Taylor Meyer (right) 14 points, 9 rebounds
(photos by Jim Lindquist)
A hard-charging rally in the final five and a half minutes of regulation gave the Tigers a hard-earned 56-50 win over Chanhassen Tuesday, Jan. 11, in Chanhassen.
The come-from-behind victory kept Farmington's 11-game unbeaten streak alive and raised its Missota Conference record to a perfect 2-0.
"Good teams find a way to win when they don't play particularly well," Tiger coach Jason Berg said. "We got the defensive stops we needed late. It was a good win...but what win isn't?"
Chanhassen (6-5) used an aggressive defense to stay close in the opening half, trailing 30-26 at the break.
The Storm caused more defensive havoc in the second half and held a 48-44 lead with 5:30 to play.
That's about the time the Tigers flipped a switch and started to play a more familiar brand of basketball. They held Chanhassen scoreless for the next 3:30, forcing four turnovers while making six of eight tries from the free throw line.
Chanhassen tied the game at 50-50 but did not score again. Jamie Kenealy, Paige Steele and Jordan Bridges each made two fee throws down the stretch to ice the victory.
In the end, free throw shooting decided the contest. The Tigers went to the free throw line a whopping 37 times, making 22. Chanhassen hit 14 of 17 from the charity stripe. Farmington's final 12 points came from the line.
Taylor Meyer and Brdiges paced the Farmington offense with 14 and 13 points respectively. Isis Alexander added nine points to the winning recipe.
Bridges pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds and Meyer added nine as the Tigers built a dominating 46-28 edge on the glass. Steele recorded team-highs in steals (6) and assists (3).
