The California Middle School seventh grade girls basketball team came away from the Versailles Tournament last week with the championship, after defeating the host 51-13 Friday night.
"It was a great week of basketball for our girls," California Coach Bryan Lawson said. "We played well all week and had fun. I'm really proud of all of the girls. We are playing some of our best basketball. Our defense is getting better and we are making the extra pass on offense for the easier basket."Â
The Lady Pintos opened tournament play with a 41-19 win against Eldon Jan. 21, then defeated Warsaw 39-17 Thursday, followed by the 51-13 win against Versailles for the championship Friday.
Previously, the Lady Pintos were on the road Jan. 13, where they defeated Thomas Jefferson's eighth grade "B" team 35-11.
Gracie George led California with 18 points. Megan Bailey had four points, while Kaitlyn Turner, Grace Henley and Megan Witt each had three points. Quinn Albertson and Cheyanne Harper each scored two points.
"This was a great win for our team," Lawson said. "Thomas Jefferson was bigger than us, but we were more fundamentally sound.".Â
California hosted Eldon Jan. 14, where the Lady Pintos captured a 29-23 win.
"This was a great opportunity for some of our girls to play more minutes and get more court time," Lawson said. "I'm really proud of these girls. They played a complete game."
Jackie Hibdon led California with 10 points, followed by Cora Kuykendall with seven. Bailey had four points and Hannah Hill had three.
The Lady Pintos defeated Boonville 35-20 Jan. 15. George led California with 18 points, followed by Albertson with six. Witt and Henley each had four points, while Turner had three.Â
"We played some good basketball," Lawson said. "We made the extra passes to our teammates for the easier basket. We played together and played well. I'm very proud of the girls."
The seventh grade Lady Pintos will host Osage at 5:30 p.m. Thursday for their last game of the season.