Posted: Jan 28, 2026
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Lexi London poured in 5 of 9 from three-point range en route to a career-high 27 points, boosting St. Francis to a 65-48 win over Granite Bay in the varsity finale of a Sierra Foothill League girls' basketball tripleheader Wednesday night.
The Troubadours improve to 9-12 for the season with a 3-6 mark in league play. The Grizzlies slip to 11-12 overall, including 2-7 in SFL games.
London's output surpasses her previous best of 26, set on the road at Rio Americano back in December, then matched at home against Whitney nearly three weeks ago. The 27 tallies also raises her career total to 977, moving her into third in the program's MaxPreps era (2003 to present). Coincidentally, St. Francis' all-time leading scorer, Lauren Craig, was in attendance in Wednesday's contest. Craig scored 1,260 points in her career from 2012-16.
London's work from beyond the arc represented half of the Troubies' three-point makes in the win. Freshman Elise Vipond hit 4-for-5 long range toward her 15 points. Junior Audrey Bashore also sank a three early in the second period. In fact, London assisted three of the other treys in the game: one to Vipond late in the first period, another to Vipond to start the second, then the corner three by Bashore at 6:56 in the second frame. The Occidental commit finished with five assists, with Vipond earning four more.
Freshman Hassanah Ramsey-Gilbert notched team highs in rebounds (seven), blocks (two) and steals (three). She was one of three SF players with exactly four points, along with Natalie Dimen and Colleen Medina. Natalia Zitelli scored two transition buckets, including one as part of a three-point play, for five total points. Bashore finished with six.
The Troubadours never trailed in the contest. Medina blocked 6-foot Madeline Benedyuk, Vipond drew a charge and Ramsey-Gilbert had her first blocked shot during the first three minutes of the game, during which London and Vipond buried their first threes to highlight to a 8-2 start. Zitelli's fast break and one extended the lead to 12-4, then Vipond's second trey gave SF its first double-digit lead of 17-4.
Three more bombs from Vipond, Bashore and London stretched the advantage to 26-10 by the 6:20 mark in the second. Hope Sperber had a defensive rebound against Granite Bay's towering front court, initiating a fast break that saw London find Zitelli for the score with 2:01 left in the half. London followed soon after by rattling home a three-pointer with 0:24 on the clock, bumping the Troubie lead to 19.
The Troubadours improve to 9-12 for the season with a 3-6 mark in league play. The Grizzlies slip to 11-12 overall, including 2-7 in SFL games.
London's output surpasses her previous best of 26, set on the road at Rio Americano back in December, then matched at home against Whitney nearly three weeks ago. The 27 tallies also raises her career total to 977, moving her into third in the program's MaxPreps era (2003 to present). Coincidentally, St. Francis' all-time leading scorer, Lauren Craig, was in attendance in Wednesday's contest. Craig scored 1,260 points in her career from 2012-16.
London's work from beyond the arc represented half of the Troubies' three-point makes in the win. Freshman Elise Vipond hit 4-for-5 long range toward her 15 points. Junior Audrey Bashore also sank a three early in the second period. In fact, London assisted three of the other treys in the game: one to Vipond late in the first period, another to Vipond to start the second, then the corner three by Bashore at 6:56 in the second frame. The Occidental commit finished with five assists, with Vipond earning four more.
Freshman Hassanah Ramsey-Gilbert notched team highs in rebounds (seven), blocks (two) and steals (three). She was one of three SF players with exactly four points, along with Natalie Dimen and Colleen Medina. Natalia Zitelli scored two transition buckets, including one as part of a three-point play, for five total points. Bashore finished with six.
The Troubadours never trailed in the contest. Medina blocked 6-foot Madeline Benedyuk, Vipond drew a charge and Ramsey-Gilbert had her first blocked shot during the first three minutes of the game, during which London and Vipond buried their first threes to highlight to a 8-2 start. Zitelli's fast break and one extended the lead to 12-4, then Vipond's second trey gave SF its first double-digit lead of 17-4.
Three more bombs from Vipond, Bashore and London stretched the advantage to 26-10 by the 6:20 mark in the second. Hope Sperber had a defensive rebound against Granite Bay's towering front court, initiating a fast break that saw London find Zitelli for the score with 2:01 left in the half. London followed soon after by rattling home a three-pointer with 0:24 on the clock, bumping the Troubie lead to 19.
Benedyuk finished the second period with two of her 16 first-half points, as St. Francis carried a 39-22 lead into the break. Benedyuk went on to total a game-high 28.
St. Francis continued to roll after halftime, with London and Vipond taking turns hitting shots from the top of the key as part of a 15-2 finish to the third period. Ramsey-Gilbert drove the lane with 1:39 then later made the front end of a bonus trip to the line to give her team its largest margin of 25, or 54-29.
The Troubies maintained at least a 19-point lead throughout the fourth until sisters Alli Powell and Kati Powell teamed up for the last score with 13 ticks remaining in the game. Most of the SF points came at the free-throw line, although Medina and Bashore each hit field goals: Medina on a kickout from London along the right baseline, Bashore grabbing a weak-side rebound and putting it back up with 3:34 left.
The varsity win followed Granite Bay victories in the frosh-soph and junior varsity games. Sadie Favreau scored nine points including a three-pointer, Emily Nguyen added six points and Ella Renzo chipped in five points with two assists, but JV Red ultimately dropped a 33-24 final to the Grizzlies. It marks the highest scoring total for Red in SFL play this year, and most overall other than the 43-1 win over West Park back on December 4.
Renzo knocked down a pull-up shot in transition midway through the third to get the Troubies to within a single possession deficit of 17-14, but GB freshman Lily Wang responded by hitting a three-pointer and assisting Layla Castro on an 18-footer. The Grizzlies led by at least two scores for the remainder of the opener.
Like their younger JV Red sisters, JV Gold took an early lead and stayed within striking distance well into the third period before Granite Bay pulled away to a 49-33 win. Freshman Anna Maranto led the Troubies with 10 points, with Carley Glenn (7), Emmelyn Cheatham (6), Catherine Gustafson (6) and Lena Mundhenk (4) also scoring.
The three SF hoop squads split up for the rest of the week. JV Red heads into the foothills for a 4:30 p.m. road game at Nevada Union on Thursday. Meanwhile, JV Gold plays at Whitney, also with a 4:30 tip.
Varsity waits until Friday to open an SFL doubleheader with Jesuit, also on the road against the Wildcats. Coincidentally, it was at Whitney last season where Sydney Teoh scored her 1,000th career point – a milestone that London can eclipse if she matches her previous performance against the Wildcats.
