Girls basketball: Tigers play well but fall in Meyer's return

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Taylor Meyer’s return to the lineup provided an immediate spark for the Farmington girls basketball team.

The senior did exactly what first-year head coach Sondra Chadwick had hoped — she helped the players around her perform at a higher level — despite a narrow 70-68 loss in the Tigers’ Missota Conference opener Friday night in Red Wing.

Meyer, a 1,000-point career scorer and three-time all-conference selection, scored 18 points and hauled in nine rebounds in her first time on the court in a live game since suffering an ACL injury last summer. She helped the Tigers best their previous season-high scoring total by 14 points while also putting four players in double figures for the first time this season.

“She did not look like a player that had been sidelined for the past six months. I was happy with how seamlessly she fit back into the lineup,” Chadwick said. “This was a team effort — the other girls had the confidence to knock down their shots and take advantage of their match-ups. This was the best the team has played all season and I knew that we were in a good position to have Taylor rejoin based on how we’ve been playing the past couple of weeks.”

Freshman guard Sofia Chadwick matched Meyer’s 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, handed out four assists and swiped three steals. Mariah Mincke hit several jumpers en route to 16 points and Isis Alexander added 12 points and five assists.

Red Wing surged to a 9-0 lead to start the game, but Farmington rallied to tie the game 33-33 by halftime. The Wingers made 15 free throws in the second half as they held off the Tiger rally.

Red Wing finished with 36 free-throw attempts to Farmington’s eight as it picked up its fifth straight win and improved to 11-2 overall.

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