ELDON, Mo. - The No. 3 team in Class 3, the California Pintos girls basketball team, was in control from the tip-off Friday as the team defeated the Versailles Tigers 70-15 in the first round of the Class 3 District 9 tournament. The team is now 20-4 on the year.
California started the game on a 14-0 run to take an uncontested lead with 2:06 left in the first quarter. California did not give up a point until there was less than a minute to go in the quarter when Versailles made a free throw to make it 16-1. California led 18-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The Pintos gave up only one point in the second quarter as well. A basket by Paige Lamm made it a 22-1 game with 5:45 left in the quarter. California led 30-1 with 4:18 to go before halftime. Versailles made it a 35-2 game after another free throw with 3:03 to go in the second quarter. A basket by KaLynn Irey made it a 40-2 lead for California with 1:33 left on the clock. The Pintos entered half time leading 43-2.
Head coach Bobby Sangster said holding the Tigers to two points was a tribute to the Pintos' defense.
"It is postseason basketball, and I commend (Versailles) for continuing to fight all the way through," Sangster said. "They played a full four quarters - they did what they could do, but we were locked in on the defensive end tonight."
The Pintos did not give up a field goal until the second half of the game. The team's defense caused plenty of problems for the Tigers, as Versailles committed 17 turnovers in the first half alone, and tacked on an additional eight in the second half.
Sangster said the Pintos had a really good focus on defense.
"We had a really good mindset," Sangster said. "We took what we did yesterday in practice, and we put it to good use."
Versailles scored their first field goal with less than seven minutes to go in the third quarter to make it a 47-4 game. A three-pointer by Trishelle Porter made it a 55-4 game. Then, a basket by Tristan Porter extended California's lead to 57-6 with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter. With less than 2:30 to go in the quarter, California led 60-6. The Pintos entered the fourth quarter leading the Tigers 65-8.
A three-pointer by Maura Pardoe extended the Pintos lead to 68-8 with less than six minutes to go in the game. The Pintos led 70-12 with less than 1:30 left. Versailles' Kierra O'Rourke made a half court shot at the final buzzer to give the game its final score of 70-15.
KaLynn Irey led the Pintos with 18 points, followed by Paige Lamm with 10 points, Maura Pardoe with eight points, and Lauren Hill and Tristan Porter with seven points each. The Pintos made five three-pointers in the game and went 9-19 from the free throw line.
The Pintos will face Blair Oaks at 6 p.m tonight at Eldon in the semifinal round.