Farmington takes aim at 51st straight conference victory

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

It may be a new classification, but it still is the same old winning ways for Farmington’s girls basketball program.

The Lady Cardinals (21-1, 8-0) will go for their 51st straight conference victory when they visit RAlma Friday night.

Farmington, who won the last two Class 4A state titles, downed Silom Springs 84-23 on Tuesday night to remain unbeaten in 5A-West action after moving up a classification.

The Lady Cardinals, who have won the last two Class 4A sates titles before moving up to 5A this season, scored the game’s first 35 points.

Johnson said part of the success has been a culture that has passed down for one team atop to another.

“That whole process means everything to our program,”Johnson said. “I am just so proud of our kids and it has been over a long time. It is a collection of work that these kids have really invested over years.

“Each new group, even though we have had years where we nearly returned everyone, one of the things we talk about is that every year is a new story.

“We have a legacy standard of the we we work, the people that we are and the way we embrace roles within the team.

“We have to live up to it as coaches and players because it was such an important thing to the group in front of you and it needs to be that important to you now. And then you get to pass that on to the next group.”

Farmington was fortunate to bring back a solid core group and added in some talent.

“We are off to a pretty good start and I really like our group,” Johnson said. “There are several player back that have experience and have played at high levels, and are high level players.

A trio of those players back include 6-3 Minnesota signee Zoey Breshears and Pitt State signees Marin Adams and Kaycee McCumber – who all inked their national letter of intents on Wednesday.

“Brashears, Adams and McCumber all played huge playoff roles for us on our state championship team last year,” Johnson said. “We have got some other girls that have been kind of role players that have stepped into bigger roles.

“Gabby Vernon is one, Morgan Uher is another and Easton McCullough is a freshman who has moved up and she has just kind of fit like a glove.”

McCullough, who already has offers from Arkansas Iowa, Ole Miss and a host of others, had a career-high 36 points against Mountain Home.

“She is uber-talented, really, really skilled and shoots the ball at a high clip and is a phenomenal teammate.

“We also have a couple of kids that are currently in our junior class that we thought as sophomores had a pretty high ceiling. And now those kids are kind of panning out like that.

“Reece Thornton and Josie Dillard – I think are both going to be high level players and they have brought a lot to the table.”

The only loss Farmington has suffered this season was to Knoxville (Tenn). Webb (54-52) in a December tournament in Greenville, Tennessee.

“We went to the Andrew Johnson event out in Tennessee, a tournament that was sponsored by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame,” Johnson said.

“Night after night after night, very team we played had the chance to either repeat as a state champion and we got really tested. We got a pretty good idea of what our weaknesses were.

“We just tried to do the things that we needed to get ready for 5A and so far I am proud of what we have gotten out of it.”