ASHLAND, Mo. - Wednesday night's Class 3 District 8 semifinal game between California and Southern Boone proved it's tough to beat a team three times in one season.
Other than an 11-0 first-half run for the Lady Eagles, the Lady Pintos were able to play toe-to-toe with the fourth-ranked team.
California got as close as six in the fourth quarter, but Skyler Beeson couldn't be stopped as Southern Boone held on to win 52-42 and advance to Friday's title game against second-seeded Father Tolton.
"It's pretty physical out there and I'm not sure that's our brand of basketball, but we found a way to win," Southern Boone coach Tony Phillips said.
California concludes its season at 14-13.
The Lady Pintos lost to Southern Boone by 24 and 21 in the two previous matchups this season.
"We caught them at a time where they were playing very good basketball and they caught us at a time where we weren't playing our best," California coach Bobby Sangster said. "Last year we beat that team by (16) at their place, so we understand that we can compete with them."
The Lady Eagles struggled to make buckets at times, but Beeson's 30 points allowed Southern Boone to keep California at bay.
Beeson shot 12-of-17, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range and tied for a team-high five rebounds.
"She presents matchup problems for teams," Phillips said. "And one reason we get some of that stuff is because Kylie (Shoot) draws so much attention, because if you leave her open she'll bury you."
Down 40-29 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Pintos wasted no time as Emma Bailey stole the ball away on the first possession of the quarter and it led to an Elizabeth Lutz jumper, cutting the deficit to nine.
The Lady Eagles then missed two 3-pointers at the other end and Lutz drained a 3 from the wing to get California within 40-34 with 6:17 left.
Lutz led California with 17 points. She added four rebounds and three steals.
Southern Boone missed another 3, but Katie Price grabbed the offensive rebound and Shoot knocked in her deep shot.
Beeson added two free throws on the Lady Eagles' next possession, but Mara Caudel made four free throws in two 1-and-1 situations to keep California within seven with 3:41 left. Caudel scored 12 and had a team-high six boards.
But California missed three of its final four 3s and Beeson scored six of Southern Boone's final seven points, allowing Southern Boone to hold on for the win.
The Lady Eagles led 9-4 in the final minute of the first quarter before Cameron Meyer hit two free throws and Kayla Allison scored inside to cut it to 9-8 with :09 left in the period.
But Meagan Barnett got a layup in the final second to start an 11-0 run for Southern Boone.
The Lady Eagles made all five of its shots and forced two turnovers during the run, building their lead to 20-8 with 5:58 left in the second quarter.
Late in the quarter, Southern Boone pulled down three offensive rebounds during one possession and Beeson capitalized with a layup.
California added a pair of free throws to make the halftime score 26-17.
"They are so relentless on the glass," Sangster said. "It's really, really tough when you give them extra possessions. We gave them just enough extra possessions to get by us tonight."
Emma Anderson helped carry the Lady Eagles to that halftime lead, scoring nine of her 11 points in the second quarter. She also tied for a team lead with five boards.
"I thought the biggest thing tonight was Emma Anderson," Phillips said. "Emma Anderson, she hasn't been herself all year. She had a knee injury, she's coming back. It takes some time to come back from those and Emma Anderson really carried us in the first half. Boy, that was good to see because if she gets going we're going to be dangerous."
It seemed Southern Boone would pull away in the second half as Shoot drained a 3 from the corner and Price added two free throws in the first minute of the third quarter to up the lead to 14.
But Lutz got California back within 11 by scoring California's next seven points and Caudel later scored following a 5-second violation to cut it to eight.
A second-chance bucket for Beeson made it 39-29 with 3:30 left in the third quarter, but neither team scored again until a Beeson free throw with less than a second on the clock.
"They make it tough to score, but so do we," Sangster said. "We made it tough on them."
The Lady Trailblazers beat South Callaway 45-31 in the other semifinal matchup. The title game is at 6 p.m. Friday.