SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Lauren Craig scored her 1000th career point in the first half but her back-to-back baskets in the fourth quarter sealed a 44-40 victory over Pleasant Grove Friday night.

“This is probably one of the biggest games of the year,” said Craig. “The fact we won proved we are really coming together as a team.”

Craig finished with a team-best 13 points, while junior Julia Razo added 12 and senior Kyra Huffman scored 10. The Troubie trio combined for all 15 fourth-quarter points as St. Francis improved to 17-4 with a perfect 8-0 record in the Delta League.

“I am extremely proud of the team,” said Head Coach Vic Pitton. “It was an ugly win but what really won us the game was our defense. Finally we got the message about what we needed to do. Overall our defense was really solid and on a night when our offense was not clicking the defense came through for us.”

Pleasant Grove senor Brittney Nguyen scored 34 points against the Troubadours in the first meeting but was held to just 15 points and one three pointer on Friday.

“We wanted to make sure every shot she took was contested,” said Pitton. “(Sophomore) Kelly Kraeger and (freshman) Megan Austin did a great job of making her work for every shot. We showed better on the screens and had good help. The defense worked as a unit as well as we have played this year.”

Nicole Nickerson added 13 points for the Eagles, who dropped to 13-8, 5-3 in league play.

“The key was staying composed and making good passes,” said Craig, who added 16 rebounds to record her 17th double-double of the season. ‘We played good defense andmade  good plays.”

St. Francis led 29-24 heading into the fourth quarter but needed every basket down the stretch. The Troubadours built their lead to 40-32 with 2:30 left but the Eagles would not go away without a fight.

Craig finished the game with 1,005 career points and 974 rebounds.

“It feels amazing and I can’t believe it,” said Craig. “But I could not have done it without the help of my teammates so I am really happy. I am going to continue playing my game and hope everything turns out well in the end.

Head Coach Vic Pitton said Craig is the first St. Francis player to score 1000 points in his time with the school dating to 1997.

“We want to have the best record we can going into the playoffs,” said Huffman. “It is very exciting to be 8-0 in league.”

St. Francis plays three league games next week starting with a home contest against Davis on Monday at 7 p.m. It will be the annual Pink Night in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. The Freshmen team will play Davis at 4 p.m. followed by the junior varsity at 5:30 p.m.

SF – Craig 13, Razo 12, Huffman 10, Ortiz 4, Fairbrook 3, Kraeger 2. PG – Brit. Nguyen 15, Nickerson 13, Bri. Nguyen 5, Gotski 3, Avila 2, James 2.