Taylor Meyer, Jordan Bridges and Elena Koch apply the pressure
(photo by Jim Lindquist)
When the offense isn't hitting on all cylinders Tiger girls basketball coach Jason Berg knows he can count on one thing. That would be defense with a capital D.
The stingy Farmington defense held Chaska to 14 first half points and bought the early struggling offense some time in a 58-37 Missota Conference victory Tuesday night, Jan. 25, at Tiger Gym.
"I thought we came out a little flat after a poor practice last night," Berg said. "Offensively, we were standing around watching for awhile and not setting any picks but our defense never let up.
"Eventually the defense created some opportunities for us and we started to get into a rhythm offensively. We know that getting the ball into the paint usually means something good for us, but we weren't doing that in the first half."
Farmington led just 11-8 midway through the first half before finally starting to find the basket, closing the half on a 17-6 spurt to pull away.
Jamie Kenealy scored seven points in a 9-0 run to start the second half and then the winners went on another 12-0 tear sparked by Taylor Meyer and Jordan Bridges to build their biggest margin of the night at 54-21.
"I thought Jordan (Bridges), Elena (Koch) and Sarah (Silber) started setting good picks in the second half," Berg said. "That freed up our shooters for some really good looks at the basket."
In addition to the ever-present defense, the Tigers dominated the glass (36-29) with Koch and Bridges leading the way with 10 and nine respectively.
Jordan Bridges (below) 15 points, nine rebounds
Taylor Meyer (No. 50) 14 points
(photos by Jim Lindquist)
Farmington also got a balanced effort on offense. Bridges finished with a team-high 15 points with Meyer and Kenealy right behind with 14 ad 13. Shelby Calhoun who led in assists with five, added seven points and Paige Steele tallied five.
The win moved Farmington (14-1) into a first place tie with Shakopee in the Missota Conference standings with a 5-1 mark.
Friday night the girls travel to New Prague to take on the Trojans who own an 11-5 season record and sit 4-2 in league play.
"We'll have to take care of the basketball and play defense like we have been," Berg said. "They have some good athletes and they come after you."
