Heading into Monday night's home game against Versailles, the California Lady Pintos had lost four straight games since upsetting then-No. 1 in Class 4 Carl Junction in the Eldon Tournament semifinals Jan. 29.
The Lady Pintos lost to Skyline, Helias and twice to Eldon during the streak, but they got back above .500 with a 70-28 win against the Lady Tigers.
"It's been a rough stretch for us, but we've been playing some pretty good competition," California coach Bobby Sangster said. "I think tonight that kind of paid off. This is a Versailles team that has played with some teams, put up some good numbers and has done some things this year. For us to come out here and execute in this way, I'm very proud of the girls."
It was all about defense for California as it forced 29 turnovers in the win.
On the first possession of the game, Emma Bailey of California grabbed a loose ball that turned into two free throws for Elizabeth Lutz at the other end.
It was the start of a 25-point night for Lutz, who led all scorers.
Versailles did manage to keep it close for much of the first quarter, only trailing 13-10 at the 2:42 mark after a free throw from Duanna Frerking, but nine straight points for California got the Lady Pintos rolling and they never stopped.
A 3-pointer for Rozalyn Martensen put California up 20-10 to start the second quarter and Lutz added a 3 from the wing at the 6:06 mark to extend the lead to 27-12.
About a minute later, an Ashtyn Goans steal led to a pair of Bailey free throws to make it 31-12. Bailey later got a layup off a steal with 1:33 remaining in the first half to make it 40-15. California ended the half leading 44-16.
Bailey had all six of her points in the first half.
Kayla Allison got going early in the second half, getting a steal and layup about a minute in and adding another layup at the 6:13 mark to make California's lead 50-16. Allison tied for second on the team with Cameron Meyer with 11 points.
To finish the third quarter, Allison got a steal that led to a Katie Imhoff layup to put California up 61-26. There was a running clock for the entire fourth quarter.
"We really focused on it in practice and when we really draw in and focus on something, these girls execute very, very well," Sangster said of the defense.
Seven of California's nine fourth-quarter points came in the first 1:30 of the period. Lutz drained a 3 from the top of the key to make it 68-26 with 6:30 remaining.
Ellie Wirts finished off California's scoring with a layup off another Allison steal at the 3:18 mark.
Early on, California's pressure was hurting itself with fouls as Versailles got into the bonus with 2:42 remaining in the first quarter.
However, California only had one foul the rest of the first half and the Lady Tigers didn't get into the bonus in the second half until the 1:11 mark of the fourth quarter.
"The girls did a great job at playing through it," Sangster said. "All the girls made the adjustment that they needed to and we continued to attack."
Maddy Hibdon scored the first basket for Versailles with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter and ended up finishing with 11 to lead the Lady Tigers.
California (11-10) will head on the road Friday to face Warsaw. The JV game will start at 6 p.m. with the varsity to follow.