Farmington's magical 2010-11 season disappeared in a cloud of cold shooting in the Section 1AAAA finals at the Mayo Civic Center Friday night as second-seeded Rochester Mayo earned a trip to the state tournament with a 49-35 victory.
The top-seeded Tigers, who were looking for their first-ever section title, brought down the curtain on their best season ever, finishing with a 23-4 record.
Mayo set the tone of the game early, scoring the first seven points of the night, all brought about by getting the ball in the paint.
"We were tight and I really don't know why," Tiger coach Jason Berg said. "We had been in big games before and played well. Mayo did a good job of being physical and shooting the ball. For some reason, that affected us."
Miserable free throw shooting by the Spartans (1-10) in the first half allowed the Tigers to keep things close and with 2:18 remaining in the half, Shelby Calhoun's three-pointer from the left wing forged a 17-17 tie.
But Mayo, who fell to the Tigers 63-38 during the regular season, responded with the final six points of the half to regain momentum and from there on, it was a long downhill slide for the Missota Conference champions.
"In the second half we wanted to take better care of the ball and reverse it more to make their zone move," Berg said. "But we either seemed to take a quick shot or turn the ball over."
Other than it's ice-cold shooting (24 percent for the game), Farmington's biggest problem came from the Spartans' sagging zone defense. Taylor Meyer finished with 14 points (and nine rebounds) but Tiger post players Elena Koch (2 points) and Jordan Bridges (0 points) found no room to operate inside.
"We saw a lot of zone this year and the way we beat it was by attacking it and getting to the offensive boards," Berg said. "Tonight we didn't do either of those things."
The emotional strain of coming so close to a state tournament berth showed on the players' faces after the game but Berg said that the season had to be judged as a whole.
"One game does not define a season," he said. "We won 23 games and a conference championship. Those are huge accomplishments. They show consistency.
"I would love to have gone to state but winning a conference title is a better indication of how good a team you are."
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