FARMINGTON -- Farmington used a 14-2 run over the last 3:48 of the first half to pull away en route to handing Gravette a 72-48 girls basketball conference loss Friday.
Senior Makenna Vanzant nailed back-to-back 3-pointers sandwiched around a pair of Tori Kersey buckets to key the run as Farmington (16-3, 3-0) went up 37-25 at the half.
Deep Roster
Vanzant scored 24 points and Kersey added 20 with Trinity Johnson contributing 12 points on four 3-pointers. Vanzant made five treys and the Lady Cardinals connected on 12 altogether. Depth made a difference.
"I thought Gravette did a really good job on the offensive boards especially early and we were able to kind of settle in a little bit in the second half and limit their second chances because they hurt us a couple of times on some second-chance points," said Farmington coach Brad Johnson. "We had a lot of minutes from a lot of kids. We went nine deep tonight and I thought every kid that went in that basketball game contributed and they played with a lot of energy and they just kind of stayed the course. And again, that's what you're going to have to do in this league because it is night in and night out. It's what I think is the deepest 4A league in the state no question."
Morrison Produces
Shylee Morrison scored Gravette's first nine points, and finished with 24 for the game.
"Shylee Morrison is a very good player and we all know that. She's a dynamic offensive kid and she's not the only one they have. They got other good players around," Brad Johnson said.
She got help from Reese Hamilton, who hit a free throw and a 3-pointer to keep the Lady Lions within a point, 17-16, at the quarter break.
In the second quarter Hamilton tied the game at 21-21 with another trey. Gravette had a chance to take the lead but Abigail Beranek couldn't cash in at the free throw line after claiming an offensive rebound.
Giving Up Size
Beranek took advantage of her size scoring 5 points in the paint during the third, but wasn't able to dominate the game thanks to the nimble feet of Kersey, who guarded her. Kersey's quick feet made a difference because she could beat the Lady Lion center to any spot on the floor.
"Tori used her athleticism and her length. Sometimes, we give up size sometimes in the paint in defending and so we have to rely on athleticism and quickness and she has to do her part in our film prep and all that so she knows what's kind of going on and what to expect and she did a good job of preparing," Brad Johnson said. "I thought she played tremendous tonight. Obviously, she gave us a big-time offensive spark in the first half, but she did a lot of work tonight on the defensive end."
Aggressive Play
Farmington led 60-44 at the end of the third quarter and denied the Lady Lions fast-break baskets by drawing two charging fouls while not scoring for the first 3:50 of the fourth.
The turnovers didn't bother Gravette coach Will Pittman, who liked the assertive efforts to get out in transition.
"It was some of those 50-50 bang, bang calls, but I'll take the aggressiveness," Pittman said.
Gravette closed to within 60-48 when Morrison scored in the lane, but Farmington found its offense after Audrey Culpepper blocked a couple of shots. She cleared a defensive rebound and found Vanzant with the outlet. Vanzant pulled up for a 3-pointer at the other end and the Lady Cardinals scored the last 12 points of the game.
Despite the 72-48 loss, Pittman thinks the Gravette Lady Lions (9-7, 1-2 4A-1) will only get better.
"We lost one to injury, Lizzy Ellis, 15-points-a-game. We're adjusting. We have over the last two games," Pittman said. "I feel like our best days are ahead of us."
He isn't sure she'll be back this season but didn't rule out the possibility noting, "She's working at it."
Brad Johnson isn't taking Gravette lightly noting the Lady Lions have size in the post and surround Morrison with some kids playing fundamentally-sound basketball who are shot-makers from the outside.
Defensive Challenge
"Sometimes I think you can get caught up spending so much time focusing on her that she does a great job of creating for others so we had to make a few adjustments," Brad Johnson said. "Most of the time when you go into a situation like this you kind of have a Plan A and a backup and then you better be willing to make adjustments and hope your kids can kind of adjust on the fly and I thought out kids kind of weathered the storm."
"The things with Gravette is they are a very good basketball team. Again there's a lot of good-looking teams in our league. They're certainly one of them. They're very well-coached and I felt like going in that they would make a run and matter of fact prior to us going on the floor that was the topic of conversation. They're going to have a run at them. They are too good offensively not to; and so, at some point, you're going to have to be able to control that run and answer it and you may have to trade baskets with them for a little while, dig in until we can get comfortable on the defensive end and ultimately to win that type of game you're going to have to be able to limit them to one shot and pull defensive rebounds."
Farmington 72, Gravette 48
Gravette^16^9^19^4^--^48
Farmington^17^20^23^12^--^72
Gravette (9-7, 1-2): Shylee Morrison 9 4-5 24, Abigail Beranek 4 1-4 9, Kaylan Chilton 3 1-2 8, Reese Hamilton 2 1-3 7. Totals 18 7-14 48.
Farmington (16-3, 3-0): Makenna Vanzant 8 3-4 24, Tori Kersey 8 4-4 20, Trinity Johnson 4 0-0 12, Joelle Tidwell 2 1-1 5, Morgan Brye 2 0-0 5, Carson Dillard 1 0-0 3, Audrey Culpeper 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 8-9 72.
3-point Goals -- Farmington -- 12 (Vanzant 5, Trinity Johnson 4, Culpepper, Dillard, Brye). Gravette -- 5 (Morrison 2, Hamilton 2, Chilton).
Rebounds -- Farmington 28, Gravette 25. Assists -- Farmington 16, Gravette 9. Steals -- Farmington 5, Gravette 5. Blocks -- Farmington 3 (Culpepper 2), Gravette 0. Turnovers -- Farmington 8.
Sports on 01/15/2020