PRAIRIE GROVE -- Farmington jumped all over Prairie Grove, taking an 18-3 lead after the first quarter, and routed the Lady Tigers, 64-29, on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Jenna Lawrence scored 22 points to lead Farmington to its 17th victory of the season and third win in as many 4A-1 Conference girls basketball games. Kaycee McCumber and Hannah Moss added 10 each for the Lady Cardinals (17-1, 3-0 4A-1), giving first year Prairie Grove coach Scott Reed a rude welcoming to the rivalry.
"If it's going to stay a rivalry, we're going to have to do better than we did tonight," Reed said. "We've got to do a better job of getting on the same page. I know it's the first of January but we're still figuring it out. The girls are learning a new system. We're taking some baby steps right now."
Farmington's defensive pressure didn't give anything easy. The Lady Tigers didn't get on the board until Bella Barnes made 1 of 2 free throws at the 3:41 mark of the first quarter and their first field goal didn't go down until Ella Faulk spotted teammate Hope Kidd cutting back door for a layup with nine seconds to go in the first period.
"Our pressure defensively was really good tonight. We did a good job for the most part of really defending without fouling. Our guards all did a nice job of forcing their shooters downhill and then our big kids in the paint really did a great job of contesting everything and not giving up a lot of second chance points either," said Farmington coach Brad Johnson.
By that time Farmington had built a commanding 18-3 lead and unleashed its deep bench rotation. Six straight points came from Lady Cardinal reserves, including Kamryn Uher, Marin Adams and McCumber, before Moss drilled a trifecta early in the second quarter.
Camryn Cash answered with an old-fashioned 3-point play for Prairie Grove and Ava Nall banked in a 3-pointer on a kick-out by Barnes but those six points over a 1:27 span of the second quarter couldn't offset a 14-2 Farmington flurry to close out the half, leading 43-11.
The Lady Cardinals' triple towers with Lawrence and Zoey Bershers measuring 6-feet-3 along with McCumber at 6-feet-1 blocked a number of shots as did Reese Shirey, demonstrating a knack for timing her leap to erase a shot.
"Sometimes when you're a shot-blocker, you can get yourself out of position a little bit trying to over-slide and block a shot. I thought our kids were very disciplined. They stayed in their lanes defensively, they slid over, did a nice job of getting defensive rebounds and that keys our transition. Then we're able to get out and run and put pressure on them defensively to try and get back and stop that," Johnson said.
Lawrence hit a trey, then drove down the box and finished. After a Farmington steal, Moss hit for three.
Camryn Cash knocked down a triple and Faulk made free throws for the Lady Tigers as they scored five straight points. Lawrence answered with another trifecta and McCumber took a steal coast-to-coast to convert a 3-point play. The margin was 60-23 at the end of the third quarter and Farmington emptied its bench in the fourth.
Prairie Grove played without senior forward Kenleigh Elder, out with an injury. Faulk led the Lady Tigers with seven points while Cash had six and Ava Nall five.
Farmington 64, Prairie Grove 29
Farmington^18^25^17^4^--^64
Prairie Grove^3^8^12^6^--^29
Prairie Grove (8-5, 0-3): Ella Faulk 2 2-2 7, Camryn Cash 2 1-1 6, Ava Nall 2 0-0 5, Lexi Henry 0 4-4 4, Caroline Clemons 1 2-3 4, Hope Kidd 1 0-0 2, Bella Barnes 0 1-2 1. Totals 8 10-12 29.
Farmington (17-1, 3-0): Jenna Lawrence 9 0-0 22, Kaycee McCumber 4 2-3 10, Hannah Moss 4 0-0 10, J'Myra London 2 2-2 6, Reese Shirey 2 0-0 5, Kamryn Uher 1 1-2 3, Zoey Bershers 1 0-0 2, Marin Adams 1 0-0 2, Gabby McBurnett 1 0-0 2, Naomi Hernandez 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 5-7 64.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 3 (Cash, Faulk, Nall). Farmington 7 (Lawrence 4, Moss 2, Shirey).