The Lady Pintos looked to repeat last year's victory in its own tournament.
Coming in as the No. 4 seed, California's first game in the California Tournament was a rematch against the Eldon Lady Mustangs, a team they had defeated five days earlier.
Eldon got off to a faster start than California, but the Lady Pintos were able to take a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, California made up for their slow start with offensive execution. The Lady Pintos began the quarter on a 19-7 run to pull out to a 14-point lead. Guard Kenzleigh Goans hit a three pointer just before halftime to give the Lady Pintos a 41-25 lead at halftime.
With the help of its bench, the Lady Pintos kept the pressure on Eldon in the second half. The closest the Lady Mustangs got in the second half was 13 points. California won the game 67-53, the 13th-straight victory over the Lady Mustangs since Feb. 1, 2018.
California shot 47 percent from the field (27-57), 29 percent from the three-point line (6-21) and 58 percent from the foul line (6-11). Kierstyn Lawson had 15 points, three steals, three rebounds and three assists. Tayte Higgins had 15 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Hailey Rademan had 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists. Forward Ella Bailey had eight points and seven rebounds. Forward Isabelle Rohrbach had six points and six rebounds.
Eldon shot 33 percent from the field (20-60), 12 percent from the three-point line (2-17) and 68 percent from the foul line (13-18). Guard Sydney Halderman led the Lady Mustangs with 16 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists. Forward McKenzi Ward had 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Forward Zoey Martonfi had seven points, nine rebounds, a steal and a block.
The game was supposed to be played Jan. 8 but was postponed due to weather. Head coach Kevin Carr knew the delay may have had something to do with California's slow start. However, he was pleased with the way his team picked up their game in the second quarter and held on to the lead for the rest of the game.
"We came out a little bit slow. I think two days off with the snow may have had something to do with it. But we stuck to our game plan. We knew what they were going to do and in the second quarter we hit our stride," Carr said. "I got the bench players in a little bit tonight and they didn't miss a beat along with the starters. We've won three in a row at home. That home cooking is awfully good."
However, California's quest to repeat as tournament champions did not get any easier. A day later, the Lady Pintos were back on the hardwood to take on the No. 1 seed in the tournament, the St. James Lady Tigers. The Lady Tigers entered the tournament with a 10-1 record on the season.
California forward Isabelle Rohrbach found her shooting touch early with eight points, including two three pointers in the first quarter. But St. James quickly countered Rohrbach's run with a counter punch led by forward Kendall Costoplos. Costoplos helped the Lady Tigers lead 13-10 at the end of the first quarter and 25-24 at halftime.
Costoplos continued to be St. James' driving force in the second half and put up 12 points in the third quarter alone. Although the Lady Pintos didn't have an answer on defense for Costoplos, California guard Kierstyn Lawson matched Costoplos' scoring with leadership.
The two teams went back and forth for the entire fourth quarter. The game was tied with less than a minute remaining when Lawson came away with a steal and found Hailey Rademan, who was fouled. Rademan knocked down both free throws to give California a 51-49 lead with 25.9 remaining. St. James again turned to Costoplos to put them over the top. Her three-point attempt rattled in and out, and California forward Ella Bailey pulled down the rebound with 5.8 seconds left. Bailey went to the foul line with California up by two, knocking down both free throws to give California a four-point lead. The Lady Pintos came up with one final stop to secure a 53-49 upset win over St. James and advance to the tournament finals.
California shot 39 percent from the field (19-49), 28 percent from the three-point line (6-21) and 100 percent from the foul line (8-8).
Lawson led the Lady Pintos with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Bailey had 10 points and nine rebounds. Rademan had 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block. Rohrbach had eight points and six rebounds.
St. James shot 32 percent from the field (16-50), 13 percent from the three-point line (3-23) and 58 percent from the foul line (14-23).
Costoplos led the Lady Tigers and all scorers with 24 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Guard Emily Recker had 13 points and five rebounds. Guard Lydia Kemnitzer had eight points, three rebounds and an assist.
After the game, coach Carr turned to a member of his staff and said, "How about a four seed going to the finals?" Carr expected the outcome of the game to not be decided until the final minutes and was very pleased when his team came out victorious.
"We just had to keep them in front of us and know who their shooters were. We were expecting a press and they didn't press us. Our team took that to heart and that is a good win for us because they are a highly ranked Class 4 team," Carr said. "I see this all the time in practice. When this tournament got seeded, to me, there were four teams that could win the tournament and I thought we were one of those four teams. I anticipate it's going to be a battle in the championship game as well."
California will play the Columbia-Battle Lady Spartans in the tournament's championship game. The game was scheduled to be played Friday, but was postponed due to weather. The game will be made up at an undetermined time and date.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Forward Ella Bailey makes the game-winning free throws for California in the semifinals against the St. James Lady Tigers on Thursday.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Kierstyn Lawson finished the semifinal game against St. James with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Kierstyn Lawson had 15 points, three steals, three rebounds and three assists for California against Eldon in the first round of the California Tournament.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Guard Hailey Rademan scored 13 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out two assists along with a steal and a block against the Eldon Lady Mustangs.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Guard Kierstyn Lawson breaks away from the Eldon defense for a score in the first round of the California Tournament.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Head Coach Kevin Carr has coached his team to a four-game winning streak during the California Tournament.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Forward Tayte Higgins (right) jumps for the tip-off against Zoey Martonfi of the Eldon Lady Mustangs.