FARMINGTON (KFSM)--After another excellent regular season, Brad Johnson and the Lady Cardinals head to the 4A-1 district tournament with a 20-6 record, 9-3 in the state's toughest conference.
"We like to play fast and with the pace that we play, communication can sometimes become an issue, so we stress communication. We want our kids to be vocal," Johnson said. "[Our message is] go as fast as you can offensively without losing execution."
"Definitely to practice really hard and play the best that we can to hopefully move forward in the district tournament," senior Madisyn Pense explained.
What sets Farmington apart is how tough practice gets day in and day out.
"Definitely how hard we work and how much extra time we spend in the gym," fellow senior Alexis Roach added. "[Coach Johnson] is a big part of it. We wouldn’t be where we’re at without him and without his program that he has worked hard to build."
"We’ve been really lucky to have a really good coach and he’s just enabled us to be the best that we can be," Pense concurred.
"He drives our energy a lot and he’s always there pushing us," added Roach.
Johnson's Lady Cards need to win just one game at the district tournament to secure one of the four spots in the 4A-North regional tournament.
"Continue to kind of lean on our identity which really is about defensive effort and it’s about transition offense," Johnson said. "We don’t want to change who we are, we’re just gonna try to fine tune."
Farmington faces either Huntsville or Prairie Grove on Wednesday at 7:00. With a win, the Lady Cardinals would get Harrison in the 4A-1 semifinals, which would be a chance to avenge a nine point loss from last Friday's regular season finale.