Rochester John Marshall scored the final 13 points of the first half and they proved to be the difference in the Tigers' 52-38 loss to the Rockets Friday night at Tiger Gym.
The win was the first of the season for JM (1-1) while the Tigers fell to 0-2.
"We did some things better than we did the first game," first-year coach Sondra Chadwick said, "But we got into foul trouble and we didn't shoot the ball very well the whole game.
"One thing we did better was being more aggressive rebounding. We concentrated more on boxing out but unfortunately, that's one of the reasons we got into foul trouble like we did."
John Marshall finished finished the night with 24 free throw attempts, making 18, while the Tigers made just two of five from the line.
Isis Alexander (5 points, 6 assists) scores the first Tiger point
Farmington took a 16-15 lead on Sofia Chadwick's jumper from the left wing before the Rockets went on their 13-0 run over the final seven minutes for a 28-16 halftime lead. Chadwick and Mariah Mincke each picked up three fouls in the first 18 minutes.
The Tigers played their best ball of the night starting the second half, scoring the first eight points to cut the deficit to four. The rally was short-lived, however, as John Marshall netted the next 12 to re-take control.
"We were getting out in transition and getting some good shots," Chadwick said. "We took the momentum but we couldn't keep it."
Chadwick tallied 10 points and Aly Grebner 10 to account for more than half of the Farmington offense. Isis Alexander had five points and a team-high six assists. Desiree Loftus pulled down eight rebounds.
Farmington played its second game without injured all-conference forward Taylor Meyer who isn't expected to rejoin the team until January.
"Having Taylor out as well as two of our guards who would have played tonight hurt," Chadwick said. "I think the girls got a little tired tonight."
The Tigers head to Owatonna Tuesday, Dec. 6, in search of that elusive first victory.
