Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Lady Cards Victorious On Senior Night
FARMINGTON — The Lady Cardinals (20-5, 9-2) notched their twentieth win of the season with a 49-37 triumph over 6A Russellville on senior night at Cardinal Arena.
Sophomore Madisyn Pense scored 12 points in the first 11:07 of the contest. She hit four 3-pointers, making an early impact. As Russellville began to focus their attention on Pense, who was scoreless the rest of the way; freshman Makenna Vanzant, who had only 5 points in the first half, picked up her offense. Vanzant carried the load with 10 points in the third quarter and topped Farmington with 17. The play of senior forward Kaylee Brown was crucial down the stretch with 7 of her 13 points coming in the fourth quarter.
Pense’s 3- pointer tied the game at 5, then senior Camryn Journagan ran the floor trailing a fast-break. Her diligence was rewarded when her teammates found her for a go- ahead layup. Anthea Jones transformed a steal into another opportunity with a quick outlet to Ella Wilson. Wilson was fouled going to the bucket and made both free throws for a 9-5 Farmington lead.
Vanzant concluded a 9-0 Lady Cardinal run by driving and finishing in the lane. Farmington owned an 11-5 lead after the first quarter. Russellville cut that to 12-9, only to have Pense catch fire from the perimeter. She hit a trio of 3-pointers in a three minute span and Brown scored in the paint to beat the horn giving Farmington a 26-13 halftime advantage.
Brown again had the last basket of the third on driving bank shot to put the Lady Cardinals ahead, 38-23. Neither team scored in the last 2:55. Wilson was instrumental in not allowing Russellville to cut into the lead. She had several defensive rebounds, at least one offensive rebound and tipped away a pass into the post as time expired in the third.
Brown gave Farmington their biggest lead of 16 points, at 41-25, with a 3- pointer of her own 25 seconds into the fourth. Russellville trimmed the lead to eight, but Brown found Camryn Journagan cutting to the hoop for a layup. Another Jones’ steal led to Brown’s pull-up jumper in the key and Farmington maintained a 10-point lead the rest of the way, winning 49-37.
“Prior to the game I was thinking about how much things have changed in the last three years,” said Farmington coach Brad Johnson. “We used to be in 4A. Now we’re playing teams like Russellville. That’s a 6A school, that is twice our size. For us to be able to compete in this ( 5A/6A blended) league, it says a lot about our kids. I’m real lucky to coach this group.”
Farmington 49, Russellville 37
Russellville 5 8 10 14 — 37 Farmington 11 15 12 11 — 49 Russellville (14-11, 7-4): Abbie Looper 16, Emily Posey 7, Zipporah McAlister 5, Sabra Farrow 3, Kasey Heath 2, Anna Myers 2, Bailey Wilbers 2. Farmington (20-5, 9-2): Mackenna Vanzant 17, Kaylee Brown 13, Madisyn Pense 12, Camryn Journagan 5, Ella Wilson 2.