California Lady Pintos basketball had been facing an uphill battle over the past three weeks, having lost their last two games by 10 and four points respectively. On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Pintos seeked to get back into the winning column at the Moberly Shootout.
Their opponent was the powerhouse Canton Lady Tigers, under the direction of Head Coach Danielle Baker and led by All-State senior Nariah Clay. The outcome of the game hung in the balance from start to finish, with Canton taking a five-point lead into the final three minutes. However, California showed the heart of a champion and scored the last eight points of the game to win 58-55 over the Lady Tigers.
In the first quarter, Canton came out of the gate hitting shots from long range. Canton junior guard Macie Fisher hit two deep three-pointers as part of a 10-3 Lady Tigers run to open the game. California was forced to take an early 30-second timeout, but it did little to help their shooting struggles as the team only shot 1-10 in the first seven minutes.
In addition to their shooting woes, California was troubled by Canton's full-court defense on every inbound play. Canton's pressure forced California's guard to catch the inbounds passed on the side of the floor where it was easiest to trap the ball. This pushed the Lady Pintos into either forced turnovers or dangerous cross-court passes.
Although the Lady Pintos couldn't make their shots, they did get to the foul line and made seven of nine free throws in the quarter. With less than a minute left in the first quarter, the Lady Pintos broke their drought when freshman center Addie Carr hit two layups, including one that beat the buzzer.
Down 15-13 going into the second quarter, the Lady Pintos decided the best way to turn the pace of the game in their favor was to match Canton's defensive pressure. The strategy played into California's hands for most of the second quarter, as the Lady Pintos forced the Lady Tigers into five turnovers. Carr added another six points in the quarter to give California more confidence in their offense. The team outscored Canton 17-13 in the second quarter and turned a two-point defecit into a two-point lead going into halftime.
After being held quiet in the first half, California's scoring leader Lauren Friedrich exploded in the third quarter by hitting four of five shots for 10 points. On the other side, Canton continued to fight tooth and nail with California by winning most of the battles for loose balls and rebounds.
Fisher continued to hurt the Lady Pintos by hitting her fourth three-pointer of the game with just under two minutes left in the quarter. However, California got a break on the quarter's final possession. Friedrich shot a three-pointer from the left side that hit the back rim and bounced onto an open area of the floor. Sophomore guard Kierstyn Lawson recovered the loose ball and scored a two-point floater from the baseline in the final seconds. Lawson's only basket of the game was a big one to put California ahead 46-40 with a quarter to go.
With just over four minutes remaining in the game, California was holding on to a 50-44 lead and were looking to put the Lady Tigers away. However, their plans were disrupted when Canton freshman guard Brenna Brewer knocked down two threes in 13 seconds off of back-to-back turnovers by California.
Twenty-five seconds after Brewer hit two free throws, Fisher hit her fifth three-pointer of the afternoon off a loose ball recovery. Within a span of just more than a minute, Canton scored 11 straight points to take a 55-50 lead and were now the ones in control of the game.
All of a sudden the Lady Pintos were in danger of losing the game, but things took an unexpected turn on California's next possession. Sophomore guard Hailey Rademan drove to the basket and converted a difficult layup to make the score 55-52 when the whistle blew right after. Underneath the basket, Canton's Clay rolled her ankle and had to be carried off the floor. The injury to Clay became an unlikely turning point in the game.
On the Lady Pintos' next possession, Carr converted a layup off of a penetration pass from junior guard Isabelle Rohrbach. After forcing a turnover on Canton's next possession, senior guard Alayna Butts was fouled with 58 seconds remaining. Butts knocked down both free throws to give California a 56-55 lead. The Lady Tigers called a timeout and set up Fisher for a three-pointer to retake the lead. Fisher's three was no good and Carr came away with the rebound. The Lady Pintos got back with an offensive rebound and Canton had to foul Rademan with 17.5 second remaining. Just as Butts did less than a minute earlier, Rademan sunk both free throws to give California a 58-55 lead.
Canton was now down by three, out of timeouts and needed a three-pointer to tie, however, the team decided to go for a quick two-point basket. The Lady Tigers missed the ensuing layup and California ran out the rest of the clock for a 58-55 victory.
Friedrich was the leading scorer for California with 15 points. She also had four rebounds and a block. Carr tied a career-high with 14 points on 7-8 from the field. Junior guard Isabelle Rohrbach had 12 points, two steals, two rebounds and an assist. She made all six of her free throw attempts.
For the Canton Lady Tigers, Macie Fisher had 17 points and hit 5-7 from downtown. Brenna Brewer had 14 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, with four rebounds and a steal. Sophomore guard Macie Glasgow had 11 points, three steals, and two assists. Before her ankle injury, Nariah Clay had seven points, six rebounds and a block. All of Clay's points came off of free throws.
Lady Pintos Head Coach Bobby Sangster admitted California got fortunate to go on an 8-0 run to end the game after Canton went on an 11-0 run just minutes earlier. In addition, Canton won the battle in rebounds, assists, steals and field goal (completed shot) percentage.
Sangster said he will still gladly take the win over Canton any day, despite California having to play for behind in both score and tempo for most of the day.
"It was a good win for us because we beat a very good team in a very close game. We had a tough time locating threats and closing out their shooters. They made us pay for those mistakes. When we don't execute defensively, you're going to make life easier for your opponent. You've got to give credit to Canton for knocking down their shots today. They did what their coaching staff puts them in position to do every single day," Sangster said. "We feel bad for their All-State player who went down with an ankle injury in the final minutes. I hope that she is OK and that she gets back on the court soon. Our girls did a good job of taking advantage when that opportunity arose and we executed nicely down the stretch. We didn't play our best basketball today, but we'll take the win every time."
The Lady Pintos are currently ranked #8 in Class 4 girls basketball going into the new year. California will take on the Eldon Mustangs on Thursday night, with the tip-off at 7 p.m in Eldon.
Freshman forward Addie Carr tied a career-high with 14 points on 7-8 from the field against the Canton Lady Tigers. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore guard Hailey Rademan knocks down the two game-sealing free throws for California with 17.5 seconds left. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Freshman Addie Carr beats the buzzer with a layup to bring California within two at 15-13 to end of the first quarter. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore guard Hailey Rademan takes the contact from the Canton defender and scores a three-point play for California. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior guard Alayna Butts makes two clutch free throws for California in the fourth quarter. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior Isabelle Rohrbach made all six of her free throws against Canton on Saturday afternoon. Rohrbach finished the game with 12 points, two rebounds, and two assists. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior Isabella Rohrbach (right) boxes out the Lady Tigers defender on a missed free throw. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior guard Alayna Butts (left) defends Canton sophomore guard Macie Glasgow. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
California head coach Bobby Sangster won his 365th career coaching game in California's win over Canton. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)