Lady Pintos' comeback bid falls short in 62-56 loss to Fulton

Lady Pintos sophomore Cassie Dearixon runs past two Fulton defenders and goes in for a layup Monday at the California Basketball Tournament. The visiting Lady Hornets won, 62-56, advancing to the semifinals against Boonville at 6:30 p.m. today.
Lady Pintos sophomore Cassie Dearixon runs past two Fulton defenders and goes in for a layup Monday at the California Basketball Tournament. The visiting Lady Hornets won, 62-56, advancing to the semifinals against Boonville at 6:30 p.m. today.

Trailing by 20 points to begin the fourth quarter, the California girls basketball team ramped up its defensive pressure and made shots on the offensive end.

Despite their valiant effort down the stretch, however, the Lady Pintos came up short Monday in a 62-56 loss to Fulton in the opening round of the 21st annual California Basketball Tournament.

"We never gave up and showed heart," said California freshman Elizabeth Lutz, who scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. "We expected to go on a run, but once you get in such a big hole, it's hard to dig out."

California, the tournament's No. 5 seed, allowed No. 4 Fulton to build a 35-20 halftime lead, which the Lady Hornets extended to 49-29 in the third quarter. The Lady Pintos outscored Fulton 27-13 in the fourth, but it wasn't enough.

"If we would have distributed that effort throughout the entire game, we would have been okay," California head coach Bobby Sangster said. "I'm really happy with our effort in the fourth quarter."

The Lady Pintos began the final period with an 8-0 run to get within 49-37. Fulton scored the next seven points, but California answered with an 11-0 spurt to make it 56-48 with 2 minutes left. Lutz hit a pair of 3-pointers during the rally.

After a Lady Hornets basket, Lutz nailed another triple to cut the deficit to 58-51. California got within 61-56 on senior Kamryn Koetting's 3-pointer, but there was only 5 seconds left.

Lutz finished with 21 points, while Koetting had 11 and senior Kelsey Roush scored nine. Fulton was led by Sloane Totta, who scored 22 of her game-high 29 points in the first half.

"Everybody is disappointed, but we have to stay positive and learn from it," Sangster said. "It's part of a process, part of learning. It's not the end of the world."

With the loss, California had its five-game winning streak snapped. The Lady Pintos (7-5) enter the consolation bracket and won't play again until 6 p.m. Friday. They'll face either No. 6 Marshall or No. 7 Southern Boone.

"It's a bummer not playing until Friday, but there's nothing we can do about it," Lutz said. "It just gives us more time to prepare for our next opponent."

Fulton (8-2) advanced to face top-seed Boonville in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. today, which will be followed by No. 2 Jefferson City vs. No. 3 Battle at 8 p.m.

California entered the tournament with five straight wins, including a 53-37 victory over Southern Boone on Friday, Jan. 9, in a Tri-County Conference matchup. Roush had 16 points and Lutz scored 15 for the Lady Pintos, who improved to 2-0 in the conference.