FOLSOM, Calif. – Senior Sydney Teoh scored a game-high 21 points, junior Laila Mendoza buried two pivotal three-pointers in the fourth quarter as part of her 13-point output, while sophomore Tayli Paeu-Lindgren grabbed 11 rebounds with five blocked shots, but St. Francis' late comeback fell just shy in a 58-53 loss at Vista Del Lago in non-league prep girls' basketball action Friday night.

The Troubadours open their season at 0-1, with Wednesday's Foundation Game against Ponderosa not counting as an official contest.

Overall, St. Francis shot 10-for-23 from beyond the three-point arc, with Teoh accounting for 5 of 8 from long range. Junior Lexi London drained another two en route to her 11 points, with Paeu-Lindgren backing up her defense and rebounding with another eight points.

Eagle senior point guard Bella Pallari paced her team with 16 points, including 10 in the first half to match teammate Callie Jacobosky in forging a 34-26 halftime edge. The two teams matched up for an 11-11 tie through the first 4:15 of play before junior Kelsey Brooks' steal and fast break began a 6-0 run to give Vista a 17-11 lead.

Paeu-Lindgren got SF started in the second when she drew a foul on a reverse putback, and hit both ends from the three-throw line. But Pallari answered with a trey, freshman Adalai Lawson followed with a fourth-chance bucket, and Jacobosky assisted Makenna Cassidy to push the Eagles out to a 26-14 edge.

Mendoza turned a London kickout into three points at the 4:33 mark to end more than seven minutes without a Troubie field goal, then Teoh's drive trimmed the deficit to 26-19 at the exact midpoint of the second. Teoh drove the lane, drew an and-one foul from Jacobosky, then completed the three-point play to pull SF to within two possessions at 28-22 with 3:13 to go.

Still, Vista maintained at least a five-point lead for the remainder of the first half and most of the third period, despite two more corner threes from Teoh and a London bomb after the break. Paeu-Lindgren posted her fourth block with two minutes to go in the third, getting both hands on a Pallari shot for a jump ball and an alternating possession. Eagle sophomore Molly McBride avenged the play by blocking London on the next trip down, but Paeu-Lindgren soon followed with a successful putback to reduce the gap to 46-43 with 25 ticks left in the third. Paeu-Lindgren's steal on the opposite end provided St. Francis with one final possession before the fourth, only Teoh's three-point attempt rattled in and out.

Paeu-Lindgren's fifth and final block opened the fourth, and set up the game's first equalizer since midway in the first: London found a wide-open Mendoza, who buried her three-pointer to tie the game at 46-46. Unfortunately for the Troubies, Brooks pulled up for a midrange jumper just a minute after Mendoza's shot, putting Vista back on top for good.

Mendoza later hit another three, this time on a feed from post Layla Hernandez, which reduced the deficit to one at 50-49 with 2:56 remaining. But once again, Pallari came through for the Eagles: she jumped on a pass near the top of the key, drew a foul in transition, then hit 2-for-2 from the stripe to put her team up by 52-49.

St. Francis still managed to crawl back to within a field goal, then Karly Okamoto swung a pass to Teoh on the left side. Teoh drained her fifth three-pointer to set the board at 55-53 with nearly a full minute remaining. However, Jacobosky – largely neutralized in the second half – came up with a rebound and score at 0:43. Okamoto also gave the Troubies another opportunity when she battled her way to a jump ball and offensive rebound with 22 ticks remaining, but SF failed to add to its scoring tally down that final stretch.

Friday's visit to Folsom originally was scheduled as a doubleheader, but the junior varsity canceled the opener due to a shortage of St. Francis players. Instead, the Troubie jayvees will kick off their season as part of Tuesday's home doubleheader against Rio Americano.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: St. Francis' Fortune College Showcase game against Inderkum is now set for a 1 p.m. tip at Fortune Early College High in Elk Grove... The contest is one of six for the day, along with Sacramento Charter-Weston Ranch, West Campus-Cordova, Franklin-Antelope, Fortune-Valley Christian and Vanden-Monterey Trail.