Malvern Holds Off Farmington
Special to NWA Media Mark Buffalo Tayton Hopkins of Farmington attempts a layup Monday against Malvern in the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament at the Gina Cox Center in Lonoke.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
LONOKE — Farmington could not overcome a slow start in a 64-51 loss to defending Class 4A state champion Malvern in the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament Monday at the Gina Cox Center.
The Lady Leopards scored the game's first five points. Farmington then scored four in a row, but that was as close as the Lady Cardinals would get in the season-ending loss.
How They Scored
Girls
Malvern 64, Farmington 51
Farmington^7^8^15^21^—^51
Malvern^12^16^17^19^—^64
Farmington (25-6): Hopkins 4, Scales 10, O’Connell 2, Maxwell 14, McPherson 6, Eros 1, Garcia 2, Hopkins 12
Malvern (29-2): Murdock 10, Baker 9, Westbrook 6, Huell 14, Clayton 4, Smith 21
"They've got great athleticism," Farmington coach Brad Johnson said of Malvern. "They are skilled. I don't think they get enough credit for how skilled they are. We got down early, and it put us in a tough spot and we had to battle foul trouble. It was some of the wrong kids in foul trouble. We lost some of our height."
Johnson said he thought Malvern's domination on the offensive glass was key as the Lady Leopards led 23-9 with 3 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first half. They led 28-15 at halftime.
"That was really a factor ... it may have been the difference in the game," Johnson said. "I will say this to our kids credit: We kept fighting. We didn't flinch. We knew we were in a tough spot. But I'm not going to fault our effort.
"I thought our kids stayed with it the whole game long. We tried everything we could to get ourselves back in the game. Ultimately, they made more plays than we did."
Farmington scored the first four points of the second half -- two each by Tichino Scales and Haley Maxwell -- to cut Malvern's lead to 28-19 with 6:44 left in the the third quarter.
That was as close as the Lady Cardinals would get in the second half. Malvern outscored Farmington 17-9 the remainder of the quarter to lead 45-30 heading into the final eight minutes.
"We came out quick, and I knew we were going to have to get some stops," Johnson said of his team's start of the second half. "For us, tonight, the game was going to be won or lost on how we rebounded and if we could get into transition. When we were in transition, we were playing well."
Malvern's largest lead was 21 points at 58-37. Farmington made a late rally, outscoring the Lady Leopards 7-1 the remainder of the game to set the final score at 59-44.
Tieris Smith led all scores with 21 points for Malvern. Alivia Huell added 14. Tiffany Murdock scored 10.
Maxwell led Farmington with 14 points. Tahlon Hopkins scored 12. Scales added 10.
"It was what is was, but I thought our kids played really hard," Johnson said.
Sports on 03/11/2014