SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior wing Laila Mendoza hit 3 of 4 three-pointers en route to a team-high 16 points while sophomore post Tayli Paeu-Lindgren netted another 13 points with 19 rebounds, but St. Francis could not recover from a 36-12 halftime deficit in a 68-48 loss to Oak Ridge in Sierra Foothill League girls' basketball action Friday.

The Troubadours even their overall season record at 9-9 and slip to 3-2 in league play. The Trojans improve to 13-6 for the year and remain undefeated in SFL games at 5-0.

Mendoza poured in 11 of her 16 points in the third period, hitting treys on the opening possession and at the 4:40 mark in the frame. Her third long-range make came in the final two minutes of the fourth, cutting the SF deficit to its smallest of the second half at 62-48.

Senior Sydney Teoh and junior Lexi London added point totals of 11 and 8, respectively, to account for the remainder of the Troubie scoring in the contest. 

St. Francis missed on each of its first four shots as Oak Ridge ran out to a 6-0 lead for the first four minutes. London put the Troubies on the board with 3:09 left in the first, then hit the second shot on a trip to the free-throw line for the entirety of her team's points as the Trojans held a 13-3 lead after eight minutes. The ORHS lead grew to 20 when Ella Cottrell's putback made it 31-11 with 1:46 before the break, closing out a 10-2 run. Cottrell finished the second with a left-side drive with just 10 ticks before the break, bringing the score to 36-12.

Mendoza's output helped the Troubies outscore their guests by a 21-16 margin in the third. Teoh assisted Mendoza's opening bomb before shooting 4-for-4 from the line in that period, then she scored a three-pointer and a right-side runner in the fourth, but the Trojans maintained a hefty lead throughout the second half.

 

Paeu-Lindgren's 19 rebounds raised her season total to 231, putting her in easy striking range of the school's top-5 list. Lauren Craig holds the top two seasons with 343 (2014-15) and 332 (2013-14), Marlee Nicolos ranks third at 244 (2017-18), with Mia Fleming-Mullins (2018-19) and Najah Queenland (2012-13) sharing fourth with 234. The school record book dates back to 2004-05, the program's first season on MaxPreps.

Friday's contest was part of a dual-site doubleheader, with Jesuit hosting Oak Ridge at its own gym at 7 p.m.  
St. Francis varsity and junior varsity return to action on Saturday in the annual "Holy Hoops" rivalry game with Christian Brothers. The JV game tips off at 4 p.m. with varsity following at 6 p.m. at Limeberger Gymnasium.