Farmington Holds Off Harding Academy

PHYSICAL GAME GOES TO LADY CARDINALS

FARMINGTON -- Harding Academy girls basketball coach Rusty Garner was never so glad to see an opponent when he shook hands with Farmington sophomore Makenna Vanzant during pregame introductions Thursday.

On Halloween night, Oct. 31, Garner and senior forward No. 34 Elaine Helpenstill, senior point-guard No. 22 Layne Pace, sophomore guard-forward No. 21 Allie Nesbitt, and junior guard No. 2 Hannah Ferrie traveled from Harding Academy in Searcy to Arkansas Children's Hospital at Little Rock. Practice had just concluded and Garner informed his players he was going to visit Makenna Vanzant, who was hospitalized while battling Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome also known as HUS, an abnormal condition caused by the abnormal destruction of red blood cells, which clog the filtering system in the kidneys and can lead to life-threatening kidney failure.

Makenna had been transferred to ICU Oct. 26 and doctors weren't optimistic she would emerge alive, yet five days later she was making progress. Garner and the Lady Wildcats came to join their faith with the Vanzant family believing for a miracle.

"Coaching is all about relationships," said Garner, who is a good friend to Farmington coach Brad Johnson. "Relationships with other coaches and relationships with other players. What we told Makenna is 'You're just a friend we haven't met yet.' I will always remember I got to go see that kid and she played against us tonight."

Farmington defeated Harding Academy 51-43 in a hard-fought game. Lady Cardinal sharpshooter Madisyn Pense scored 25 points. Makenna Vanzant added 10 points for the Lady Cardinals.

"Our inability to find Madisyn Pense was the difference," Garner said. "She made us pay like good people will make you pay. She was the No. 1 player according to our scouting report. Our kids battled. They played hard. Farmington made the plays to win."

Johnson acknowledged difficulty in defending the Lady Wildcats, which were led by 22 points from Alden Graves.

"They were a challenge for us to guard," Johnson said. "They've got a couple of big, physical kids. The physicality of the game was at the state tournament level. They do a good job with their zone. Your field goal percentage is always going to take hit because of the good defense that they play. We always had a little bit of a lead, but we had to execute down the stretch."

With 6:37 to go Harding pulled within 38-36 on a 3-point play by Graves. Farmington countered with Joelle Tidwell tipping an offensive rebound out to the top of the key and boom, Pense nailed a 3-pointer. Makenna Vanzant attacked the basket after a steal and sank two free throws. Tidwell stepped out and caused a Lady Wildcat turnover which led to two more Makenna Vanzant free throws.

Graves responded with a 3-pointer for Harding cutting the lead to 45-39 at the 4:28 mark, but she wouldn't score again. Audrey Culpepper hit four straight free throws and Vanzant added two more after rebounding a blocked shot by Culpepper. Farmington led 51-41 with 21 seconds remaining. Helpenstil's layup in the closing seconds made the final 51-43.

Despite the loss, Garner was thrilled to see Makenna Vanzant

"Brad Johnson is a good friend, he's one of the best guys I know," Garner said. "If one of my kids were in the hospital three hours away it would hurt me. I knew they couldn't go and wanted somebody's coach to go when they couldn't. When we left her room we felt honored to have been there. We told Makenna, 'We want to see you on Dec. 7 when we come up there to Farmington. Her parents are people of faith. It was a special moment for our kids and her."

Farmington 51, Harding Academy 43

Harding Academy^13^9^11^10^--^43

Farmington^15^13^7^16^--^51

Sports on 12/13/2017