FARMINGTON -- Lady Cardinal head girls basketball coach Brad Johnson came into the school year upbeat about progress individual athletes and the team made over the offseason.
"We had a great summer, junior high and senior high and particularly at the senior high level we traveled across the midwest and through the south part of the United States," Brad Johnson said. "We had a lot of kids go and compete on several different college campuses. Several of them played summer basketball on some pretty high level programs."
Eleven kids out of the varsity 15-person roster traveled and played competitive basketball over the summer with several invited to elite camps in different parts of the country.
"We were kind of looking back and figuring it up and we covered 14 states and somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-or-11 different universities," Brad Johnson said. "Our kids really played hard and really represented our school well. I'm pretty excited about what we've got going on now in the preseason."
Such travel is expensive and the capacity to travel as a team goes back to local support.
"Some of it is based on fundraising. We get good community support here and there's no secret to that, and we have to have that for our kids to be able to travel. Parent support is also huge in that and also from the kids because it's a time commitment to be able to go do those things, but our kids were really dedicated," Brad Johnson said. "They love the game of basketball and they love their teammates and so the summer for them is about getting better. It's also about getting exposure, but it's also kind of a unique time for them to go and travel with their teammates and try to improve and get ready for next year."
Whirlwind Tour
During one stretch Farmington went to Warrensburg, Mo., then returned home for a couple of days before getting back on the bus and going north to the University of Nebraska for two days before taking a break for the All-Star week with Brad Johnson coaching 2019 graduates Pense and Alexis Roach in the annual classic.
"Obviously that's a long trip. We came home and we were home for just a couple of days," Brad Johnson said. "After that was over we had about a week off and then a lot of our kids' travel schedule started up."
Brad Johnson traveled with them a bunch with his daughter, Trinity Johnson, among the travelers. Farmington girls went from Dallas, Texas, to back home to Louisville, Ky., to San Antonio, Texas, and back to Farmington for a local camp before heading out to Nashville, Tenn., and on to Atlanta, Ga. Before returning home, the girls went back to Dallas, Texas.
"It was a whirlwind tour. There was a lot of basketball played and I think our kids really got a lot out of it," Brad Johnson said. "They got better and I'm going to tell you something, they represented our community really, really well through that whole stretch."
Brad Johnson described the experience as "just invaluable," noting they got to see a lot of different styles of basketball and play kids from all over the country and globally. One group that included Farmington kids played against a youth national team that came from Australia at San Antonio. Texas.
"So, we saw a lot of different basketball, not just the United States, but from throughout the world," Brad Johnson said. "It was just a great experience for our kids and it's been fun to watch them now that most of them are back together working in preseason, watching those kids compete. I think they've got a little different outlook on the game and it's kind of stoked the fire so to speak to get ready for this coming season."
New Look
This season, for the first time in four years, Farmington will not have its one-two punch of point-guard Makenna Vanzant and with Madisyn Pense on the wing. Pense graduated last spring and is now attending Central Missouri on a basketball scholarship.
The pair led Farmington to a combined three-year overall record of 76-22, claiming a conference championship in the 5A West during 2017-2018 with a 12-3 league record, winning District tournaments in the 5A West in 2018 and 4A-1 in 2019 and reaching the state quarterfinals twice in 2017 and 2019 with a State 5A semifinal appearance in 2017.
Top Returners
A strong nucleus returns for Johnson to work with led by Vanzant, who will be in her fourth year as a starter. The 5-7 senior averaged 12.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists with the ability to generate an impact in multi-facets of the game. Vanzant knocked down a total of 66 3-point shots for a solid 33 percent, good for second in the league by percentage and was named All-State and All-Conference, and to the All-State tournament team.
The coach's daughter, Trinity Johnson, averaged 7.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. The 5-9 junior guard made 59 trifectas which amounted to 36 percent from long-range to top the league by percentage. Trinity Johnson was named All-Conference.
Left-handed Tori Kersey creates matchup problems as a mobile 5-11 junior forward averaging 10.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. She scored 18 points or more 8 times last season.
Senior Joelle Tidwell can play center as well as handle the ball at 5-9. She averaged 4.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while looking to become a 3-year starter. Tidwell received honorable mention All-Conference recognition as did classmate Audrey Culpepper, a 5-11 forward capable of filling up the hoop from 3-point range. Culpepper averaged 4.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 apg assists.
Senior Kaci Drain, a 5-4 guard, is also in the mix.
Junior High Success
Meanwhile Farmington's junior high girls basketball teams coached by former Farmington standout Jessica Carter-McCullough have compiled a 72-4 record over the past three seasons. Among the top newcomers are sophomores: Carson Dillard, 5-6 guard; Morgan Brye, 5-10 forward; and Megan Hernandez, 5-9 forward.
Farmington was scheduled to tip off the season Monday against Rogers Heritage in the Duel at the Dome tournament at West Fork, but wintery weather threatened to postpone the action to Wednesday.
Sports on 11/13/2019