Basketball Upsets James Logan, Advances in State Tournament

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UNION CITY, Calif. – Senior Julia Razo had a game-high 24 points to lead the No. 11 seed St. Francis to an 81-52 upset over No. 6 James Logan in the first round of the CIF Division I NorCal Championships Wednesday night. St. Francis (22-8) is the defending CIF Division I champions.

“We showed a lot of heart,” said Head Coach Vic Pitton. “We went in with the right attitude. We have been on the road before. I was impressed but it did not surprise me.”

Razo scored 10 of her 24 in the second quarter when the Troubadours took a double-digit lead (17) in the halftime. St. Francis added to its lead in each successive quarter

“Julia has been great especially the second half of the season,” said Pitton. “Whoever we play, she goes to hole, hits mid-range and threes. She has the repertoire right now and is in control.”

St. Francis took the early lead in the first quarter as five players scored to take a 16-11 lead. The Troubadours broke it open in the second, scoring a game-high 24 points as Razo and Fairbrook each added 10 points.

“Julia and Janae were absolutely amazing today,” said junior Marlee Nicolos. “They made incredible shots, drove to the basket and made great passes.

Nicolos took over in the second half, scoring 12 of her 16 points. St. Francis also got big contributions from Logan Kelly, who scored a basket in each quarter. Sophomore Nika Bagatelos added nine points and sophomore Megan Austin chipped in five.

“There were two keys,” said Head Coach Vic Pitton. “We matched their physicality. They were a very physical team. We were able to hold our own on the boards. The other key was we had to attack that rim and we were able to that and draw fouls.”

St. Francis advances to the quarterfinals and second consecutive road game at No. 3 seed Heritage, a 74-29 winner over Oakland Tech.

 “We knew it was going to be a real physical match,” said Nicolos. “We knew we did not want to be done and the second chance (at the season in NorCals) was something we needed to take advantage of and tonight we did that.”

Tipoff on Saturday is scheduled for 6 p.m.

St. Francis 81, James Logan 52 1 2 3 4 F
St. Francis 16 24 21 20 81
James Logan 10 13 18 11 52

SF – Razo 24, Fairbrook 17, Nicolos 16, Kelly 10, Bagatelos 9, Austin 5. JL – Jeuitt 14, Masulit 13, Williams 8, DeLeon 7, Faurita 6, Lum 2, Agustin 1, Tamondong 1.