California Lady Pintos basketball lost their away game to Montgomery County on Dec. 5.
The Montgomery County Lady Wildcats' five starters combined for 51 points and defeated California 61-44.
California came into the game after suffering from a difficult shooting performance against Tipton where they shot 36 percent from the field.
Their shooting woes followed them in the first quarter of last Tuesday's game. The Lady Pintos scored only five points in the first quarter, while Montgomery County finished with 13 points capped off with a steal and layup in the final seconds by forward Aliviah Fischer.
The Lady Wildcats continued to control the pace of the game in the second. Led by their backcourt duo of Maddy Queatham and Malia Rodgers, Montgomery County was ahead 31-17 at halftime.
California guard Kierstyn Lawson scored seven points in the third quarter, although Montgomery County refused to relinquish their double-digit lead.
Montgomery County put the game away in the fourth quarter with the help of the free throw line. The Lady Wildcats hit 9-12 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, with Queathem hitting 6-8 from the charity stripe. Montgomery County led by as many as 20 points in the second half and won the game by 17 at 61-44. California's record is now 4-2.
The Lady Pintos shot 28 percent from the field (15-54), 26 percent from the three-point line (7-26) and 64 percent from the free throw line (7-10). Hailey Rademan led California with 14 points, four rebounds and a steal. Tayte Higgins had 12 points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist. Kierstyn Lawson had nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Lady Wildcats shot 38 percent from the field (19-50), 38 percent from the three-point line (9-24) and 64 percent from the free throw line (14-22). Maddy Queatham scored a game-high 25 points with five steals, three rebounds and an assists. Malia Rodgers had 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals. Aliviah Fischer had eight points, seven rebounds, three blocks and a steal.
Lady Pintos head coach Kevin Carr said the game with Montgomery County was a crucial one for the Lady Pintos because the two teams could potentially meet again in the Class 3 State Tournament in March. He knew his team would endure growing pains throughout the season with a new coach and a new playing style.
"We knew that it would be a tough game for us tonight but with that being said, we can't come out and continue to give 15, 20 point leads and try to fight back in the second half. But give the Wildcats credit. They hit their free throws down the stretch, which gave them a bit more of a cushion of a lead," Carr said. "At the beginning of the year, we told them that there are going to be some nights where we're going to win some games that we probably don't think we'd win and we're going to lose some games that we expected we would win. I'm going to say this is one of those games."
California will look to get back on track Saturday at the 48 Hours of Basketball Shootout in Springfield against West Plains.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior guard Kierstyn Lawson had nine points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal for California against the Montgomery County Lady Wildcats.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore forward Tayte Higgins had 12 points and six rebounds in California's lose to Montgomery County on Dec. 5.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior forward Isabelle Rohrbach made 6-8 from the foul line against Montgomery County on Dec. 5.