PARAGOULD -- Farmington sophomore Tayton Hopkins scored 19 points and the Lady Cardinals defense limited Magnolia to 10 field goals Tuesday in a 45-26 victory over the Lady Panthers in the opening round of the Class 5A girls basketball state tournament at Greene County Tech.
Farmington, which won the 5A-West Conference, never trailed as it jumped out to a 16-7 lead after the first quarter.
Things got worse for the Lady Panthers in the second quarter. Magnolia scored only five points and made only 2 of 8 free-throw attempts as the Lady Cardinals built a 28-12 advantage going into halftime.
Senior Tahlon Hopkins added 11 points for Farmington, with eight coming in the first half. No other Farmington player had more than five points.
Magnolia sophomore Lillie Moore led her team with 14 points. Moore hit four field goals and was 6 of 9 from the line. The remainder of the Lady Panthers were a combined 0 of 6 from the line.
The Lady Panthers managed to claw back to as close as 11 in the second half. Farmington's advantage was 34-22 by the start of the fourth quarter, but Magnolia managed only two field goals in the quarter.
Sports on 03/04/2015