DAVIS, Calif. – Sophomore Morgan Kaeser hit the game-winning basket to cap off a furious comeback in the final three minutes as St. Francis defeated Davis 56-54 Thursday night.

“It is huge,” said Kaeser of the win. “It is probably one of our biggest competitions and is especially great before Holy Hoops.”

St. Francis (10-2) trailed 51-40 as the clock went under three minutes remaining in the game. But freshmen Nika Bagatelos keyed the rally for the Troubadours, hitting three consecutive three-pointers and Kaeser added a basket.

“I just had to keep shooting because I was not making any of my shots,” said Bagatelos. “As a team we were getting the ball up and down the court and scoring.”

The Troubadours 11-0 run tied the game before the Blue Devils woke up for a minute with a three-pointer by Cristina Olivia, who finished with 15 points.

St. Francis, trailing 54-53, got the go-ahead basket from Kaeser and held off two Davis possessions in the final seconds.

“It was a great confidence boost,” said Kaeser, who finished with six points all in the final quarter. “I had four fouls at that point, three in the first quarter. I did not play that much so I wanted to redeem myself.”

St. Francis trailed big early, falling behind 18-6 after the first eight minutes.

“We just weren’t playing good defense,” said Bagatelos. “We were allowing a lot of layups and fouling. It hurt us in the first quarter but we picked it up in the second half.”

But, the Troubies rallied in the second by holding Davis to three points to enter halftime tied at 21. Davis took control of the game in the third and looked poised to claim the victory.

“”I told them it was go time,” said Head Coach Gary Ender. “The clock was not our friend. We have to value possessions and defensively we had to get after it. We needed to find a way to win the 50-50 balls and we did.”

Bagatelos finished with a team-best 15 points. Lauren Pank added nine points and Megan Austin had eight. Nicole Frank led the team with eight rebounds.

“She certainly can heat it up; she has done it before,” said Ender about Bagatelos. “It was a great time for her. And it was a really great contribution from Morgan off the bench. As a whole unit, they had the most energy was had on the floor all night. The energy is contagious. I have some tied girls but I am very proud of them.”

St. Francis plays at Christian Brothers on Saturday in the annual Holy Hoops matchup at 4:00 p.m.

SF – Bagatelos 15, Pank 10, Austin 9, Kaeser 6, Keitges 6, Frank 4, Malaney 4.