Lady Pintos lose senior Koetting to knee injury

Kamryn Koetting
Kamryn Koetting

California senior Kamryn Koetting suffered a season-ending right knee injury in the Feb. 2 victory over Spokane, according to girls basketball head coach Bobby Sangster.

Koetting had a left knee injury last spring, but returned for her final high school basketball season. She was a starting guard and team captain.

"It doesn't get any worse," Sangster said. "It's very sad because Kamryn gave so much to our program. This game is in her blood, her heart. Knowing that she will not be a Lady Pinto anymore, I'm not ready for that. It hurts all of us."

Playing their first game without Koetting, the Lady Pintos lost a high-scoring affair to Eldon, 104-87, in a Tri-County Conference matchup Thursday night. Eldon senior Sarah Rhine, who's going to play college basketball at Drake, finished with 51 points. Freshman Elizabeth Lutz led California with 35 points.

"To lose Kamryn, I didn't know how we would respond," Sangster said. "We responded in a positive way. I'm very happy."

Despite California and Eldon combining for 191 points, Sangster was pleased with the defensive effort. The Lady Pintos fell to 11-9 overall and 2-2 in the conference after the loss.

"We were actually playing solid defense throughout a majority of the game," he said. "The pace was extremely good, the shot selection was extremely good and people finished. Eldon wasn't trying to run the score up; it was a nine-point game with 2 minutes left. This was a battle all the way through.

"Somebody told me it was the sixth highest scoring girls basketball game in state history. I have not confirmed that."

With the regular season winding down, the Lady Pintos must prepare for districts. California, the No. 4 seed, will face No. 5 Tolton Catholic in the district opener at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at South Callaway.

"I don't know where the season went," Sangster said. "Districts are still there and that's something we're all playing for and it's attainable."

The Lady Pintos had only one game scheduled this week. They beat conference foe Versailles, 90-31, on Monday night. Lutz had 24 points, while junior Katie Imhoff and sophomore Cassie Dearixon each scored 10.