The California Lady Pintos played their first home basketball game in nearly a month last Thursday night against conference and district rival Boonville.
It was also a special night in Lady Pintos history as senior guard Lauren Friedrich became the newest member of California's 1,000-point club with 13 points in the first half. Friedrich ended the game with 21 points and led the Lady Pintos to a 61-22 victory against the Lady Pirates.
From the opening tip, everyone with California was waiting to count down the points Friedrich needed to reach the milestone. Both teams started off slow on offense, totaling two points each in the opening 3:15.
California sophomore guard Hailey Rademan broke the scoring drought with a 3-pointer from the right corner to give California the lead. The shot gave the Lady Pintos momentum and they went a 12-2 run to close out the quarter, with Friedrich scoring five of the 12 points.
Ahead 17-4 going into the second quarter, the Lady Pintos continued to put the pressure on Boonville. Then, with 2:10 remaining before halftime, Friedrich took a handoff pass from senior guard Alayna Butts and knocked down a deep 3-pointer to score her 1,000th career point. California coach Bobby Sangster took a timeout in order for Friedrich to receive a standing ovation from the crowd. The moment was surreal for both Friedrich, who never thought she would reach such a milestone in her high school career.
"It was like halfway through the season when I found out I was getting close to 1,000 points. I just checked for fun, because I never thought I would actually get there. So when I found out it was possible, I knew in the back of mind that I could get it," Friedrich said. "I never made a priority on my list to get to 1,000 points. Each game, I just went out there and played and I thought that if it happens, it happens. When a hit that shot to do it, it was really overwhelming having all the support of my family, friends, and teammates. I was really happy about it."
"A 1,000 points for somebody in our program is a really special thing. We tried to balance out so people can't just focus on one player. Tristan Porter is the last 1,000-point scorer we've had. She did it early on in her senior year. People who try to reach that milestone go about it differently and I thought Lauren handled it as well as any player I've ever coached," Sangster said. "She's really unselfish, she played the game the right way, and the girls did a nice job of finding her. The girls all wanted Lauren to do it at home. They all fed her the ball when they could, while also playing the game the way we know we can play it."
The Lady Pintos took a comfortable 33-9 lead at halftime and they did not let up in the final two quarters. Using their rebounding and full-court pressure defense to frustrate the Lady Pirates, California never gave them a chance to get back into the contest. Friedrich added eight more points in the fourth quarter and California dominated Boonville in the 61-22 runaway victory.
California shot 23-of-65 from the field for 35 percent, 8-of-29 from downtown for 27 percent, and 7-of-13 from the foul line for 54 percent. Friedrich led the Pintos with 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Hailey Rademan had 11 points, four rebounds, a steal, and a block. Junior guard Isabelle Rohrbach scored seven points with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Sophomore Kierstyn Lawson came off the bench and had five points, three steals, and three assists. As a team, the Lady Pintos 50 rebounds and stole the ball 15 times.
Boonville shot 7-of-35 for 20 percent, 1-of-12 from 3-point range for eight percent, and 7-of-9 from the foul line for 78 percent. Junior forward Zoe Davis had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Pirates.
Sangster was pleased with the progression his team is making at this point in the season. California has been playing better team defense without putting themselves in foul trouble according to Sangster and it was a great win to get prepared for taking on Class 3 No. 6 Licking just two days later.
"I was really impressed with our effort and I was really impressed with our defense. I feel like it was a very team-oriented, jointly-focused defensive effort tonight. We made a lot of mistakes tonight, but we also covered up a lot of those mistakes tonight," Sangster said.
The Saturday game against Licking was also Senior Day for the Lady Pintos. Seniors Lauren Friedrich, Alayna Butts and Ella Percival celebrated in style as California used a 12-0 run in the third quarter to pull away and beat Licking 51-39 to improve to 19-5 and the season.
The Lady Pintos will end their regular season schedule this Thursday at Blair Oaks.
The Lady Pintos take a timeout to celebrate senior Lauren Friedrich scoring her 1000th career point in the first half against the Boonville Lady Pirates. Friedrich needed 13 points to reach the milestone, she finished with 21 points. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior forward Lauren Friedrich scores over the Boonville defense as part of a 17-4 California run to begin Thursday's ball game. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Lauren Friedrich scored 13 points the first half to join California's 1000 point club. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore guard Kierstyn Lawson makes an inside pass to teammate Ella Bailey for two free throws. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore Kierstyn Lawson had five points, three steals, and three assists in California's 61-22 win over the Lady Pirates. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior center Ella Bailey begins the second half for California with a three-point play. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior forward/center Ella Bailey made three of four free throws for the Lady Pintos against Boonville. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Lady Pintos head coach Bobby Sangster tells the Lady Pintos to put more pressure of Boonville defensively and do the "little things" to help California win Thursday's game. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
California's Lauren Friedrich (left) and Boonville's Zoe Davis (right) jump up for the opening tip. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
California's seniors Alayna Butts, Ella Percival, and Lauren Friedrich celebrated senior day on Saturday with a 51-39 victory over the Licking Wildcats. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)