Faith Academy girls basketball loses to San Antonio Lutheran

CAPTION: Faith Academy of Marble Falls senior post Hadley Shipley brings muscle to the paint for the Lady Flames. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls girls basketball team lost to San Antonio Lutheran 71-46 Jan. 16 in District 4-3A play of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

That came on the heels of losing to Georgetown Grace Academy 46-14 Jan. 9 in non-district play.

Lutheran is ranked No. 4 in the TAPPS Class 4A poll of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

Lutheran junior guard Ellie Schillerstrom led the Lady Mustangs with 42 points.

“She’s about as good as I’ve seen,” Lady Flames head coach Harvey Vaughn said.

Despite the outcome, Vaughn said he was encouraged.

“We’re getting better at everything we’re trying to do,” he said. “I saw a lot of things we’ve been working on. This game, regardless of how it turned out, it’s about us getting better.”

The first area of improvement is how the players handled Lutheran’s in-your-face defense. The Lady Mustangs were quick to the ball and forced turnovers and recorded steals and deflections during the first half that led to the lopsided score.

But as the game played out, Faith was able to run its offense.

“We showed a lot more poise under pressure,” Vaughn said. “Our defense is getting better.”

The Lady Flames started the game in a full-court press Lutheran went through for quick buckets. Vaughn instructed them to pick up the Lady Mustangs in their half-court defense instead.

Ultimately, the difference in this game was the number of multi-year lettermen on each team. Faith’s roster has several freshmen who are learning the strength and speed of the varsity level.

“We need more game experience,” the coach said. “We have young girls who are inexperienced. There’s no substitute for that.”

The Lady Flames had six players available and three weren’t competing at 100 percent.

Junior post Natalie Weems led with 14 points followed by senior post Hadley Shipley with 11 and freshman guard Cuyleigh Zimmerman finished with 8.

Faith Academy travels to Waco Live Oak (15-6, 2-0) for a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday, Jan. 18. Live Oak is ranked No. 1 in the state. Then Faith is at Temple Central Texas Christian at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21.

CAPTION: Faith Academy of Marble Falls junior post Natalie Weems’ experience and strength make her difficult to defend. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro