Farmersville senior Daniella Jimenez (23) goes up for a layup attempt against Quinlan Ford on Tuesday, Jan.13 at Farmersville Arena. Photo by Victor Tapia / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Farmersville senior point guard Alexia Hernandez attributes the success the Lady Farmers basketball team has enjoyed during a 15-5 start to the season to its defensive play.
The Lady Farmers have held 12 of their first 19 opponents to 40 points or fewer, and that trend continued Tuesday night when Farmersville topped Quinlan Ford 44-20 at Farmersville Arena.
After holding Community to six points in the first half of the District 13-4A opener for both teams two weeks ago in an eventual 46-25 win, Farmersville’s defense was sharp again during Tuesday’s game against Quinlan Ford. The Lady Farmers held the Lady Panthers to 11 points in the first half and forced 29 turnovers on the evening.
“The defense has been really good,” Hernandez said. “Coach (Sandra) Hoge and Coach B have been making us play defense over and over again to where we have to focus on defense. We have to be disciplined. We have to talk. We have to not be lazy. Every day we come in, we want to have a good defense. We want to live for defense now.”
It took a little more than one quarter of play for Farmersville (15-5 overall, 2-0 district) to fully seize momentum. Quinlan Ford successfully broke Farmersville’s full-court press a few times and that resulted in made baskets from the field.
A four-point play brought the Lady Panthers within 12-8 just 38 seconds into the second quarter. On the play, Farmersville had a mental lapse that allowed junior Brianna Hood to be wide open in the right corner. Hood made the 3-pointer while being fouled and then converted the free throw to complete the four-point play.
“I felt that we were a little rusty to start the game,” Hernandez said. “We started out slow, which we always do, and we need to fix that. Toward the end of the game, it got really good. We were talking. We were making sure everything was covered.”
Farmersville worked through its early struggles and its defense began to make an impactful difference during the second quarter.
During one sequence midway through the second quarter, Farmersville forced a pair of Quinlan Ford turnovers on consecutive possessions. Senior Katelynn McRay capitalized on the second, converting a layup after a pass from senior Rileigh Blankenship to give the Lady Farmers an 18-8 advantage.
McRay carried the scoring load during the first half, tallying 15 of her game-high 17 points in that span. Many came on aggressive drives to the basket. Late in the second quarter, she dribbled left, attacked an open lane and finished a layup to push the lead to 24-10.
“Katelynn always has the want to get to the goal and pass it and shoot it,” Hernandez said. “We’re always going to try and back her up as much as we can.”
Hernandez found her rhythm in the second half, scoring nine of her 11 points after halftime. Her first basket came just 38 seconds into the third quarter on a tipped pass that led to a layup.
Farmersville closed out the win by going 10 of 14 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
0 Comments