California Lady Pintos basketball returned home Dec. 20 and took on the surging Rolla Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Pintos went into the game ranked seventh in Class 4. While the Lady Bulldogs were ranked sixth in Class 5.
The contest was an intense low-scoring battle for four quarters. California trailed by as many as 12 in the second half, but rallied back and had a chance to steal the game in the final seconds. However, the comeback came up a few points short as California fell to Rolla 47-43.
The task of beating the Lady Bulldogs would not be an easy one for California. Rolla's roster included four guards who were all Division II prospects, including their dynamic scoring trio of junior guard Kori Alcorn, junior guard Resa Martin and junior forward Willow Gideon. Rolla also had one of the best defenses in Class 5, allowing just 35 points per game.
From the opening tip, the Lady Bulldogs used their greatest weapon to gain an early advantage. Rolla's defense forced the Lady Pintos into turnovers on four of their first five possessions. California's first basket of the game didn't come until 3:59 minutes remaining in the first quarter on a steal and breakaway layup from junior forward Isabella Rohrbach. Although California provided its own stubborn defense to keep the Lady Bulldogs from pulling away early, the Lady Pintos still trailed 12-10 after the first quarter.
The two teams stayed close in the second quarter until Rolla began to widen their lead to as many as eight with five quick points from Martin. However, California senior forward Lauren Friedrich provided a lift with two three-pointers in the final 2:43 minutes of the quarter to make the score 22-19 at halftime.
The second half got off to a rough start for California when the Lady Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the quarter, including a circus shot from Alcorn that turned into a three-point play. California took a timeout with just under six minutes remaining in the third and came out of the timeout attacking the basket every chance they could. As a result, California began to again comeback and went on an 8-2 run in just under three minutes, with freshman forward Addie Carr having six points, three rebounds, and a block during the run.
California cut the lead down to two with the run, but Rolla pushed the lead back to eight going into the fourth quarter.
Things looked bleak for California in the fourth quarter after Rolla took a 41-30 lead with 5:40 minutes to go in the game. The Lady Pintos took another timeout and it was there that Head Coach Bobby Sangster chose to turn to a half-court pressure defense to attempt and make one last comeback effort.
The Lady Pintos turned up the pressure, but because they were in the penalty for most of the fourth quarter, every foul would mean free throws for Rolla. The Lady Bulldogs realized this and took advantage by making 10-14 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Despite the free throws, California got the ball with 10.4 seconds left and only trailed 46-43. Friedrich got a good look at the game-tying three, but the shot rolled around the rim twice and out. Alcorn got the rebound with 1.9 seconds left, hit the game-sealing free throw and California lost a 47-43 heartbreaker to Rolla.
Friedrich was the leader scorer for the Lady Pintos with 11 points, 4-11 from the field. Friedrich also added six rebounds and three blocks for California. Carr had another "light bulb game," as described by coach Sangster, with 10 points on 5-6 shooting and five rebounds. Junior guard Isabelle Rohrbach chipped in eight points, four rebounds and two steals. Junior forward Ella Bailey added five points and four rebounds.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Alcorn led all scorers with 17 points on 5-8 from the field and 7-11 from the foul line. Gideon had a solid day with 14 points, three rebounds, and three steals. Gideon also made all six of her free throw attempts in the second half. Martin added 11 points and two steals.
Overall, both teams struggled offensively with only 90 combines points. California shot 17-40 from the field (42 percent), 4-20 for the three-point line (20 percent), and 2-6 from the foul line (33 percent). Rolla only shot 14-42 from the floor (33 percent), 3-16 on three-points (18 percent), and 16-24 on free throws (66 percent). However, the biggest differences in the game were the differential in free throws, turnovers and rebounds.
Even though California won the rebounding battle convincingly 35-19, Rolla had six offensive rebounds, which led to eight second chance points. Rolla also forced 19 turnovers, while California forced 10 turnovers. The Lady Bulldogs also made more free throws in the game than California attempted.
The loss to the Lady Bulldogs on Dec. 20 was the first time all season that the Lady Pintos had lost back-to-back games. Sangster said the main reasons for California's recent struggles has been the high amount of mistakes and unforced errors during the games and the strength of their schedule. So far, five of California's nine opponents have been ranked in the top 10 in their specific class at least once this season. However, Sangster said that while his team didn't play at their peak level against Rolla, he is satisfied with the way they fought against Rolla and the mistakes that were made are easy fixes.
"We did hurt ourselves throughout the game, but the good news about that is that they are all fixable mistakes. They're all things that we can work on in practice and it's a great experience to get to play in these games. You have to believe and trust in the process," Sangster said. "You have to believe that these games are going to help you out as the season continues and anybody that watched our game against Southern Boone saw some growth tonight. As long as we continue to put that growth into use, we'll get to where we want to get to later in the year. It was a tough loss tonight but I think this team is going to make this community proud."
The Lady Pintos (6-3) now move on to face Canton on Friday in the Moberly Shootout. Tip-off is at 12:30 p.m.
Junior forward Ella Bailey comes up with an offensive rebound and putback layup as part of an 8-2 California run in the third quarter. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior guard Hailey Rademan defendes Division II prospect Kori Alcorn. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior Isabella Rohrbach shoots a pair of free throws for the Lady Pintos. Rorhbach had eight points, four rebounds, and two steals on Dec. 20. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore guard Kierstyn Lawson shoots a three-pointer from the left corner. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior forward Ella Bailey (right) is introduced into California's starting lineup. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
The Lady Pintos hold a team huddle before their game against the Rolla Lady Bulldogs on Dec. 20. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)