California Lady Pintos basketball returned to the hardwood on Dec. 19 to take on the Rolla Lady Bulldogs.
Guard Hailey Rademan returned to the Lady Pinto's starting line up Thursday after healing from a hand injury. Rademan exploded at the beginning of the game and quickly acquired 11 points in the first quarter.
However, Rolla responded with a scoring run of their own. Led by ten points from forward Akaela Caquelin, the Lady Bulldogs hit 8-12 shots in the quarter and led 25-17.
Rolla's hot shooting continued in the second quarter. Despite 15 first half points from Rademan and ten first half points from forward Tayte Higgins, California was behind 46-33 at halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, Lady Bulldog Resa Martin knocked two free throws to eclipse the 1,000 point mark in her career.
Although they were facing a double-figure deficit, California came out in the third quarter and began to claw their way back into the game.Lady Pinto Isabelle Rohrbach played an unexpected role in the comeback with 11 points.
With Rohrbach and forward Ella Bailey leading the charge, California returned to take a 59-58 lead at to end the third quarter.
The teams were neck and neck through a bitterly contested fourth quarter, however, Rohrbach scored a three-point play to give California a 70-66 lead with just under four minutes to play.
Foul trouble and turnovers hurt the Lady Pintos in the final four minutes. Three of California's starters fouled out and Rolla knocked down 14 of 16 free throws.
Rolla guard Willow Gideon scored 13 fourth quarter points to help the Lady Bulldogs pull away to an 80-72 win over the Lady Pintos.
California shot a season-high 52 percent from the field (27-52), a season-high 39 percent from the three-point line (9-23) and 75 percent from the foul line (9-12).
Rademan had 18 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals. Rohrbach had 18 points, six rebounds and a steal. Bailey had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Higgins had 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Rolla shot 47 percent from the field (22-47), 39 percent from the three-point line (9-23) and 83 percent from the foul line (25-30).
Gideon led Rolla with 24 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Caquelin had 22 points, three rebounds and two steals. Martin had 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Carr gave credit to the Lady Bulldogs for the execution they displayed throughout the game, in particular it's 14-2 run at the end. Regardless, he noted he was proud of California's performance, especially in the face of its previous 72-24 loss to West Plains.
Carr said the biggest attribute that helped the Lady Pintos overcome their 13-point deficit was their mindset going in to the second half. Carr credits the strength of his team's schedule and the adversity they've faced from their opponents for preparing his team for these moments.
"I don't think we should forget that we were down 13 and got back into the game going into the fourth quarter, which is what we were looking for. Our girls battled all night," Carr said. "Out of our nine games, seven teams are currently ranked in their top ten in their respective classes, so we play a hard schedule. It's nights like this that we'll learn from, grow from, work on it and we'll be ready to go when we play again on the 30th."
The Lady Pintos are now 5-4 and will play in the Moberly Shootout on Dec. 30 against Northeast (Cairo).
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Forward Isabelle Rohrbach scored 18 points in the second half against the Rolla Lady Bulldogs.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Tayte Higgins knocked down three three-pointers and scored 15 points for the Lady Pintos against Rolla.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Ella Bailey recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 points against the Rolla Lady Bulldogs on Dec. 19.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Head coach Kevin Carr and the Lady Pintos are now 5-4 after their loss to the Rolla Lady Bulldogs.