Basketball Sweeps Holy Hoops

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The St. Francis basketball program swept all three games with Christian Brothers in front of a sold out crowd Saturday highlighted by the varsity’s 57-51 win in the featured game.

“CB is definitely a really good team,” said captain Marlee Nicolos. “Props to them, we had the bigger will today and it was a game we really wanted to win. It is the most exciting game and is always a big event. Our friends are here and we wanted to show everyone what we are made of tonight.”

Nicolos finished with a team-best 16 points, scoring nine in the first half as the team got settled in the exciting atmosphere.

“It is so fun,” said Nicolos about playing in front of the huge crowd. “The sisterhood at St. Francis is something that is very unique to our school. It is so amazing to part of to see all of our friends in the stands. It is an amazing.”

Christian Brothers led at the half after a late run to erase the early Troubadour advantage, taking a 30-26 lead in the locker room. But St. Francis opened the second half with an 18-4 run to take control of the game.

Junior Nika Bagatelos had just three points in the first half, but she hit three consecutive triples in the third to spark the big run and added a fourth in the final quarter to finish with 15 points.

“Nika Bagatelos is clutch,” said Nicolos. “It is her threes that really set her apart. But she has been working on her game a lot in practice and not only can she hit the threes but she can drive, driving to the hoop and spinning and laying the ball in. It is one of her biggest assets. She is coming along amazing as a player and peaking. She is getting better day by day at the right time.”

St. Francis kept a double-digit lead into the fourth but had to withstand a Falcon rally.

“It feels really great to come in their house and take care of business,” said Bagatelos. “I just had to focus in the second half and keep shooting. The environment was fun with everyone screaming.”

CB cut the deficit to four but St. Francis came up with a key stop and freshman Saniyiah Williams was fouled. She stepped up to the line and knocked down both attempts from the charity stripe.

“I just focused on what we were practicing on at practice,” said Williams, who finished with nine points. “We work on free throws at least twice every practice. I just took them like I do at practice.”

St. Francis plays their third game in four nights with a road contest at Davis in an important Delta League matchup. The Troubadours are 7-0 in league play after a 56-34 win over Pleasant Grove on Friday night.

“We have to play the same way we did today and use that energy to win on Monday,” said Bagatelos.

St. Francis 57, Christian Brothers 51

St. Francis 16 10 18 13 – 57

Christian Brothers 12 18 6 15 – 51

SF – Nicolos 16, Bagatelos 15, Williams 9, Kelly 6, Fleming-Mullins 4, Lopez 3, Pank 2, Gage 2. CB – Juniel 22, Brown 13, Prichard 8, Shine 7, Miller 1.

St. Francis 56, Pleasant Grove 34

Pleasant Grove 10 3 13 8 – 34

St. Francis 14 21 13 8 – 56

SF – Nicolos 20, Williams 10, Kelly 9, Pank 7, Bagatelos 6, McDaniel 2, Gage 2. PG – Nunnelly 10, J. James 8, E. James 8, Asuncion 6, Yamashiro 1, Asuncion 1.