Faith Academy girls basketball pushes Bryan Brazos to overtime
CAPTION: Faith Academy forward Claire Poage and the Lady Flames are preparing for the playoffs and will get another chance to get better when they welcome Waco Live Oak at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls girls basketball team lost to Bryan Brazos Christian 52-49 in overtime Feb. 7, pushing the District 3-3A leader of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools to play its best to secure the victory.
Head coach Kat Canada said the Lady Flames are projected to enter the playoffs as the district’s No. 4 team if the records hold after the season concludes Thursday, Feb. 9. Faith will welcome Waco Live Oak at 6 p.m. Thursday for a contest Canada believes will help her players as they look toward the postseason.
“Right now we’re peaking,” she said. “We’ve lost games that we shouldn’t have. Now we understand our potential and we’re playing to our potential.”
That was evident against the Lady Eagles, who relied on a full-court trapping defense to disrupt the Lady Flames. But that didn’t happen with the consistency Brazos Christian wanted because Faith matched each defensive stop.
The Lady Eagles led 11-8 after the first period. But Faith went on a 9-3 run in the second quarter for a 17-11 advantage. Brazos Christian, however, scored the final seven points of the half for an 18-17 lead at the intermission.
Neither team gave an inch in the third stanza. Brazos Christian led 24-18 until Ella Cozby found Morgan Weems for a backdoor bucket. Then sister Natalie Weems completed a 3-point play to pull Faith to within 25-23. And though the Lady Eagles maintained the lead, it was never by more than a possession going into the fourth quarter.
Faith trailed until the 2:33 mark when Elleson Lehmberg dropped in a free throw to start a 5-0 run that gave the Lady Flames a 44-40 advantage with 1:46 left.
Lehmberg dropped in two free throws to give her team a 46-44 lead with 25 seconds left in regulation. A jumper with 15 seconds left sent the game into overtime.
Morgan Weems gave the Lady Flames their only lead of the extra session at 47-46 with 3:46 left. Brazos Christian tied the game at 47-47 with 1:18 left then scored five of the next seven points for the victory.
Cozby led with 17 points that included two 3-pointers and connecting on nine of 10 free throws. Claire Poage added 11 points thanks to hitting three 3-pointers.
This result was similar to the loss to 34-30 Central Texas Christian Feb. 6. After Faith scored to tie the game at 30-30 late in the fourth quarter, CTC scored a lay-up and made free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory.
“All the games we’ve lost has put us in a bad position, but it doesn’t reflect who we are,” Canada said. “I definitely think we’re peaking at the right time. I’m happy we’re competing. Our biggest problem is we’re overthinking way too much. If we play under control and learn how to control every game, we’ll win every game in district.”
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