Faith Academy girls basketball begins season
CAPTION: Faith Academy sophomore guard Lilly Koziel played well during the loss to New Braunfels Christian. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls girls basketball team lost to New Braunfels Christian 28-20 Nov. 8 in the season opener.
The Lady Flames (0-1) welcome Providence Prep at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Against the Wildcats, Faith trailed 6-4 after the first quarter, 12-10 at the half and 18-15 headed into the final stanza.
“It was good for our young girls to get in there and play,” new head coach Harvey Vaughn said. “We had lots of opportunities. Our conditioning was better than I thought. We needed to get better on offense. We haven’t been able to scrimmage 5 on 5. We’ve been working 3 on 3. I thought they did great.”
Freshman Cuyleigh Zimmerman led Faith with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals followed by sophomore Lilly Koziel with 5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist, freshman Layla Terrell and sophomore Megan Burrows each added 3 points, and freshman Jasmine Young scored 2 points and had 2 steals, grabbed 9 rebounds and had a block. Terrell also had 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block.
“Lilly was the only one to play a varsity game before,” the coach said. “I think she’ll be a leader on our team. She defends the ball handler. She’s going to teach the younger girls how to play guard. She’s our best guard defender She’s one of those girls who shows up every day and works hard.”
Vaughn said he “expected a little more” and for his players “not to be scared of the moment.” And he realizes the team has several freshmen who are adjusting to the varsity level’s strength and speed.
“Obviously with what I have, it’s going to take a little while for us to learn a new system and defense,” he said. “I’m expecting it to take most of the season to get clicking for district play. I thought we played really hard. I was surprised at how well they played defensively. Defensively, they did a good job.”
Vaughn said the team is waiting for four players to finish their commitment to volleyball. They are freshman Olivia Kraenzel, juniors Miley Fessler and Natalie Weems, and senior Hadley Shipley. The volleyball team is playing at the Class 3A state tournament that starts Thursday, Nov. 14.
“Natalie is very athletic,” the coach said. “She has good size and is very athletic. In our scheme, she’ll have more success scoring. Defensively, she’ll be great.”
CAPTION: Freshman Cuyleigh Zimmerman led the Lady Flames in scoring and was a force on both ends of the floor. Photo by Stennis Shotts
