Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Vanzant Shoots 1,000 Points
FARMINGTON — Five games into her junior season, three-year starter Makenna Vanzant reached the 1,000 career-point plateau Friday as Farmington defeated former 5A West foe, Clarksville, 49-36.
In 68 career games it took Vanzant to score 1,000 points she averages 14.7 points-per-game, a feat all the more impressive taking into consideration Vanzant has been paired with another proficient scorer, senior Madisyn Pense, for her entire varsity career. Pense played five games as a freshman during the 2015-2016 season and is approaching the 1,000-point career threshold herself with 945 points in 73 career games an average of 12.9-points-per-game.
The girls complement each other well and have become a dynamic duo on the basketball court.
Opponents, who focus on guarding one run the risk of getting scorched by the other.
Pulaski Academy learned that the hard way suffering a 78-60 loss to the Lady Cardinals on Nov. 24 during the Slim Chickens Classic tournament hosted by Springdale Har-Ber. The Lady Bruins held Vanzant to 7 points, but to her credit she didn’t force the issue taking only 2 shots and making both including a 3-pointer. Meanwhile, Pense spotted up and singed the nets from downtown connecting on 6-of-9 shots beyond the 3-point arc.
Farmington athletic director Brad Blew, a 2018 inductee into the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame after a stellar 23-year coaching stint, had several players reach 1,000 points in their careers. Today’s technology makes tracking individual scoring totals much easier.
“We didn’t have Hudl and scoretracker and those things,” Blew said, adding he mostly concerned himself with the won-loss statistic.
According to the Blew the most recent Farmington basketball
players to achieve the feat were on the boys team: Matt Wilson (2015-2016), who holds the school record for most points in a game with 50 against Clarksville; and Matt Thomas (2013-2016).
“She’s a great player, she such a hard worker. She had the health issues a year ago. If anybody deserves great things to happen to her she’s one of those people,” Blew said. “It’s a real good feat. She’s meant so much to this program that I’m not surprised. To do that in that number of games (68) is really unique.”
Other 1,000-Point Scorers
Elsewhere among 4A-1 girls basketball teams, Berryville has two 1,000point scorers on its roster in senior guard Baylea Smith and senior post Hannah Morrell. The Lady Bobcat teammates both achieved the feat recently this season. Baylea Smith made a 3-pointer while leading the team with 15 points against another league opponent, Pea Ridge, during a 44-39 win in the championship game of the 2018 Queens of the Court girls basketball tournament hosted by Green Forest. Morrell scored a layup in a fast start of a 51-19 blowout of West Fork on Nov. 8. The 6-1 center scored 11 points in the first five minutes.
Farmington travels to Berryville for a 4A-1 Conference game after the Christmas break on January 15, 2019.
Farmington 49, Clarksville 36
Vanzant scored her 1,000 career-point Friday as Farmington beat Clarksville, 49-36, during the Tyson Classic in Pottsville. Pense had 16 points to lead the Lady Cardinals (5-0), who led 24-21 at halftime and 35-28 after three quarters. Vanzant added 14 while Tori Kersey added 10.
Emmaline Rieder led Clarksville (6-2) with 14 points.
FARMINGTON 49, CLARKSVILLE 36
Clarksville 10 11 7 8 — 36 Farmington 15 9 11 14 — 49