The California girls basketball team learned another tough lesson Thursday night in a 60-51 loss to the visiting Plato Lady Eagles.
Despite outplaying the Lady Eagles most of the game, one bad quarter proved to be California's downfall. The Lady Pintos led 14-12 after the first quarter and 29-24 at halftime, but were outscored 23-8 in the third quarter and could not recover.
"In the first half, they didn't make shots," California head coach Bobby Sangster said. "In the third quarter, their shots began to fall. It's hard to stop a perfect offense."
California tried to make a run in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 51-46 on sophomore Cameron Meyer's layup with 3:48 left, but Plato freshman Janet Garrett answered with a 3-pointer to help the Lady Eagles pull away.
"We got close, but then a freshman hits a gutsy 3-pointer from the corner," Sangster said. "They were executing and finishing."
It was the second tough loss in a row for the Lady Pintos (2-4), who dropped a 70-69 overtime decision at Tipton on Monday, Dec. 8. California is next scheduled to play Saturday at the National Guard Shootout in Jefferson City.
"We didn't go into practice (after the Tipton loss) hanging our heads about it," California freshman guard Elizabeth Lutz said Thursday night. "I don't think that game affected this game at all. We just couldn't get into a rhythm. We went through a cold run in the third quarter and it was hard to score."
With a majority of their schedule still to be played, none of the Lady Pintos are giving up.
"It's still early in the season," senior forward Kelsey Roush said. "Some people think we're going downhill, but we have faith in our team. We still have work to do."
Against Plato, Lutz finished with a team-high 11 points, while Roush and sophomore guard Kayla Allison each scored nine.