Farmington dug itself a big first half hole and could never quite recover in a 56-44 Missota Conference loss at New Prague Tuesday night. The win avenged an earlier season loss to the Tigers when the teams met at Tiger Gym.
The Trojans used a trapping defense that although didn't result directly in turnovers did produce a flurry of rushed shots. New Prague led by a dozen at intermission, 33-21.
Forced and missed shots weren't the only problems for the visitors in the opening period.
"We got in some early foul trouble and were already missing Morgan Mach due to illness," coach Sondra Chadwick said. "That gave us a short bench and some tired kids.
"However, we played them evenly in the second half. New Prague is a good team that is peaking at the right time, but we again need to overcome some of our lapses and be able to play a full game."
The Tigers played the Trojans even up over the final 18 minutes but were not able to significantly cut into the deficit.
The final shooting numbers told the tale of the game with the Tigers hitting only 15 of 46 from the floor for 32 percent.
Sofia Chadwick put up her second straight 20-plus points scoring performance, finishing with a game-high 22. The all-Missota Conference guard also accounted for six of the team's 13 steals. Abby Gallus scored six points and Alicia Hett had four.
The Tigers battled the taller Trojans to a draw on the boards (26-26) with Sarah Gorden leading the way with six rebounds.
"I was impressed with the fact that despite being pressed the whole game, we only had nine turnovers," coach Chadwick said. "They simply just shot better than us from the field."
Farmington (8-10) will try to get its shooting eye back Friday night the Tigers travel to Richfield for a Missota Conference contest with Holy Angels. Farmington prevailed 62-56 when the two teams meet earlier in the season at Tiger Gym.
