California head coach Bobby Sangster expects growing pains from his girls basketball team, but he'll point out the positive aspects from each and every game.
Despite losing to Boonville 76-56 in Monday night's season-opener at California, Sangster applauded the effort he saw from his players in the second half. The Pintos, who fell behind 39-17, outscored the Pirates 39-37 in the final two quarters.
California, which got scoring from 10 different players, was led by freshman guard Elizabeth Lutz (13 points) and sophomore forward Cameron Meyer (10 points). Juniors Renee Roberts and Roz Martinson each scored eight.
"There are a lot of good things that come from playing so many girls," Sangster said. "We're going to have to be patient and get the younger girls experience. There are a lot of girls that need time and seasoning. When we get it all put together, we're going to be a lot of fun to watch."
The Pintos fell behind early and could never recover. Boonville outscored California 17-7 in the first quarter and 22-10 in the second. The Pintos were a little too aggressive in the opening half, committing 18 personal fouls, compared to Boonville's nine. The Pirates had eight different players score before halftime.
Like her coach, Lutz tried not to dwell on the negative aspects. The Pintos next play at the Mexico Tournament, which begins Monday, Dec. 1.
"It was new for all of us," Lutz said. "We'll use (the loss) for our benefit and it will motivate us for upcoming games. We're having to adjust a lot. It's really a whole new team from last year."
Tipton 64, Southern Boone 55
The Lady Cardinals got a big game from senior forward Ashton Pace, who finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds, to win their season-opener Monday at Southern Boone. Tipton senior Paige Baker added 10 points and eight rebounds, senior Angela Petree scored 10 and junior Destiny Dowell contributed 10 points and four assists.
"It was a back-and-forth game pretty much the whole way," Cardinals head coach Jason Culpepper said. "We got the lead by 10 in the fourth quarter and held on from there. Very good basketball game on both sides."
Stoutland 73, Russellville 38
Sophomore forward Addie Kirchner led Russellville with 12 points as the Lady Indians dropped their opening game Monday night at Stoutland.