The California Lady Pintos and Owensville Dutchgirls were both getting the shots they wanted early in Saturday's game in the Capital City Shootout.
The difference was Owensville's shots were going in.
The Dutchgirls totaled a 19-2 run to close the first quarter on their way to a 71-46 victory against the Lady Pintos at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"We were getting good shots, they just weren't falling," California coach Bobby Sangster said. "It's tough to come back from a deficit like that."
Owensville was 9-of-11 from the field in the opening quarter, while California was 2-of-7.
A 3-pointer by Ashtyn Goans with 6:45 to go in the first quarter gave California its only lead of the game at 3-2. A drive and short jumper by Elizabeth Lutz at the 4:55 mark pulled California to within a point at 6-5.
But Owensville rattled off the next 15 points as Brookelyn Limberg's second 3-pointer of the run made it 21-5 with 1:50 to go in the period. The Dutchgirls led 25-7 after one quarter.
"When you play a good team that is hitting its shots, this can happen," Sangster said. "Our girls battled, they never got down. We weren't playing a bad ballgame, we were just missing shots."
The Lady Pintos got to within 14 points on a couple of occasions early in the second quarter before the Dutchgirls entered halftime with a 40-18 advantage.
Owensville's good shooting carried over to the free-throw line. The Dutchgirls converted their first 13 shots from the line and were 14-of-16 from the stripe in the first two quarters.
Hailey Diestelkamp, selected as the game's MVP after totaling 29 points and pulling down eight rebounds, was 11-of-12 at the line in first half and finished 16-of-19.
"She's a good player who is very hard to defend," Sangster said. "You have to get into the right position, you have to be quick doing it or she will hurt you."
Owensville, which took a 59-36 advantage into the final period, led by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter.
"This is a great experience for us," Sangster said. "We didn't come up with a win, but we're going to get better because of it."
Limberg added 14 points for the Dutchgirls (6-3), while Savannah Ellis added 11.
California finished 6-of-28 on 2-pointers.
"I would say 27 of the 28 were probably good shots," Sangster said. "We were unselfish, we were making the pass to the open player, we were trying to get better.
"It's just a matter of making plays. The girls executed the game plan, if we needed a different game plan, that's on me."
On the flip side, California was 8-of-17 on 3-pointers. The long shots aren't necessarily part of the game plan, but ...
"When you make 8-of-17, it is," Sangster said. "We don't want to live-and-die by the 3, but in games like this, we have to shoot them. We were getting good looks and they went in."
Kayla Allison, Lutz and Mara Caudel each had nine points to lead California.
"We're not clicking on all cylinders yet, but when we do, we're going to be all right," Sangster said.
California (3-3) will face South Callaway in the MRMC Holiday Shootout in Moberly on Monday, Dec. 28. Game time is 6:30 p.m. at Moberly Area Community College.