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| Kaitlyn Gorden 9 points and 11 rebounds (file photo by Jim Lindquist) |
Thursday night at Tiger Gym coach Sondra Chadwick's undersized team used 30 points from Sofia Chadwick and some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to upset Rochester John Marshall 64-57.
The key to the non-conference win over their section rivals was the first half where the winners built a dominant 38-19 lead. The winners used a balanced scoring attack and a pesky defense that forced the Rockets into a flurry of turnovers.
"They (JM) have two big post players and one of them got in foul trouble," coach Chadwick said. "By the time she got back we had gone on a run...They went to their bigs like I thought they would in the second half, but we calmly made our free throws to hold on.
"It was an incredible team effort by the girls. They played at a level that I've always known they were capable."
Three times in the final minute cut the Farmington (1-1) lead to three points but each time, the Tigers stepped to the free throw line and converted.
Abby Gallus made two pressure-packed charity tosses with 12 seconds to play. Kaitlyn Gorden rebounded a missed Rocket shot with one second left, was fouled and swished two more to account for the final margin of victory.
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| Aly Grebner provided a big spark off the bench (file photo by Jim Lindquist) |
"Ally was a big spark off the bench in the first half," Chadwick said.
Farmington drained 27 of 35 free throws in the contest, including 16 out of 20 in the second half.
John Marshall's twin towers of Jamie Ruden and Nicole Fautsch combined for 37 points, 31 of them in the second half.
The Tigers return to the court next Tuesday when they travel to Apple Valley for a non-conference game.
