Lady Cardinals dispose of Mena 59-15

Farmington girls secure berth in state tournament

FARMINGTON — Farmington’s ferocious full-court pressure and shot blocking allowed only five field goals as the Lady Cardinals crushed Mena, 59-15, in the first round of last week’s Class 4A North Regional.

The Lady Cardinals began regional play hounding the Lady Cats all over the court at Morrilton on Wednesday. Mena shot just 3 for 19 from the field in the first half, including an 0 for 11 performance beyond the 3-point arc.

Jenna Lawrence scored 18 points and Reese Shirey added 12, making certain Farmington returns to the Class 4A State tournament at Blytheville this week while Mena was sent home with the loss.

Offensively, the Lady Cardinals were looking for and finding senior Lawrence early. The 6-feet-3 future Lady Razorback spotted up in the left corner where Reese Shirey delivered the ball on a cross-court pass after making a steal. Lawrence nailed the trifecta, then snuck down the baseline, taking a lob courtesy of Hannah Moss for an easy deuce as Farmington scored the first 10 points of the game.

The Lady Cardinals led 17-4 after the first quarter and didn’t take their foot off the gas.

Lawrence caught the ball in front of the rim for another point-blank range basket. Moss stole the ball, got a defender off her feet with a pump-fake and laid the ball in. Zoey Bershers added a putback and kickout to Shirey, who buried a triple and Farmington notched 10 unanswered points to begin the second quarter.

Kensey Rosson, a 5-feet-2 junior, danced left to right underneath the basket and scored a reverse layup for Mena, but the Lady Cats missed 4-of-5 free throws, including all three when fouled attempting a 3-pointer.

Shirey scored consecutive breakaway layups off steals, the second of which displayed her acceleration as she poked the ball loose, then chased it down. The Lady Cardinals were firmly in command, 34-7, at halftime.

The Lady Cardinals tacked on another dozen points to kick off the second half. One sequence illustrated their transition game. Bershers blocked a shot and rebounded. She got the outlet to Shirey, who in turn fed J’Myra London on the fly for a layup. Kaycee McCumber floated to the hoop and received the ball for a bucket in the paint.

Bershers took her turn, catching the ball inside for a close-range bucket. Morgan Uher’s trey put Farmington over 50 points just inside the two minute mark of the third quarter.

Emily Leonard, a 5-feet-7 senior guard, scored eight points for Mena. She ended a 24-2 Lady Cardinal run, but Mena trailed by 40 points, 51-11, going into the fourth quarter.

The win advanced the Lady Cardinals into Friday’s semifinal.