combined for 35 points and 21 rebounds
(photos by Jim Lindquist)
Farmington put itself back in the hunt for the Missota Conference championship with a convincing 46-32 win over Shakopee Friday night, Feb. 11, at Tiger Gym.
The victory upped the Tigers league record to 7-3 and left them in a second place tie with the Sabers, one game behind co-leaders New Prague and Chanhassen. The girls 18th win of the season also set a new school record for games won in a season, breaking the old mark set in 1986-87.
"This was a big win for us against a team that beat us the first time," Tiger coach Jason Berg said. "It gives us a chance to still win the conference."
A strong start propelled the Tigers to a 26-11 halftime lead in what Berg called his team's defensive performance "by far our best of the year."
The winners scored the first six points off offensive put-backs, two by Taylor Meyer and one by Elena Koch. Isis Alexander came off the bench to hit two straight shots, one a three-pointer to give, her team an early 11-2 lead.
Over the first 18 minutes, the Farmington defense limited Shakopee to just four field goals and seven rebounds and the defense forced 11 Saber turnovers.
Shakopee mounted several second half comebacks but could never cut its deficit to fewer than a dozen points.
"We didn't play well on Tuesday against Chanhassen," Berg said, "so our focus was to play with more intensity right from the start. I told the girls we needed to win this ball game if we were going to have a chance to stay in the conference race."
The front court trio of Meyer (17 points, six rebounds) Koch and (10 and eight) and Jordan Bridges (eight and seven) combined for 35 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Farmington effort. Guards Paige Steele and Shelby Calhoun led in assists with four and three respectively.
The Tigers have two Missota Conference contests on tap this week, Tuesday, Feb. 15, at Holy Angels and Friday versus Northfield at Tiger Gym.
