SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Laila Mendoza posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds while senior Sydney Teoh and sophomore Tayli Paeu-Lindgren each finished with a team-high 16 points, but St. Francis shot just 33 percent overall in a 59-51 loss to Grant Union in the varsity nightcap of a non-league girls' prep basketball doubleheader Wednesday night.

The Troubadours slip to 5-4, playing their final game prior to the school's final examinations and holiday break.

Mendoza easily surpassed her previous rebounding high of seven, set against Sheldon late in her sophomore season. Paeu-Lindgren came up one short of her sixth double-double of the year. In all, SF grabbed a relatively high total of 18 offensive  boards, having shot just 21 of 64 for the contest.

The Troubies held a 16-12 lead through the first period, but gave up six unanswered points out of the gates in the second to fall behind. That deficit grew to 26-18 on Nerissa Hamilton's reverse layup with two minutes left before the half, although Lexi London's drive and Teoh's 18-foot baseline jumper later pulled SF back to within four at 26-22 with 1:10 left. Teoh later drained a three in the final seconds to bring the score to 28-25 at the break.

The Troubies slipped behind further in the third before another Teoh trey brought them to within a single possession at 38-36 with 2:10 remaining. Teoh later hit both shots on a trip to the free-throw line to equalize, with Paeu-Lindgren hitting the front end to restore the SF lead to 39-38 with 1:20 on the clock. Mendoza extended that lead to 41-38 when her defensive rebound transitioned to a Teoh lay-up at 0:54. She followed with an assist to Paeu-Lindgren in the final seconds, putting SF back up by five going into the finale.

The Troubie lead held until the exact midpoint of the fourth, when a regular foul plus a technical sent two Pacers to the line to shoot 3 of 4 for a 50-49 lead. London drove the lane with 2:53 remaining to put St. Francis back on top, 51-50, but that proved to be the last of its scoring for the remainder. Hamilton's spin and floater put Grant back on top at 52-51. She followed with a trey from the top of the key to extend the margin to 55-51 as part of an overall 8-0 finish. The Troubies commtted two turnovesr and shot 0-for-3 during those last two minutes, and attempted to foul in an effort to slow the clock. In the end, the officials opted to end the game with 2.6 seconds remaining after a Grant player crashed into the gym wall after one such foul.

The varsity thriller followed a more decisive 50-34 win for the Troubies' junior varsity squad. Freshman Emmy Cheatham poured in 20 points with four three-pointers while Catherine Gustafson added eight points and a team-best 12 rebounds. Cheatham reached double-digit offense by the end of the first frame, at which SF led by a commanding 18-5 margin.

Keanna Daneshvar shot 6-for-9, with two field goals in each of the first three periods, helping the Troubies stay ahead by 26-11 at the halftime break and 41-24 through three. Daneshvar also led SF with three assists while matching Jocelyn Dickinson's five steals on the defensive end. In fact, the Troubies amassed 21 total steals, with Cheatham providing four to go with her scoring contributions.

Both St. Francis varsity and JV return to action after the Christmas holidays at the Lincoln Invitational, held over a weekend on December 27, 28 and 30.