Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Farmington Girls Earn Solid Win
FARMINGTON — Sophomore Audrey Culpepper came off the bench to challenge shots, disrupt Russellville’s rhythm, and bring down defensive rebounds plus hit big shots as Farmington defeated Russellville, 62-49, Friday.
“It’s a great win, a great win,” said Farmington coach Brad Johnson. “We knew all week long how athletic Russellville was. They’ve been on a win streak. I felt we handled the ball real well against their pressure. We only had six turnovers and our rebounding was good. We had 23 defensive rebounds on the night. That was a very workman-like effort. It’s a great win for our basketball program over a quality team.”
Russellville had not lost in the new year until running into Farmington. Anna Myers, a 6-feet junior post, scored 8 points, including a 10-foot baseline jumper and putback over the back of two Lady Cardinals. Her jumper in the paint with two minutes left in the first quarter kept Russellville within 13-12. At that juncture, Johnson inserted Culpepper and she defended Myers so well that the Lady Cyclone center never scored again. She got shots in the paint, but Culpepper contested them and neutralized the threat.
“Audrey Culpepper has great length,” Johnson said. “She’s a taller kid, but her real strength is her length. When she uses that length defensively it’s pretty disruptive. She did a great job using her length. She didn’t block a lot of shots, but she altered shots. Offensively, she hit shots on the perimeter and got them on a back cut one time. She continues to grow as a player.”
Russellville was led by Zee McCallister’s 16 points. She hit several deep threes in the game, swishing one as the first quarter wore down. Russellville claimed an 18-15 lead in the second quarter but Madisyn Pense drove for a layup and Culpepper popped a 3-pointer to start a 15-2 Farmington run. Makenna Vanzant drove and finished. Pense nailed a trifecta and Vanzant stole the ball and pushed it upcourt finding Alexis Roach for a layup. Culpepper’s second trey of the period put Farmington ahead, 30-20, and the Lady Cardinals led the rest of the way.
Madison Parsely came off the bench to help offset Russellville’s Makayla Ealy on the low block. Ealy finished with 10 points, but Parsely made her work for them. Farmington closed out the third quarter on an 11-4 run to take a 50-36 lead going into the fourth. The lead remained at least 12 points for the duration of the contest.
Pense led all scorers with 25 points. Vanzant added 14 while Culpepper and Roach each had 8. Johnson praised Pense and Vanzant for hitting timely shots and senior guard Camryn Journgan for handling the ball when Vanzant got into foul trouble.
“Camryn Journagan played phenomenal, controlling the pace and taking care of the ball,” Johnson said. FARMINGTON 62, RUSSELLVILLE 49 Farmington 15 19 16 12 — 62 Russellville 16 8 12 13 — 49 Farmington (16-3): Madisyn Pense 25, Makenna Vanzant 14, Audrey Culpepper 8, Alexis Roach 8, Camryn Journagan 4, Joelle Tidwell 3.
Russellville (9-9): Zee McCallister 16, Makayla Ealy 10, Anna Myers 8, Carter Murphy 6, Cara Davis 4, Tamera Rhode 3, Mickey Belle Shields 2.
Farmington 41, Alma 37
Farmington survived what Johnson describes as the team’s worst shooting outing in the last two years in pulling out a 41-37 win at home Jan. 16 against Alma.
“At the end of the day great teams find ways to win,” Johnson said. “We made some hustle plays. We hit a big shot late. As far as bad as we played offensively for us to win that game was big.”
Farmington built a 14-9 first quarter lead which the Lady Cardinals upped to 25-16 at the half. Their advantage evaporated in the second half. Alma outscored Farmington 12-7 during the third quarter to close within four points, at 32-28, and tied the game late in the fourth.
After going more than six minutes of the final period without a point, Farmington found an answer with Culpepper draining a 3-pointer from the wing. The Lady Cardinals maintained the lead by connecting on 6-of-6 free throws to preserve a key 5A West 41-37 win over the Airdalettes. Vanzant led all scorers with 17 points.
FARMINGTON 41, ALMA 37
Alma 9 7 12 9 — 37 Farmington 14 11 7 9 — 41 Alma (6-12, 0-3): Sierra Bailey 11, Bailey Hoffsommer 9, Zoie McGhee 8, Cassidy Cooper 8, Hillarie Mata 1. Farmington (15-3): Makenna Vanzant 17, Alexis Roach 8, Camryn Journagan 6, Audrey Culpepper 5, Madisyn Pense 3, Eliza Ball 2.