EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. – Guard Gianna Seghesio hit a corner three with 1:08 remaining in the first overtime to tie contest at 46-46 and force four additional minutes, while Lauren Herbelin poured in eight of her 16 total points in a huge fourth-period comeback, highlighting St. Francis JV Red's 2022-23 season finale at Oak Ridge High Tuesday night. The Troubadours ultimately fell by a 54-51 final.
The all-freshman Red squad finishes its year at 12-9 under interim head coach Ryan Chisolm, who took over the squad when previous coaches John Bashore and Melanie Perron were elevated to the JV Gold reins.
Seghesio finished with 11 points, having also drained a three-pointer in the third quarter. Bianca Espanola and Annie Swanson also connected from long range, each coming at key points. Espanola's trey came earlier in the first overtime to give the Troubies a 43-40 lead, while Swanson's bomb from the right side of the key ended what had grown into a 12-0 run for the Trojans. Espanola and Swanson scored eight and seven points, respectively, while Lucia Vicio accounted for the remaining nine tallies.
St. Francis took a 12-7 lead late in the first after Herbelin connected with Vicio on a transition score with 1:36. Oak Ridge caught up to a 13-13 tie to start the second, but Herbelin regained the lead for the Troubies on the next possession. A low post screen by Fereshteh Salehi opened the lane for Herbelin to glide along the right edge of the paint, setting the board to 15-13. Vicio later put SF up by a 17-15 margin at 4:21 in the second when she collected an offensive rebound, backed out to about 15 feet on the right side, then buried her shot.
However, that Vicio jumper began a scoreless stretch that lasted for almost eight full minutes, through halftime and into the third period. Hannah Skaggs scored two of her team-leading 16 points on a putback, extending Oak Ridge's lead to 27-17. But Swanson answered with her three-pointer to end the Trojan run to 12 unanswered. Seghesio later hit a trey of her own to cut the deficit to 29-23. Still, the Trojans held a 33-25 lead heading into the final regulation frame.
Herbelin opened the fourth with a goal, one of four buckets in the frame, and the first rung of a 15-7 climb to tie the game. Seghesio and Vicio scored to make it 35-31 at the 5:50 mark, Herbelin delivered in the lane at the midpoint of the quarter, and Espanola scored on a steal and fast break 20 seconds later to pull the Troubies to within one possession at 37-35. Skaggs struck again to push the Trojan lead back to four, only to have SF tie the proceedings at 39-39 with 1:13 left on consecutive Herbelin second-chance field goals. Swanson had two steals in the final minute of regulation, while Seghesio and OR's Jillian Mao traded free throws in sending the contest to overtime in a 40-40 deadlock.
Espanola's three-pointer gave SF the immediately lead in the fifth period, but Oak Ridge rallied back to a 44-43 lead after Mao knocked down an 18-footer from the left corner with 2:27 left. Mao struck again less than a minute later on a fast break to extend the Trojan lead to 46-43. Then on the next possession, Seghesio fired from the left side as the shot clock wound down. She beat the clock for the 46-46 equalizer with 1:08 left. Swanson won a contested rebound on the other hand to prevent any further OR points, although guard Delaney Angel did manage a desperation shot at the first OT buzzer.
Seghesio popped a three-point attempt to start the second overtime but it rattled in and out. Instead, Angel got the first score for Oak Ridge. Mao then followed with two free throws to extend the Trojan lead to 50-46. St. Francis got a pair of free throws from Seghesio and another goal from Herbelin but could not force an eighth tie as OR held on for the win.
Tuesday's game marked the second overtime contest of the year for St. Francis JV Red. Not surprisingly, the first also took place against Oak Ridge at Kennedy's Robby Nakamura Holiday Classic. Overall, the Troubies and Trojans met four times during the 2022-23 season. Impressively, SF enjoyed a strong performance despite the services of two of its leading scorers: Nevaeh Gavino and Abbey Pavelchik each were sidelined due to injuries down the stretch of the season.
St. Francis varsity and JV Gold each has two games left in the regular season, both at home. The Troubies host Sheldon on Wednesday, then Davis on Friday, before the varsity learns its fate in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Both doubleheaders begin at 5:30 p.m.
