Pintos can't complete comeback against Boonville

California finishes second at California Tournament

<p>Democrat photo/Kevin Labotka</p><p>California was unable to complete its comeback Saturday against Boonville 54-48 in the championship game of the California Tournament. Brittney Ellington scored seven points for California.</p>

Democrat photo/Kevin Labotka

California was unable to complete its comeback Saturday against Boonville 54-48 in the championship game of the California Tournament. Brittney Ellington scored seven points for California.

The California Pintos finished second at the 24th annual California Girls Basketball Tournament after their comeback attempt fell short Saturday and they lost 54-48 to Boonville in the championship game.

The Pintos led 17-15 after the first quarter thanks to five 3-pointers, but Boonville played some tough defense in the second quarter and outscored the Pintos 17-4 en route to 32-21 lead at halftime. Head Coach Bobby Sangster said Boonville played some tough defense.

"They are really long," Sangster said. "They are a really good ball club and we didn't take advantage of the opportunities that were given to us. We missed a lot of easy shots - shots that we can make - and we did some things that didn't help us put the ball in the basket."

The Pintos went cold from the 3-point line after the first quarter. They only made four 3-pointers after the first quarter.

"We fell in love with the 3-pointer a little bit too much," Sangster said.

The offensive struggles continued for most of the third quarter and the Pintos found themselves down as much as 15 points. California fought back and cut the lead down to 40-34 at the end of the quarter.

Sangster said the team played better defense in the third quarter. The Pintos stole the ball eight times in the game. Sangster said the team forced Boonville to try some long passes the Pintos could jump in front of for the steal.

"The girls did a good job of putting pressure on the basketball but it was the girls away from the ball that really reaped the rewards of it," Sangster said.

In the fourth quarter, California took the lead down to four points. However, Boonville held on for the win. Despite the loss, the Pintos shot well from the free throw line, where they went 7-9.

Elizabeth Lutz led the way for California with a team high of 24 points. Brittney Ellington added seven points. Tristan Porter and Paige Lamm brought in six points each. And Gracie George scored five points.

Sangster said, despite the loss, the team can take a lot from this tournament and the past week.

"We've had such a good two weeks," Sangster said. "The last two weeks have been a really big challenge for us. But, we have played a lot of games and we had a lot of really good things happen."

The Pintos defeated Fulton in the first round 79-29 and California won vs Helias 54-39 in the semifinals. In the semi-final game, Lutz had a team high of 22 points. Lamm had 13 points and in the third she scored six points in a row. And Tristan Porter added five points.

Against Helias, the Pintos led by as much as 18 points, coming out of the gates with a 7-0 run. Helias responded with a 9-0 run and the first quarter ended with a 12-12 tie. The game stayed tied at 23-23 at halftime. California took control by the third quarter, as they led 40-31. And in the fourth quarter, they only gave up eight points and allowed only two field goals.

Sangster said the team can learn a lot from coming up short in the championship game.

"This is good for us," Sangster said. "This is the way we grow; you play good teams and you try real hard and you continue to get better. You continue to figure out what we have to work on."