SF to rematch with Vista in SJS hoop playoffs

Posted: Feb 18, 2025

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The 2025 postseason begins in the same way as the regular season for St. Francis, which earned the No. 7 seed and the home opener against No. 10 Vista Del Lago in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. II girls' basketball championship tournament. The contest will take place on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The Troubadours finished the regular season with a 12-16 overall record and tied Whitney for fifth place in the Sierra Foothill League standings. The Eagles had similar records as members of the Capital Valley Conference: 11-15 for the year and 5-7 in league, good for fifth place.

Despite sub-.500 records, both programs hold relatively high rankings among SJS Division II on the strength of their respective schedules. SF's schedule is rated at 16.7 by MaxPreps, the third highest in the division behind only leaguemates Whitney (18.1) and Del Oro (17.3). Vista's slate holds a 14.1 strength rating.

Senior Sydney Teoh leads the Troubies with 15.2 points per game, having surpassed her 1,000th career point earlier in the year. She also paces her team with 50 three-pointers, four ahead of junior teammate Lexi London. Sophomore Tayli Paeu-Lindgren averages a double-double of 12.3 points and 13.0 rebounds, with team defensive highs of 44 blocks and 51 steals.

Meanwhile, junior guard Kelsey Brooks (12.1 ppg) and senior point Bella Pallari (10.6) average double-digits in the scoring column, with Pallari also leading the Eagles with 7.3 rebounds per game. Pallari, who further leads Vista in assists (84) and steals (93), drained three three-pointers en route to 16 points in her previous meeting with the Troubies.

Christian Brothers and Atwater earned the top two seeds in the SJS D-II bracket, respectively. No. 3 Del Oro, No. 5 Whitney and No. 11 Rocklin also represent the SFL in the D-II draw, with No. 1 Folsom, No. 5 Oak Ridge and No. 11 Davis qualifying for the D-I bracket.

All tickets for SJS postseason events are available exclusively on GoFan (https://gofan.co/app/school/CIFSJS). A direct link to Tuesday's game will go live later in the weekend.