Girls basketball: Inexperience showing for Tigers

• Photo: Girls basketball

Guard Sofia Chadwick handles the ball for Farmington during a recent game.

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Already playing with a short bench, the last thing the Farmington girls basketball team needed Friday night against Rochester John Marshall was foul trouble.

The Tigers charged to an early 16-15 lead in their home opener before starters Mariah Mincke and Sofia Chadwick were whistled for their third fouls. The Rockets responded by going on a 13-0 run to end the first half and never trailed the rest of the way as they picked up win No. 1 for the season, 52-38 at Tiger Gym.

Farmington was whistled for 16 fouls, which allowed the Rockets to cash in by making 18 of 24 shots from the free-throw line.

“They came out much more aggressively (than against Rochester Century), which is how I am trying to get them to play. Unfortunately, that aggressiveness also got us in foul trouble early in the first half,” first-year head coach Sondra Chadwick said. “We’ll need to find a better balance of playing aggressive, but not fouling.”

Sofia Chadwick led the Tigers with 11 points. She also grabbed five rebounds and handed out three assists. Desiree Loftus led an improved effort on the glass by grabbing eight rebounds.

Aly Grebner joined Chadwick in double figures with 10 points, Jeanna Gaalswyk added six and Isis Alexander chipped in five points and six assists.

The Tigers scored the first eight points of the second half to close within 28-24, but the Rockets responded with a 12-0 run of their own to go up 40-24.

Century 64,

Farmington 33

The young, undersized Tigers showed their inexperience in last Tuesday’s season-opening loss in Rochester.

The team totaled just 13 rebounds and the Panthers took advantage of the second-chance shots early, surging to a 37-19 advantage by halftime.

Mincke was the only FHS player to reach double figures as she scored 11 points and grabbed three of the team’s 11 steals. Chadwick added nine points and three assists in her first varsity game and Alexander had seven points and five assists.

“I liked our perimeter game. We did a nice job of creating shots for ourselves and distributing to our teammates,” coach Chadwick said. “We will need more of an inside presence, though, as we did not get a lot of points in the paint.”

The Tigers began a stretch of three straight road games Tuesday with a long road trip to Owatonna. They travel to Rosemount Friday night, then take on Lakeville South in another non-conference road contest next Tuesday.

Tags: girls basketball, sports, farmington, tigers, prep