DUBLIN, Calif. – Freshman Elise Vipond poured in 26 points to finish one shy of her career high but St. Francis struggled at the free-throw line after the halftime break to see a 10-point lead wither to a 61-59 overtime loss to Heritage in the first round of the West Coast Jamboree girls' basketball tournament at Dublin High Saturday.

The Troubadours snap their win streak to three games, slipping to 5-4 for the year. The Patriots improve to 6-3 overall.

Vipond shot 8-for-16 from the floor including a pair of three-pointers while hitting 8 of 10 from the line. However, St. Francis went from shooting 5-for-7 at the stripe in the first half to 6-for-16 in the second. Senior Lexi London added 18 points with a pair of treys of her own, while freshman Hassanah Ramsey-Gilbert had eight points and seven rebounds to go with three blocks and six steals on the defensive end.

Overall, St. Francis posted 21 steals, with Natalia Zitelli matching Ramsey-Gilbert in that category. Vipond had another four nabs, senior Colleen Medina posted three, and sophomore Keanna Daneshvar added two steals plus a block in her 14-plus minutes on the floor.

Saturday's game featured six total ties, including the 55-55 impasse at the end of regulation, with seven lead changes. The Troubies recovered from an initial 6-2 hole to take an 11-8 lead when London drained a three-pointer with 2:17 remaining in the first. They held a 15-12 edge after eight minutes and stretched that lead to 17-12 when a Zitelli steal set up a Vipond transition score early in the second frame.

Heritage freshman Ogechi Nwosu got her team back to a 17-17 tie with a three-pointer and a fast break within a span of 30 seconds, only for Ramsey-Gilbert to keep SF in front with a second-chance bucket at the 4:15 mark. This ignited an 8-0 overall run, culminating with London's bomb with 1:25 left before halftime, resulting in the Troubies' taking their first double-digit lead of 27-17.

Vipond nailed her first three-pointer a few steps back from the top of the key with nine ticks left in the second, extending the SF lead to 32-22, but sophomore guard Gabi Marte answered with a 27-footer at the halftime buzzer. The Troubies held a 32-25 advantage going to the break.

St. Francis led for the entire third period, with Vipond turning a Medina pass into a three at 3:39, then converting a London assist at 3:12 to push her team up by a 39-31 margin. London later scored on a baseline drive to make it 41-33, then made a nifty reverse layup to boost the Troubies out to a 43-33 lead.

However, three different Patriots scored unanswered field goals to start the fourth, equalizing the contest at 44-44 – the first tie since the 17-17 midway through the second period. Heritage then regained the lead when Lily Wilright drew a foul at the left block and sank both free throws. Medina assisted Ramsey-Gilbert on the next trip down to re-knot the score at 46-46. Vipond later scored four straight points off two key SF blocks to regain the lead for the Troubies: first hitting 2 of 2 at the line after Daneshvar tipped a Patriot shot around the four-minute mark, then scoring on a fast break after Ramsey-Gilbert stuffed a shot in the paint. St. Francis held a 50-49 lead for less a minute, as Payton Ladrido scored with 2:55 to flip the lead for the fifth time in the game and the third occasion in the fourth period.

Heritage extended its lead to 53-50 when Jessie Cooper beat the shot block at the 2:07 mark. Cooper drew the and-one foul but missed the free throw, keeping the Troubies within a single possession. Unfortunately, SF failed to hit on two trips to the line during the next minute. It was not until Medina scored a putback, drew a foul in the process, then hit the bonus throw for a three-point play with exactly 1:00 on the block that the Troubies filled the hole to a 53-53 tie.

St. Francis caught an unusual break with about 30 seconds remaining in regulation after Ramsey-Gilbert blocked a shot and corralled the defensive rebound. With SF gaining possession with a full shot clock left, head coach Brittany Woodard attempted to call timeout. Neither official heard or saw her signal, and during the delay, Heritage committed a foul against London. The senior guard made both bonus free throws, giving the Troubies a 55-53 lead with just 27 seconds left in the fourth.

Marte tied the game for a sixth time with a runner at the :04 mark, setting the scoreboard to 55-55. At this point, St. Francis earned another break: Zitelli attempted to send an outlet pass to her offensive end, but overthrew her target. However, a Patriot player attempted to run down the would-be turnover. The ball ended up going out of bounds in the opposite corner, giving the Troubies the in-bound pass on their offensive side with two seconds left. Heritage stole the inbound pass to force overtime.

Nwosu scored on a putback at the 2:55 mark in overtime then nailed a turnaround jumper at 1:45 to propel the Patriots to a 61-55 lead. Zitelli had two steals that led directly to Troubie scores: a 2-for-2 trip to the charity stripe for Vipond with 1:01 to go, plus an interception and jump ball that gave way to London's bucket from the right elbow on the next possession. Vipond stole the ball with 41 ticks remaining and the overall defense forced a five-second violation shortly after, but neither play resulted in further SF points. When London's midrange shot missed in-and-out, Cooper grabbed the defensive rebound with seven seconds then cleared the ball to the opposite key to seal the win.

St. Francis compete in the tournament's Ruby division, with the Troubies moving to the consolation half of the draw against Branson. The tournament has an unusual Saturday-Monday-Tuesday format, presumably due to Christmas and New Years' Day falling on a Thursday in the 2025 calendar. The Bulls lost a 51-37 opener to St. Mary's of Berkeley, and now face the Troubadours at 10:30 a.m. on Monday.

All Ruby bracket games take place in Dublin's auxiliary gym. The remainder of the pool comprises Pleasant Valley, Warren, Chaminade and Alisal. This is the 24th running of the West Coast Jamboree. Complete tourney info is available at https://www.westcoastjamboree.org/