FARMINGTON -- At radio school up-and-coming disc jockeys learn the importance of segues.
The idea is to avoid dead air or static when switching from music to a weather forecast, public service announcement, commercial or other station break. But there can be distractions such as an incoming telephone call from a listener, program director or live remote. Phones don't ring in the control room so jocks have to keep a constant watch on various colored light bulbs, each representing a different line, which illuminate when a call comes in.
Likewise the transition from holiday basketball of December into January when conference play begins may test a basketball team.
Greenbrier shot well in the first half with four 3-pointers, but was unable to defend Farmington's full-court game or guard the perimeter. The Lady Cardinals sizzled from beyond the 3-point line in the first half connecting on 8 trifectas en route to a 63-34 blowout of the first 5A West opponent they've faced this season on Jan. 5.
"I do think we're pretty powerful offensively, we can shoot it," said Farmington coach Brad Johnson. "We were stagnant a little bit in the third quarter. Their zone flattened us out a little bit. It's that time of year when the conference season is upon you when the game becomes a grind. You're between the holiday break coming off a tournament environment and the conference season. If you're not careful the grind can kind of wear on you."
A blocked-shot started Farmington's fast-break which Makenna Vanzant finished on the run. Breleigh Simmons hit a trey for Greenbrier, but that was the Lady Panthers' only basket in the game's first four-and-a-half minutes. By the time Sara McGee knocked down a 15-footer they trailed 17-5 after consecutive 3-pointers by Madisyn Pense and Vanzant and an early long-range bomb by Eliza Ball.
Seventeen seconds into the second period, Farmington built a 15-point lead on Camryn Journagan's 3-pointer. She would add one more as would Pense before the half expired with the Lady Cardinals out front, 38-23.
With 2:05 elapsed in the third, Greenbrier reduced Farmington's lead to 40-28. Neither team scored a field goal for the next five minutes. Greenbrier's Blysse Harmon had a bucket erased because she shifted her pivot foot in front of the rim. Ten seconds later Alexis Roach scored in the paint and Journagan passed out of the high post to Roach for an uncontested layup on the backside as the period wore down with Farmington ahead, 45-28.
The game was never in doubt in the fourth. Roach racked up several buckets as her teammates looked for her cutting into the paint. She led the Lady Cardinals with 18 points. Vanzant added 17 while Pense and Journagan each chipped in 11. Joelle Tidwell came off the bench after recovering from the flu and played a solid all-around game, handling the ball as sort of a point-forward at times.
Farmington 63, Greenbrier 34
Greenbrier^13^10^5^6^--^34
Farmington^25^13^7^18^--^63
Greenbrier (2-14, 0-4): Arden Naylor 3 0-0 7, Breleigh Simmons 3 0-0 7, Blysse Harmon 2 0-0 5, Sara McGee 2 0-0 4, Jayden Glover 1 0-0 3, Kaleigh Spencer 1 0-0 3, Hannah Donham 1 1-1 3, Haliegh Moss 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 1-1 34.
Farmington (13-2, 2-0): Alexis Roach 8 2-6 18, Makenna Vanzant 5 4-4 17, Madisyn Pense 4 0-0 11, Camryn Journagan 3 3-4 11, Eliza Ball 1 0-0 3, Madison Parsely 1 1-2 3. Totals 22 10-16 63.
3-Point goals -- Greenbrier 5 (Simmons, Spencer, Glover, Naylor, Harmon), Farmington 9 (Pense 3, Vanzant 3, Journagan 2, Ball).
Sports on 01/17/2018