Last week, California Lady Pintos basketball made their first appearance at the Tipton Tournament.
The Lady Pintos were the No. 2 seed in the tournament and took care of New Bloomfield and Eldon to take on four-time defending champion Tipton for the tournament title. The championship game was considered by both coaches and fans to be one of the best Lady Pintos games in recent memory. Although the Lady Pintos lost to the Lady Cardinals 58-56 in overtime and had to settle for second place, Head Coach Bobby Sangster said he couldn't have been proud of his team for what they did in their Tipton Tournament debut.
"I'm grateful that we had the opportunity to come here and play in this tournament. We are a pretty special group. When our shots are falling, when we're playing unselfishly, and when we lock in defensively, we're a lot to deal with," Sangster said. "I give full credit to our opponents from New Bloomfield, Eldon, and Tipton for giving us three great challenges and making us have to work for everything. It was a great tournament for us and I couln't be more proud of our girls."
California began their week Nov. 29 against the New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats. In their first game against New Bloomfield since 2007, the Lady Pintos once again relied on their pressuring man-to-man defense to propel them to a dominate victory. Offensively, senior forward Lauren Friedrich caught fire, hit her first eight shots of the game and scored 17 first-quarter points.
With Friedrich leading the way on offense, California's defense overcame a 12-2 Lady Wildcats run in the second quarter and some second-half foul trouble to put the game out of New Bloomfield's reach. When the final buzzer sounded, California defeated New Bloomfield 81-36. In their first-round victory, California had 29 steals and 10 different players got on the score sheet, including senior center Ella Percival, who played her first game of the season after coming back from an injury. Sangster was pleased Percival was able to play in her first game and the Lady Pintos were able to win without the help of junior Penelope Cotten, one of the team's best defenders.
"We like to play unselfish and if you're trusted to go on the floor, they you are trusted to do your job. They go to practice every day and they build that trust with everybody. When it's their time and their number is called, I expect the girls to go out there and preform in the highest manner that they can," Sangster said. "It's the way that success has to be built. Ella did a great job in her game of action tonight and hopefully Penelope will be feeling better and be back with us on Wednesday, but it's all part of the long season that we have."
Friedrich had 29 points, eight rebounds, three steals and a block against New Bloomfield. Junior Isabelle Rohrbach added 13 points, five rebounds and a steal. Sophomore Kierstyn Lawson also added 11 points and five steals. California out-rebounded New Bloomfield 37-16 and shot 49 percent from the field.
California won again two days later over Tri-County Conference rival Eldon 69-43, with the Lady Pintos dominating the second half again on defense and out-rebounded Eldon 44-18.
By winning their first two games of the tournament, the Lady Pintos earned a matchup with the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2, the Tipton Lady Cardinals, who were led by three-time All-State player Myra Claas. In the first quarter, it appeared there was a lid on California's rim, as California hit only 2-14 shots and trailed 13-5 after eight minutes. The Lady Pintos were again troubled by foul trouble throughout the first half, but showed the heart of a champion by staying close and cut the Lady Cardinals' lead to three at halftime.
The entire second half turned into a classic basketball shootout with both teams going back and forth, with 11 total lead changes in the half. However, Claas broke free for a layup to give Tipton a 54-52 lead with 17.5 seconds to play. California called timeout and went to a 1-4 offensive set to try and give Friedrich the final shot. Friedrich came down the court and banked in a turn-around jumper with eight seconds left to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket, but Tipton took a 58-56 lead with 15 seconds to go and had Freshman Briar Cox at the foul line. Cox missed both free throws, giving California one last chance to tie or win the game. Unfortunately for the Lady Pintos, they were unable to get a shot on their final possession and Tipton held on to win the game 58-56 in overtime and win their own tournament for the fifth straight year. Friedrich led all scorers with another 29 points on 11-21 from the field. In addition, California held the three-time All-State player, Claas, to only 13 points.
The loss to the Tipton Lady Cardinals was a tough pill to swallow for the Lady Pintos. However, Sangster viewed the loss in a different light. Sangster saw the loss as a great game between two great teams, and said California did a great job of pushing Tipton to their limits, as they held the Lady Cardinals to a season low in points, field goal percentage and turnovers. Sangster admitted he never likes to lose a game, but if California had to lose to Tipton, he couldn't hang his head down about it.
"That game was phenomenal. If someone watches basketball in Moniteau County, how could they not be impressed? Yeah, it hurts to lose a basketball game, but if you look at all the great things we were able to accomplish tonight, in the grand scheme, this was a tremendous ball game and hopefully it will propel both teams to go on a really long journey this year," Sangster said. "This loss doesn't hurt us that much at all. Because you look at the greatest that we're able to accomplish against the number one team in Class 2 on their own floor, I can't be more proud of my girls. If we have to lose, with the type of team I have, the character that they showed and the type of people that they are, I will take that loss every day. Tipton won the game. But we won as well. I don't see how we couldn't be winners with how far we came in the tournament."
The Lady Pintos (4-1) are back in action on Thursday to take on the Russellville Lady Indians at home.
Sophomore guard Kierstyn came away with eight steals against the Lady Wildcats on Nov. 28 (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior guard Alayna Butts floats into the land for a jump shot against the Tipton Lady Cardinals. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior guard Isabelle Rohrbach goes eye-to-eye with New Bloomfield's point guard. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior forward Lauren Friedrich (right) goes up for a putback layup against New Bloomfield. Friedrich had a season-high 29 points on 12-18 from the field, including 4-5 on three-pointers. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior forward Lauren Friedrich scores on a breakaway layup in the first quarter against New Bloomfield. Friedrich had 17 first quarter points on 8-8 shooting against the Lady Wildcats on Nov. 28. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior forward Lauren Friedrich knocks down a free throw to complete a three-point play for the Lady Pintos. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore Kierstyn Lawson scores a breakaway layup for California against New Bloomfield. Lawson scored 11 points and had eight steals on Nov. 28. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Lady Pintos Head Coach Bobby Sangster won his 361st career game on Nov. 28. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore guard Kierstyn Lawson hit 3-4 from the foul line in California's 81-36 over New Bloomfield.(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior guard Isabella Rohrbach made all five of her free throws and scored a season-high 13 points on Nov. 28. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior center Ella Bailey boxes out the Lady Wildcats defender for a rebound. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior forward Lauren Friedrich (left) wins the opening tip in California's first round game against New Bloomfield. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
The Lady Pintos get fired up to play New Bloomfield in the opening round of the Tipton Tournament.(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior Lauren Friedrich dugs up and under a Tipton defender for a basket. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior center Ella Bailey (right) is introduced into California's starting lineup on Friday night. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior Isabella Rohrbach shoots two free throws in the Tipton Tournament Championship game. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior point guard Alayna Butts calls out an offensive play for the Lady Pintos. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Lady Pintos head coach Bobby Sangster draws up a play for his team to begin the second half. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior Lauren Friedrich had 29 points in two different games in the Tipton Tournament. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore Kierstyn Lawson defends Tipton's point guard. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)