FARMINGTON -- Tahlon Hopkins clapped her hands together and shook her head as she walked up the court.
Farmington's 5-foot-11 senior was called for a travelling violation after taking too many steps on a driving layup. She smiled a little, then trotted to her spot on the defensive end. After a 21-point night, she could afford one mistake.
How They Scored
Girls
Farmington 51, Huntsville 37
Huntsville^13^2^13^9^—^37
Farmington^10^12^14^15^—^51
Huntsville (6-2): Creek 16, Campbell 8, McCartney 6, Phillips 3, Sone 2, Jones 2.
Farmington (6-1): Tahlon Hopkins 21, O’Connell 17, McPherson 7, Tayton Hopkins 4, Hamley 2.
Junior Varsity: Huntsville 33, Farmington 29
Boys
Huntsville 54, Farmington 31
Huntsville^15^11^17^11^—^54
Farmington^7^8^8^8^—^31
Huntsville (7-1): Garrett 15, Kirk 12, Aguilar 9, Eaton 8, Gosvener 6, Bohannan 2, Barton 2
Farmington (6-1): Mueller 16, Thomas 4, Spears 3, Wilson 2, Ingram 2, Osnes 2, Odell 1, Barnes 1.
Junior Varsity: Farmington 38, Huntsville 36
Hopkins was dominant for the Lady Cardinals in their 51-37 win over Huntsville on Tuesday. She owned the paint, stepped outside for a couple of mid-range jump shots and blocked several shots as the Lady Cardinals cruised to the nonconference win.
"We had a hard time guarding her," said longtime Huntsville coach Charles Berry.
Yes they did.
Hopkins went on a personal 8-0 scoring run over the final 5 minutes, 38 seconds of the second quarter, keying a 12-0 Farmington run that turned the game around. Before the surge, Huntsville (6-2) led 15-10. By halftime Farmington (6-1) had seized control 22-15, allowing the Lady Eagles just two points in the quarter.
"I thought she (Hopkins) played really well," Farmington coach Brad Johnson said. "I thought we had a lot of kids play really well. I thought we got a great defensive effort out of a lot of kids tonight."
Farmington also got a solid performance from junior guard Trish O'Connell, who scored 17 points and played lock-down defense on Huntsville's guards.
"I thought our kids played really, really hard and we got some great minutes from our bench," said Johnson. "That was Trish's best offensive game of the season."
Johnson credited his team's defense for turning the 5-point deficit around, holding Huntsville scoreless over the final 6:45 of the first half. The defensive effort seemed to spark the offense.
"When we get some points and get rolling, usually our energy picks up," Johnson said.
The Lady Eagles hurt themselves with a lot of missed shots in the paint and often settled for outside shots instead of going inside, Berry said.
"We just missed way too many shots," Berry said. "And we fouled a lot. We did foul. I'm not blaming the referees."
Huntsville used a 7-0 run to start the third quarter, including a 3-pointer from Shelbi McCartney, to close to within 24-22, but Farmington responded with a 5-0 run of its own and the game was never closer than five points the rest of the way.
Cierra Creek led Huntsville with 16 points, but no other player scored in double-figures.
Farmington will host longtime rival Prairie Grove on Friday in the final game to be played in Myrl Massie Gymnasium. They will move into their new Cardinal Arena in January.
Boys
Huntsville 54, Farmington 31
The Eagles avenged a loss last Friday to Farmington with a 23-point blowout win.
Huntsville (7-1) seized control early and never let go. The Eagles extended their lead to 20 points at the end of the third quarter on Caleb Kirk's off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 43-23 Huntsville lead.
Drew Garrett led Huntsville with 15 points and Jose Aguilar added 12. Jeremy Mueller led Farmington (6-1) with a game-high 16 points.
Sports on 12/10/2014