DUBLIN, Calif. – Senior Lexi London posted team highs of 22 points and nine rebounds while freshman Elise Vipond drained a trio of three-pointers en route to 17 points, as St. Francis broke away early in a 52-40 win over Branson in Monday's action at the Dublin High site of the West Coast Jamboree girls' basketball tournament.
The Troubadours improve to 6-4 for the season. The Bulls, quarterfinalists in last year's North Coast Section playoffs, slip to 8-5 overall.
The tandem of London and Vipond accounted for exactly 75 percent of St. Francis' offense in the victory. Junior Natalia Zitelli added another nine points to go with her five boards and team-leading three steals. Hassanah Ramsey-Gilbert and Colleen Medina each scored a field goal for the remaining points, with Ramsey-Gilbert grabbing eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Troubies won mostly on the strength of a 19-2 overall run that turned a tight 12-11 lead near the end of the first period into a commanding 31-13 edge with 93 seconds left before halftime. London scored eight in that run, all in the paint. Vipond hit 4 of 4 from the free-throw stripe to start the outburst, then turned a Medina pass into a three-pointer at the 2:35 mark in the second.
London continued to dominate offensively after the 31-15 halftime break, scoring 10 in the third frame. She converted Zitelli's long inbound pass into an assist with 4:34 left, then made a successful baseline drive about 40 ticks later to push SF out to a 41-20 margin. Meanwhile, Branson sophomore Kate Spaulding managed 10 points in the third frame alone, including a three-pointer off the glass in the final 15 seconds. Spaulding then scored on nifty up-and-under shot early in the fourth to cut the Troubadour lead to 43-30.
St. Francis maintained a double-digit lead throughout the fourth, with Spaulding and Montana Siebel each burying threes to bring the margin to 45-35 and 48-38, respectively. However, London kicked a pass to an open Vipond at the top for a bomb between those two buckets, then London and Vipond each scored on drives down the final stretch.
Ramsey-Gilbert also posted four blocked shots in the game. London went 8-for-9 from the line, improving from her 2-for-8 struggles in Saturday's first-round game against Heritage.
St. Francis will face the winner of Monday's Chaminade-Warren matchup for Tuesday's 1 p.m. consolation final of the WCJ Ruby Bracket. Chaminade lost a 43-36 defensive battle against Alisal in its tourney opener, with Warren falling more decisively in a 55-19 final against Pleasant Valley. All Ruby bracket games took place at Dublin High's West gym throughout the tournament. More details on the 24th-annual WCJ can be found at https://www.westcoastjamboree.org/.
UPDATE: Chaminade defeated Warren, 53-31, in Monday's noon consolation semifinal. The Eagles, members of the Mission League, enter Tuesday's game with a 2-9 season record.
