(photo by Jim Lindquist)
Friday night's 62-35 win at Minneapolis Washburn wasn't always a thing of beauty but in the end it was exactly what coach Jason Berg was looking for, namely the Tigers sixth straight victory.
"There wasn't much rhythm to the game," Berg said. "It had a lot to do with getting the big early lead but the officiating was inconsistent and they (Washburn) play a different style than we're used to seeing.
"When we focused on what we wanted to do, we played pretty well. There were times, especially late in the first half, where we just got away from what we were trying to do. In the second half, we let them take those questionable shots and went and got the rebound."
Neither team scored a field goal until almost three minutes into the game and Washburn didn't hit its first shot until 9:27 remained in the opening half.
By the time the Millers did finally make their first basket Farmington had been whistled for 10 fouls and Washburn one.
At one point the visitors led 22-5 but Washburn closed the half on a mini 13-8 spurt to cut the halftime deficit to 30-18.
Washburn twice trimmed the lead to 10 points early in the second half but thanks to the Triple Towers of Jordan Bridges, Taylor Meyer and Elena Koch wiping the backboards clean (39-19 advantage) and a more patient half-court offense the Tigers began to pull away.
For the second straight game Bridges lit up the scoreboard in the second half, netting 15 of her game-high 21 points, making eight of nine shots from the floor. Meyer finished with 18 to give the two leading Tiger scorers a combined 39 points, four more than the entire Miller team. Koch and Paige Steele each added six points for Farmington.
Koch hit double digits in rebounding with 11; Meyer added seven boards and six assists. Steele had five assists and a trio of steals and Isis Alexander chipped in with four assists.
Tuesday night Dec. 21, the Tigers chase their seventh straight win when they travel to Rochester Mayo to battle the Spartans. Wednesday, Dec. 29, they venture to Ellsworth, Wisconsin for another non-conference contest.
