Top-seeded Farmington bumps off Central 58-50

~ The Black Knights advanced to tonight's title game.

Central sophomore Sadie Pittman delivered another impressive performance at the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic girls basketball tournament.

Pittman scored 16 points for the second night in a row, but it wasn't enough as the Tigers fell to Farmington 58-50 in the championship semifinals Thursday at the Show Me Center.

"Sadie Pittman carried us again tonight," Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "She's really stepped it up the last couple games."

Farmington opened a 13-point lead at halftime, but the Tigers refused to go away. They held the Black Knights scoreless for the first 3 minutes, 47 seconds of the third quarter and closed to within six points with 2:53 left in the third.

KIT DOYLEkdoyle@<B>semissourian.com (ABOVE: Central sophomore Sadie Pittman fouled Taylor Jensen in the final minute of Central's second round loss to Farmington in the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic on Thursday at the Show Me Center. LEFT: Central junior Breia Twiggs drove against Farmington defender Kaitlin Knox.)

"We just went out and pressured the ball," Pittman said.

Central went to work in the fourth quarter as junior Wendi Zickfield scored six points in a 1:04 span to cut Farmington's lead to five, 53-48, with 2:22 left. Pittman said it's important to get Zickfield the ball in the post to generate offensive chances for the Tigers.

"She knows how to work down there," Pittman said. "She handles the ball real good down in the paint."

Shirrell agreed with Pittman's assessment.

"It's a big part of our offense," Shirrell said of feeding Zickfield in the post. "The good part about it is that it's not all the offense we have."

during their St. Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic second round game Thursday night, December 20, 2007, at the Show Me Center. (Kit Doyle)

Farmington allowed the Tigers to hang around by struggling at the free-throw line. The Knights went 2-for-6 during a stretch late in the fourth quarter.

Pittman hit two free throws to cut Farmington's lead to five, 55-50, with 28 seconds left, but the Knights straightened out their free-throwing shooting, hitting 3-of-4 in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.

"It's kind of frustrating, but we just need to take care of the ball and concentrate," Pittman said. "We need to be patient."

Zickfield also added 16 points while Taylor Kirn had 12 in the loss. Holly Russell led the Knights with 18 points.

"We're getting to the point where we have to learn how to not let up and keep battling," Shirrell said. "[Wednesday] I thought we showed that. Tonight we let up a little bit. We made a run and cut their lead in half, then we let them come back again."

Central 10 14 13 13 -- 50

Farmington 16 21 10 11 -- 58

Central (50) -- Sadie Pittman 16, Chelsea Pannier 1, Breia Twiggs 1, Taylor Kirn 12, Wendi Zickfield 16. FG 19. FT 8-16. F 19. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: Twiggs, Sarah Uptmor)

Farmington (58) -- Erin Littrell 7, Molly Barnes 7, Taylor Jensen 10, Kelsey Detring 7, Ashley Jenson 6, Holly Russell 18, Casey Hagen 3. FG 21. FT 13-28. F 12. (3-pointers: Littrell, Russell, Hagen. Fouled out: none)