FOLSOM, Calif. – St. Francis held off Folsom in the fourth quarter with a strong performance at the line to post a 52-44 victory in the regular season finale Tuesday night. The Troubadours finished third in the Delta River League with a 6-4 mark, earning a playoff berth with pairings announced Wednesday.

“We had taken three tough losses so it was nice to take a win to change the momentum back in our favor,” said Head Coach Vic Pitton.

The Troubadours improved to 16-11 overall, snapping a three-game losing streak before the playoffs.

Junior guard Danika Bailey scored nine points, including four straight free throws in the fourth quarter to help the winning effort. Gillian Balbierz scored nine points in a game in her hometown. Junior Susie Rogers led the team with 10 points.

“I thought Danika played the best game of her career,” said Pitton. “She brought effectiveness and a high degree of energy that really helped our team get going. For some reason we were flat at the beginning of the game but she wasn’t.”

Both teams got off to a slow start after an extended pregame for Senior Night activities for the Folsom seniors. The first quarter ended with the Bulldogs leading 6-4. The pace of the game quickened in the second quarter as the Troubadours took a 20-16 lead at the break.

Balbierz hit a pair of first half three-pointers to help St. Francis garner the lead.

“It felt really good because I am from Folsom and know several of the players on the Folsom team,” said Balbierz. “It was good to play well against them.”

Both teams shared the lead over the course of the first two quarters and the Troubadours led by 32-30 after 24 minutes.

“Gillian played an outstanding game as well,” said Pitton. “Danika and Gillian really sparked us tonight both offensively, defensively and with their energy.”

St. Francis pulled away in the fourth quarter behind their defensive full-court pressure.

“Our rotations got much better and we are finally really starting to understand how we rotate in this press,” said Pitton. “The best example is when we got a shot clock violation. That was sweet.”

St. Francis went 11-for-14 at the line in the fourth quarter, including the four by Bailey. Balbierz, Abby Dow, Amanda Davenport and Angie Ortiz each made free throw attempts in the quarter.

“I felt like I got out of my funk and just went out and tried to help my team,” said Bailey. “I felt good. I got tired of losing. I don’t like to lose so it felt good to win tonight.”

St. Francis will await its first round opponent to be announced Wednesday.

SF – Rogers 10, Balbierz 9, Bailey 9, Craig 7, Ortiz 6, Dow 5, Davenport 4, Huffman 2. F – Miller 13, Harris 8, Dacosta 8, M. Totushek 7, Smith 6, M. Totushek 2.