The California Lady Pintos had the luxury of playing in a tournament on their home court last week, when they hosted the 2021 California Tournament.
The Lady Pintos had the enviable position on being the No. 1 seed in the tournament and earned an automatic berth in the semifinals.
After soundly defeating Fulton in the semifinals, California would once again face the Eldon Lady Mustangs in the championship game, where they defeated Eldon 60-55 and claimed the California Tournament title.
In the semifinal game last Monday against the Fulton Lady Hornets, California dominated from start to finish and defeated the Lady Hornets 80-7. Everyone on the roster scored and the team shot 56 percent from the field while holding Fulton to only 10 percent shooting. But the biggest statistic of all was California setting a season high in steals in a game with 30.
Following their win over Fulton, the Lady Pintos were heading back to the tournament championship game against a team that needed no introductions: the Eldon Lady Mustangs. The Lady Pintos had already defeated Eldon twice during the season before the California Tournament; 52-47 on Dec. 3 at the Tri-County Conference Tournament and 79-62 on Jan. 6 at California High School. California had also won seven straight games against the Lady Mustangs, dating back to 2018.
When the championship game began, both teams came out with a lot of determination and energy. But it was the Lady Pintos who ran out to the faster start. California would ride the hot hand of senior guard Rylee Hees on offense and their man-to-man coverage on defense. California's defense seized the day in the first half by limiting the Lady Mustangs to only 13 first-half points. To make matters better for the Lady Pintos, Hees hit a 3-pointer from the right corner as time expired in the first half. That 3-pointer would give the Lady Pintos a 15-point lead going in the half at 28-13.
In the second half, Eldon turned up the intensity and the pace of the game to try and claw their way back for an upset. By doing this, they caused California to speed up the tempo of their offense, and it made California turn the ball over at a faster rate. Head Coach Bobby Sangster knew this and told his team to continue to attack, but to also be smart. He knew full well that Eldon was a team that was capable of making a comeback.
Eldon's sharpshooters Sydney Halderman and Haley Henderson led the charge and after scoring 13 points in the first half, the Lady Mustangs scored 21 points in the third quarter. The Lady Pintos did manage to take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter, but it was now anyone's game with a tournament title on the line.
The margin of California's lead seesawed throughout the entire fourth quarter. As the Lady Mustangs continued to execute their offense and put points on the board. Up by 11 with just less than three minutes remaining in the game, the Lady Pintos watched as Eldon rallied for six straight points in just over a minute. With their lead now down to five, California felt the pressure. But they managed to counter that pressure by getting to the free-throw line. The Lady Pintos would knock down nine of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter and secured the California Tournament title. Defeating Eldon 60-55. Rylee Hees, Trishelle Porter and Bailey Lage each had 11 points for California. Lauren Friedrich added 10 points, six rebounds and a block. With their victories in the California Tournament, the Lady Pintos' record is now 9-4.
Coach Sangster knew Eldon was going to slightly change their game plan coming into Friday's championship game because of their past struggles against California. Two of the keys changes Eldon made were their transition game and switching to a zone defense.
"They do a great job of running the floor," Sangster said. "They did that last time. They've done it every time we've seen them play. It's one of the things they focus on. They're a small, fast team, and they run hard. They came out in the first half and played a 2-3 zone defense against us, which is something they haven't done all season long. It's out of character for them. But they had to try something new."
Sangster gave credit to his team's defense in the first half for keeping Eldon on the ground and making them miss shots to the point where it was in the back of Eldon's heads despite the fact that California turned the ball over more than they would have liked to.
"Our defense allowed us the luxury of having a few turnovers," Sangster said. "Defensively, we held them to 11 points for a majority of the first half. You know, when you're locked in that well defensively, good things happen."
Sangster said Rylee Hees' corner three at the end of the first half was a big shot, but the rest of California's field goals were just as large.
"Every shot was huge tonight," Sangster said. "Whenever you're playing a team like Eldon, you can't take anything for granted. You know they're going to continue to fight. Defensively, we held them down as long as we could. They finally got some things to go and once they started to see some shots fall, all their girls saw some shots fall. And the game gets a little tighter the farther you go. But Rylee was huge tonight. This kind of game is right up her alley."
With another trophy in their trophy case, California will now prepare for arguably their toughest game of the season against the 12-3 Skyline Lady Tigers -- the No. 3 team in Class 3 according to the most recent Missouri Basketball Coaches Association poll -- on Thursday. The Lady Pintos will then play in another tournament next week at Hermann where they will again be the No. 1 seed. Their first game of the Hermann tournament will be Jan. 24 against the St. Clair Lady Bulldogs.
Senior guard Trishelle Porter banks in a three-pointer off the glass in front of Eldon head coach Isaiah Rhine to start the championship game.
Senior guard Bailey Lage gets the basketball and sets up the Lady Pintos offense in the first quarter against Eldon.
Junior Alayna Butts plays the role of facilitator in the first quarter against the Lady Mustangs on Friday night.
Sophomore forward Ella Bailey pump fakes her defender and sets a teammate for a basket in the second quarter in the championship game against Eldon High School.
Senior guard Trishelle Porter stops on a dime and hits a mid-range jump shot in the third quarter against Eldon. Porter was one of three Lady Pintos to score 11 points in the championship game on Friday.
Sophomore forward Ella Bailey avoids the contact from the Eldon defender and goes up for a layup in the second quarter on Friday night.
The Lady Pintos seniors celebrate winning the California Tournament with a 60-55 win over the Eldon Lady Mustangs.
The Lady Pintos won the California Tournament by defeating the Eldon Lady Mustangs 60-55 in the Tournament Championship game on Friday night.