Farmington gave No. 4 Chaska a game Tuesday night at Tiger Gym but in the end the Hawks interior size proved the difference in a 60-51 Missota Conference loss.
The Tiger sprang to an early 19-7 lead against the conference leaders behind the long-range shooting of Sofia Chadwick and Jordyn Homeier before the Hawks applied full court pressure that got them back into the game.
"We uncharacteristically struggled with the press and they went on a run, scoring easily in transition," Farmington coach Sondra Chadwick said.
The Tigers still trailed by just a basket (31-29) at halftime but in the second half the visitors took advantage of their superior height to extend their lead.
"We handled the press much better in the second half," Chadwick said, "but we did not get as many
open looks and shots were harder to come by. On the other
end, Chaska started going inside to their posts, exploiting our lack of size."
Sofia Chadwick, the school's most recent 1000-point career scorer, had another big night in the losing effort, finishing with a game-high 24 points. The junior guard scored a dozen in each half and drained four three-pointers.
Senior Aly Grebner had nine points and Kaitlyn Gorden and Homeier each added six. Point guard Alicia Hett scored only two points but played solid defense, pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and handed out four assists.
"Overall the girls played very well against the top team in the conference," coach Chadwick said. "We are playing some good basketball right now. The kids stepped up on the
boards and in their defensive intensity."
With the loss the Tigers dropped to 9-14 for the season and 4-8 in Missota Conference play.
