FARMINGTON — Farmington’s early three-point flurry was enough to survive against Springdale Har-Ber Tuesday night.
The Lady Cardinals made seven three-pointers in the first half and held on for a 60-55 victory over the Lady Wildcats at Myrl Massie Gymnasium. The game was the season-opener for Har-Ber while Farmington moved to 2-0 after a victory last week at Green Forest.
Haley Maxwell scored 20 points for Farmington, which used its sharp outside shooting to take 39-19 lead with 40 seconds left before halftime. The Lady Cardinals needed all of her points after Har-Ber dominated the second half and cut its deficit to 53-49 with 1:53 left to play.
Tiffany Rhame secured the victory with three free throws in the final seconds and finished with 17 points. Rene Scheyder added 15 points while senior Tayleah Neal led Har-Ber with 20 points. Sophomore Bailey Schalk added 17 for the Lady Wildcats.
“They shot the ball unconsciously early,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said. “We came out in a matchup zone and it didn’t take us long to figure out that wasn’t working. They shot the ball very well but we didn’t quit, and I knew we wouldn’t.”
Har-Ber got off to a good start when Caylee Wright opened the game with a three-pointer. But Rhame countered with a three, followed by threes from Maxwell and Scheyder. The Lady Cardinals kept connecting from the outside to take leads of 26-12 after one quarter and 39-21 at halftime.
“We had several kids hit shots, so it wasn’t coming from just one kid,” Farmington coach Brad Johnson said. “They were getting open, setting their feet and executing very well. It’s a lot of fun coaching kids who can score.”
Har-Ber regrouped in the second half and put a scare into the home crowd by outscoring the Lady Cardinals 34-21. Schalk scored 11 of her 17 points on free throws but the Lady Wildcats missed some close shots that would’ve cut the deficit even more.
Farmington helped maintain its lead by making 8 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“Har-Ber stepped up their intensity and got real physical at the point of attack in the second half,” Johnson said. “But in the grand scheme of things, when we had to have a stop we got it. When we had to hit a free throw, we hit it.”
FARMINGTON 60,
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 55
Springdale Har-Ber 12 9 14 20 — 60
Farmington 26 13 6 15 — 55
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (0-1): Weber 6, Gray 4, Schalk 17, Wright 5, Bohannon 3, Neal 20.
FARMINGTON (2-0): Rhame 17, Maxwell 20, Scheyder 15, Scales 2, Ducanis 4, Blackburn 2.
BOYS
FARMINGTON 48,
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 43
Matt Brackett scored 13 points as Class 4A Farmington completed a sweep with a 48-43 victory over the Class 7A Wildcats.
Farmington outscored Har-Ber 15-9 in the third quarter to take a 35-29 lead. The Cardinals built their lead to 10 before Har-Ber got to within 35-34 on a three-pointer from the corner by Justin Malott.
Har-Ber continued to threaten behind Alex Rice, who scored 12 points, but Farmington stayed ahead with the help of guard Josh Mueller, who made eight consecutive free throws in the final two minutes.
Brackett opened the second half with a three-pointer and Alex Dellett followed with a three-point play to give Farmington a 25-20 lead. Farmington extended its lead to 33-23 before Har-Ber made the game close by outscoring the Cardinals 17-13 in the fourth quarter.
FARMINGTON 48,
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 43
Springdale Har-Ber (0-1) 8 9 9 17 — 43
Farmington (1-1) 9 11 15 13 — 48
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (0-1): Bucheri 5, Fox 7, Jester 5, Jones 6, Malott 8, Rice 12.
FARMINGTON (2-0): Mueller 9, Oxford 4, Hollingsworth 6, Brackett 13, Ness 2, Garner 8, Dellett 6.