Basketball Advances to Nor Cal Finals

News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The St. Francis basketball team defeated Menlo-Atherton 74-51 Tuesday night and advanced to CIF Nor Cal Regional finals on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Castro Valley, a 63-59 winner over Oak Ridge.

“These girls have earned it with the effort they have put forth,” said Head Coach Vic Pitton. “We played our game and I knew we had an advantage with our team speed. We were able to utilize it especially in the first half.”

St. Francis (28-5) jumped out to a 28-9 lead in the first quarter with a balanced attack behind eight points by Tia Hay and six points each by Janae Fairbrook, Lauren Craig and Kyra Huffman. Fairbrook continued her hot shooting with two three-pointers in the first and three more in the second to total 15 points at the break. She finished with a team-high 20 points.

“We have encouraged Janae to shoot and increase her range in practice and it is paying dividends,” said Pitton. “All the hard work is paying off and she has become a prolific shooter.”

Senior Lauren Craig scored 16 points after battling illness all week.

“Lauren really showed a lot of heart just getting out there to compete,” said Pitton.

The Bears cut into the lead slightly in the third quarter with a 20-point period. Mele Kailiahi scored seven of her team-high 18 points in the quarter. But St. Francis closed out the win in the fourth behind Craig and Hay, who tallied eight and seven points in the second half.

“It is awesome and a really good feeling knowing we have worked this hard and put in a lot of effort,” said Hay, who finished 17 points with eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals. “Being able to get this big award is pretty cool.”

St. Francis will play for the Nor Cal Championship on Saturday and a berth in the Division I State Championship game.

“This is so exciting that my teammates and I have made it this far considering this is my senior year,” said Aliyah Williams. “We just have to play our game and do what we do best which is score in transition and share the ball.”

Vista Murrieta and Brea Olinda will meet in the Division I Southern California final at the Pyramid at Long Beach State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“It is amazing,” said sophomore guard Marlee Nicolos. “I am so happy and lucky to be part of this team. It is an amazing feeling.”

The Troubadours will play at Sleep Train at 2 p.m. against Castro Valley. St. Francis won its only Nor Cal Championship in Division III in 1993 before winning the state title.

“It is always nice to finish with a home win,” said Pitton. “We are very ecstatic to go back to Sleep Train, which we are calling our second home for our third appearance there. Hopefully we can take care of business and make our fourth appearance.”

St. Francis 74, Menlo-Atherton 51 1 2 3 4 F
Menlo-Atherton 9 9 20 13 51
St. Francis 28 15 16 15 74

SF – Fairbrook 20, Hay 17, Craig 16, Huffman 8, Koerwitz 4, Williams 3, Razo 2, Ortiz 2, Nicolos 2. MA – Kailahi 18, McLanahan 13, Hoyem 9, McLanahan 4, Sili 4, Baer 3.

Tickets/Admission Charges

NorCal Finals at Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento

General Admission – $16.00  

Children/Students (ASB card)/Seniors – $10.00

Parking:  $15.00 autos/$30.00 buses