NATOMAS, Calif. – The St. Francis basketball team lost 94-58 to No. 1 nationally-ranked and No. 1 tournament seed St. Mary’s Saturday at Sleep Train Arena.

“We wanted to maintain our positivity and celebrate our successes,” said Head Coach Vic Pitton of his postgame message. “We wanted to encourage everything we didn’t do well so we can get better. It was a challenge to play such a fantastic team with super athletes that are extremely well coached as well. They are not the No. 1 team in the country for nothing.”

St. Mary’s had six players in double figures and forced 51 turnovers in the contest.

“Their pressure and depth – they have such talent 1 through 13 – that it is very hard to matchup,” said Pitton.

St. Francis (26-5) shot 69 percent in the first quarter, going 9-for-13 from the field to stay in the game early. The Rams led 25-21 after the end of the first eight minutes after St. Francis has led at one point 12-8.

Freshman Jackie Koerwitz led the team with a career-high 15 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the field with three rebounds.

“I just figured that one of my strengths is speed and I was able to use that a lot because they were really focused on putting pressure up top and we have girls that can throw the ball so I was able to exploit that weakness,” said Koerwitz. “My confidence just got better and better the more I could score and pass.”

She scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half, eclipsing her season-high in the first 16 minutes. She scored 10 points twice in games during her initial season.

“She looked like she was completely in her element out there and comfortable,” said Pitton. “Her ability, speed and athleticism matched up pretty well with St, Mary’s. She was able to have some success out there. It was a pleasure to watch.”

St. Francis trailed 53-34 at the half and the Rams extended the lead in the third, out-scoring the Troubadours 28-11. St. Francis shot 48 percent for the game.

“I thought we played very hard,” said Pitton. “We failed to execute a couple of things that could have kept the score closer. But the effort, energy and attitude that we displayed that I feel real good about. Everyone is in a good state of mind so we can move forward and accomplish some of our goals.”

Lauren Craig had 12 points and 11 rebounds to record her 12th consecutive double-double and 27th on the season. Senior Tia Hay scored 13 points and Kyra Huffman added eight.

“Coach Vic’s message was to stay positive and keep pumping each up,” said Craig.

The 35th annual CIF State Basketball Championships begin Wednesday, March 9 with the First Round of the Regionals and concludes with the Championship Finals being held Thursday, March 24 at Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento.

The Nor Cal Regional bracket will be announced on Sunday.

SM – Murray 11, Tudor 14, Smith 13, Cayton 5, DeCosta 12, Fadal 2, Young 12, Johnson 11, Johnson 8, Potter 6. SF – Koerwitz 15, Hay 13, Craig 12, Huffman 8, Fairbrook 5, Nicolos 3, Razo 2.