Farmington dominates St. Michael-Albertville on the inside in Class 4A girls' basketball

With a 6-4 center who is the centerpiece of many a Division I coach's wish list patrolling the lane, Farmington's game plan Thursday was simple.

Lean on Sophie Hart.

The Tigers did just that, getting 21 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists from Hart in a 78-59 victory over St. Michael-Albertville in a Class 4A semifinal at Williams Arena.

"We dominated the paint, both defensively … and offensively, as most of our shots came on the attack off offensive rebounds and looking to the middle," Farmington coach Liz Carpentier said. "We had Sophie in the paint and she could own that."

"That Hart's a heck of a player," St. Michael-Albertville coach Kent Hamre said. "She does such a nice job on the offensive boards, and she dishes the ball, too. She does more than just putting it back. We threw the kitchen sink at her."

Hart was ready for everything the Knights did.

"If they're going to leave me open, heck yeah, I'm going to try to score,'' she said. "But if I'm double-teamed, then it's somebody else's shot."

St. Michael-Albertville came back to tie the score 17-17, but Farmington went on a 12-0 streak. Hart didn't score, but she had six rebounds and three assists.

The back-and-forth continued the rest of the game, with Farmington taking a lead and St. Michael-Albertville rallying to close the gap. Eventually, the Knights faltered.

"We can usually pick a team apart from the outside," Hamre said. "Their strength was inside and we just couldn't match them from outside."

After trailing by nine at halftime, St. Michael-Albertville (20-9) found its range for a brief spurt, hitting five three-pointers to tie the game 44-44. But as it had all game, Farmington held firm and went on a game-clinching 13-4 run. Guard Peyton Blandin scored eight points — finishing with 22 — and Hart dominated inside.