Posted: Nov 24, 2025
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Freshman guard Elise Vipond made her high school debut with 18 points, three three-pointers and six steals while senior Lexi London added 14 points, but St. Francis shot just 19 percent from the floor in falling to Ponderosa, 38-34, in the varsity nightcap of a season-opening prep girls' basketball doubleheader Monday night.
Natalia Zitelli played all 32 minutes while producing seven rebounds and three steals as the only other Troubadour player besides London with previous varsity experience. Post Hassanah Ramsey-Gilbert grabbed eight boards with three steals, while scoring the remaining SF bucket. Sophomore Keanna Daneshvar and freshies Hope Sperber and Natalie Dimen also made varsity debuts, with Sperber even getting a starting nod.
London hit just three field goals in the contest but made 8 of 12 from the line. In fact, she figured in the Troubies first seven points: 3-for-4 from the free throw line in the first two minutes, an assist to Ramsey-Gilbert at 5:08 in the first, then a steal and fast break at the 3:52 mark. St. Francis held a 9-6 lead through the opening frame, with Zitelli's steal leading to a Vipond transition bucket on the other end with 1:22 left.
Pondo took its first lead with 3:13 left in the second, oddly in the wake of one of Ramsey-Gilbert's two blocked shots. The offensive rebound found its way to junior Avery Cotenas, who buried a third-chance jumper to boost the Bruins up to an 11-10 advantage. Vipond regained the lead with a drive at the 48-second mark, then knocked a three-pointer at the top of the key with 19 ticks remaining to boost SF up by a 15-13 margin, but fellow freshman Lily Thomas hit her own trey to answer with four seconds left in the half.
Natalia Zitelli played all 32 minutes while producing seven rebounds and three steals as the only other Troubadour player besides London with previous varsity experience. Post Hassanah Ramsey-Gilbert grabbed eight boards with three steals, while scoring the remaining SF bucket. Sophomore Keanna Daneshvar and freshies Hope Sperber and Natalie Dimen also made varsity debuts, with Sperber even getting a starting nod.
London hit just three field goals in the contest but made 8 of 12 from the line. In fact, she figured in the Troubies first seven points: 3-for-4 from the free throw line in the first two minutes, an assist to Ramsey-Gilbert at 5:08 in the first, then a steal and fast break at the 3:52 mark. St. Francis held a 9-6 lead through the opening frame, with Zitelli's steal leading to a Vipond transition bucket on the other end with 1:22 left.
Pondo took its first lead with 3:13 left in the second, oddly in the wake of one of Ramsey-Gilbert's two blocked shots. The offensive rebound found its way to junior Avery Cotenas, who buried a third-chance jumper to boost the Bruins up to an 11-10 advantage. Vipond regained the lead with a drive at the 48-second mark, then knocked a three-pointer at the top of the key with 19 ticks remaining to boost SF up by a 15-13 margin, but fellow freshman Lily Thomas hit her own trey to answer with four seconds left in the half.
Pondo maintained its lead for most of the third period, but St. Francis' defense kept the deficit close. Shortly after AB Reding scored to stretch the Bruin lead to six at 25-19, London made back-to-back in the lane to trim the margin to a single possession at 25-23. A Thomas transition later put Ponderosa up by five at 28-23 before London struck again: she made both free throws after getting fouled down low, then assisted Vipond for a three-pointer on the right side with just four seconds left in the third. The two teams entered the fourth, tied up at 28-all.
Vipond regained the lead to start the fourth, this time by turning a Sperber pass into another three with 6:18 left. The Troubies stayed on top for the next few minutes, but not without London fouling out with 5:20 remaining in the game. Eventually, Reding's baby hook at the right block pushed the Bruins back on top, 33-32.
The defensive battle continued down the final stretch, with neither team managing another field goal. Vipond sank a pair of bonus free throws with 48 seconds left, while Pondo collectively made 5 of 12 from the stripe to protect its lead. Zitelli stole the ensuing inbound pass after Vipond's efforts at the line, but St. Francis failed to convert. In the end, Bruin sophomore Emma Maxwell hit the front end of a pair of bonus free throws with 13 seconds left, making it a two-possession game at 38-34. Maxwell then stole the ball away in the final Troubie possession to seal the victory.
St. Francis finished with 18 steals and four blocks, with its defense resulting in other Pondo miscues that do not show up on its side of the boxscore: multiple errant passes and five-second violations, even a closely guarded violation when Sperber smothered Emma Judi along the right baseline.
The varsity setback followed a 41-26 Troubadour win in the junior varsity opener that also featured a strong debut: freshman Anna Maranto drained a pair of three-pointers en route to 10 points, while junior Audrey Bashore posted a team-leading 17 points with seven steals and eight rebounds.
The JV Gold squad even surpassed its older varsity sisters with 22 steals. In addition to Bashore's seven and Morante's five, four Troubies had multiple takeaways: Catherine Gustafson, Carley Glenn, Saihej Sekhon and Lena Mundhenk.
Both Gold and varsity return to action in less than 24 hours with a home doubleheader against Lincoln of Stockton on Tuesday night. Game times are 5:30 and 7 p.m., respectively.
