The Central Bank Shootout was just what the doctor ordered for the California Lady Pintos.
Neither an early start time nor the Owensville Dutchgirls could deter California on Saturday afternoon, as the Lady Pintos led from start to finish in a 68-56 win at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"We were ready to get back on the floor," California coach Bobby Sangster said. "We'd had a rough week, playing Skyline on Monday and Eldon on Thursday and dropping both those games.
"We were excited to getting back to playing our style of basketball. That was something we really focused on and really worked on."
That style featured a full-court press that led to several easy baskets in the opening quarter. California forced six turnovers in the first eight minutes, leading to layups at the other end, and raced out to a 26-12 lead.
"Every time we got our press set up, that really bothered them," Sangster said.
Four Lady Pintos - Kayla Allison, Ellie Wirts, Elizabeth Lutz and Emma Bailey - had six points in the first quarter.
The press became a little less effective in the second quarter as California picked up a couple key fouls. But the Lady Pintos twice pushed the lead to as many as 17 - both times on 3-pointers by Lutz - and held a 40-25 advantage at halftime.
California took its biggest lead of the game at 50-32 with 3:24 left in the third quarter when Allison dropped in a layup, and its edge was 54-39 going into the final period.
But three straight baskets in the paint by Savannah Ellis jump-started an 8-0 Owensville run to begin the fourth quarter and California's lead dipped to 54-47 with 6:03 left.
"We got in a little bit of foul trouble that caused us to be a little conservative," Sangster said. "The girls were doing a little more worrying about foul trouble than about making plays. Also, we extended our bench at the end of the third and start of the fourth and that didn't work out so well for us. We tightened that back down."
The most important foul may have been the fourth one picked up by Lutz that sent her to the sideline for a bit.
"Elizabeth does a lot for us, and the other girls do, too, but she's somebody who really stabilizes us," Sangster said. "To have her go off the floor with her fourth in that situation, I was very pleased with our senior leadership. We had four seniors on the floor and a fifth one coming off the bench, and those girls have done a great job for their entire career of staying poised, staying calm, and making plays."
A pair of free throws by Brittney Ellington and a layup by Allison halted the Owensville charge and the Lady Pintos went on to the victory.
California survived a monster game by Owensville's Breanna Diestelkamp to get the win. The sophomore forward led all players with 34 points and 12 rebounds, scoring no fewer than eight points in every quarter.
"She stands head and shoulders over pretty much everybody we've got," Sangster said. "We had size mismatches all over the floor, but we also had speed advantages all over the floor. The girls did a great job of taking advantage of that and putting it to good use. That's the way we like to play and we're getting better at it."
California countered with a balanced effort, as five different players scored in double figures. Lutz led the way with 15 points, while Allison, Wirts and Bailey added 12 apiece. Cameron Meyer chipped in with 10 points and narrowly missed a double-double by pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.
The Lady Pintos improved to 15-5 with the win.
"I love coaching these girls, they're an absolute joy to coach," Sangster said. "They don't get too high, they don't get too low. They just stay the course and that's why we've had a lot of success this year. I'm really proud of them and this is just another really good win this season."