Any coach learns a lot about their team from the first game of the year. For California coach Bobby Sangster, he learned that his squad is resilient.
Trailing by 11 points early in the fourth quarter, the Pintos rallied down the stretch to earn a 45-39 win over Boonville on Monday, Nov. 21.
"It was a learning process," Sangster said. "We have a lot of things to fix, but there were a lot of positives as well. I'm very happy with the effort."
The comeback came as a result of California getting the ball inside and getting to the free throw line. Cameron Meyer scored eight of her team-high 10 points in the final frame, while Emma Bailey chipped in with five of her eight points in the fourth as well.
"We just stayed with it," Sangster said. "We had those looks in the first half. We had some post entries in the first half that just slipped through our fingers. We had some put backs that went awry.
" The girls came out and they never were down. There were some frustrating things happening on the floor, but they didn't let it get to them."
It was a slow start offensively for California as the Pintos began the game with a five-minute scoring drought. Boonville's early lead was paced by Brynn Edwards. The junior scored eight of the Pirates' 10 first quarter points on her way to a game-high 16.
California's defense kept the Pintos in the game when the shots weren't falling thanks to the defensive activity of guards Ellie Wirts and Kayla Allison. Wirts was added nine points for the Pintos. California's other top offensive contributors were Elizabeth Lutz with seven points and Brittney Ellington with six.
The Pintos carried a one-point lead at halftime due to a strong second quarter defensively. The Pirates did not register a field goal in the second frame, but they were able to open up a lead in the third and early fourth quarter thanks in large part to Hannah Fuemmeler. The senior scored 10 points, all of which came in the second half.
Not only did the Pintos' win against Boonville give them a victory over an Elite 8 team from last year, it also gave California a win over a district opponent. Over the last few years under coach Jaryt Hunziker, the Pirates have been largely defined by their stifling full-court press. All things considered, California coped with it well.
"I've seen that press tear up a lot of good teams," Sangster said. "We had some stuff that we can hopefully adjust and learn from. It wasn't a perfect execution, but I'll take the effort. Everything we made mistakes on tonight is something we can fix."
The Pintos will be back in action Monday against Tipton.