down a shot to bring the Panthers to within 14-13 with 3:13 to go, but St. Francis answered with five straight to close out the half. Lauren Herbelin and Abbey Pavelchik teamed up for a score, then Okamoto set up Seghesio on a fast break to expand the margin to 18-13 with 2:08 left. Lucia Vicio made the front end of a trip to the charity stripe to make it 19-13 at halftime.
St. Francis held Chico completely scoreless for the entirety of the third, but also scored only eight points of its own. Pavelchik and Herbelin also had consecutive blocks in one of numerous defensive stops. Spencer had the best opportunity to break the Panther cold streak when she was fouled on a fast break with 40 seconds left. She missed both free throws, giving the Troubies a 27-13 lead going into the fourth.
Eliana Robles drove the lane to start the fourth, ending a span of almost 12 full minutes without a Panther field goal, and Smith scored at the 6:07 mark, but Seghesio answered each with a basket of her own. St. Francis maintained at least a double-digit until Henning's third-chance score with :08 remaining. However, by then, Chico was forced to foul St. Francis and take its chances at the free throw line. The Troubies, which shot just 4 of 16 from the stripe in the first three quarters, shot 4-for-8 from the line in the fourth – enough to hold the Panthers at arm's length for the win.
Oddly, a Friday 10:30 a.m. contest against Chico was the original plan for St. Francis. The revised schedule then changed the slate to a 9 a.m. rematch with Woodcreek, but the tourney retooled the schedule again on Thursday evening to allow for the Troubie-Panther tilt on Friday morning. The Chico frosh are part of a strong overall program, with the varsity team ranking second in the Northern Section by MaxPreps.
St. Francis JV Red returns to action on Tuesday in a 4 p.m. home game against Kennedy, a lead-in for JV Gold's and varsity's Delta League doubleheader against Pleasant Grove that night. Tickets are available exclusively via GoFan.
