ORINDA, Calif. – Sophomore Jackie Koerwitz sent the game to overtime and sophomore Nika Bagatelos hit two threes in the extra period to propel St. Francis to a 69-66 win over Arcata in their opening game of the Diamond bracket of the West Coast Jamboree.

“We were planning on Julia making the shot but I just got (the rebound) and was able to put it in to tie it up,” said Koerwtiz.

Koerwitz, who finished with a career-high 20 points, capped her big night with a buzzer-beating put back to give the Troubadours a chance in overtime to cap the comeback effort. 

“Jackie was all over the court today,” said Head Coach Vic Pitton. “It was justice that the ball ended up in her hands on the rebound. Julia took a good shot. It looked good but hit the back rim but Jackie was there and put it in to salvage the game and give us a chance in overtime.”

Bagatelos continued in overtime what she had been doing all game – hitting three-pointers. She gave St. Francis their first lead of the game with a triple to start the four-minute overtime and added a second to extend the Troubadours lead.

“Nika was on fire,” said Pitton. “She has such a great three-point stroke. She not only has a great arch and consistency but she has really worked on the quickness of her release. She is able to get the ball off quickly and on target. We certainly needed it today because our other outside shooters were not on.”

Bagatelos hit seven three-pointers in the game and finished with a career-best 23 points.

“When the first one went I just felt it and I kept shooting,” said Bagatelos. “It feels good to get the win and we get to play like that again tomorrow.”

She hit four second half triples, adding two in overtime, to help St. Francis rebound from a big deficit in the second half.

“We were in man and changed into our zone and we started picking up momentum,” said Bagatelos. “We fell behind again. But we kept the momentum on defense and our offense started to come.”

St. Francis trailed 23-7 in the first quarter before rallying to pull within one at halftime. Marlie Nicolos, who finished with 11 points, scored three baskets in the second quarter and Koerwitz added three of her nine hoops.

“They had to get through the funk and the residual effect of Arizona with all the sickness and injury,” said Pitton. “It was utilizing Marlie in the post. It will be one of our options going forward because she is a great post-up option.”

After the big run to get back in the game, Arcata scored 21 points in the third to lead 45-38 heading into the final period.

“It started with our defense,” said Koerwitz. “We had to have intensity and energy all the time. It led to our offense scoring easy buckets. We did not do as a great in Arizona so it was great to get this win to start us off.”

Megan Austin had two steals late in overtime and converted key late free throws that kept Arcata from an overtime comeback.

St. Francis played Miramonte on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

SF – Bagatelos 23, Koerwitz 20, Nicolos 11, Razo 11, Austin 2, Kelly 2.