Lady Pintos win district basketball opener, face Hallsville in semifinals

California sophomore Ellie Wirts (center) is trapped by two Father Tolton defenders in Monday night's Class 3, District 8 quarterfinal at South Callaway. The Lady Pintos were victorious, 56-54.
California sophomore Ellie Wirts (center) is trapped by two Father Tolton defenders in Monday night's Class 3, District 8 quarterfinal at South Callaway. The Lady Pintos were victorious, 56-54.

Tournament basketball comes down to survival. You can throw style points out the window.

Although it wasn't pretty at times, the California girls basketball team kept its season alive. The Lady Pintos, seeded fourth, escaped with a 56-54 victory over No. 5 Father Tolton in Monday night's Class 3, District 8 quarterfinal.

"We had all sorts of adversity," said California head coach Bobby Sangster. "But we did just enough to win and that's all that matters. We knew this was going to be a tough one."

Now, things get interesting.

The Lady Pintos face No. 1-seed Hallsville at 6 p.m. today in the semifinal round at South Callaway. The winner earns a berth in the championship final at 7 p.m. Friday.

"I think our girls see the light at the end of the tunnel," Sangster said. "We're very excited to be playing Hallsville."

California will have payback on its mind. Hallsville beat the Lady Pintos in overtime, 51-50, in a Tri-County Conference game Jan. 19.

"We wanted to beat them in the regular season, but since we didn't, it adds more fuel to the fire," said California freshman guard Elizabeth Lutz, who finished with 25 points against Tolton. "We want to get revenge."

In Monday's opener, the Lady Pintos got revenge on Tolton after losing to the Lady Trailblazers earlier this season.

California opened a 30-26 halftime lead and pushed the advantage to 43-38 after sophomore Ellie Wirts hit two free throws late in the third quarter. Lutz then made a layup and 3-pointer to begin the fourth, giving the Lady Pintos a comfortable 48-38 edge.

Tolton never quit battling, however, scoring the next seven points to get within three. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, leaving the Lady Trailblazers with a 54-51 deficit with 36 seconds left. After Lutz hit two free throws, Tolton answered with a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left. California ran the clock out on the ensuing inbound play.

"The most important thing is to advance," Lutz said. "It springs us forward into our next game, even though the competition is going to get harder."

Sophomore Kayla Allison had a strong effort for the Lady Pintos, finishing with 16 points. California improved its record to 14-10.