Faith Academy girls basketball hits bucket to send game to overtime

CAPTION: Faith Academy senior Alayna Steele had the key assist in giving the Lady Flames a chance at win when she found classmate Ella Cozby for the 3-pointer. Photo by Jennifer Fierro/TexasChalkTalk.com

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls girls basketball team lost to Bryan Allen Academy 57-53 in overtime Nov. 28 to go to 3-3 on the season.

The Lady Flames needed a 3-pointer with seconds left in regulation to send the contest into an extra session.

Head coach Kat Canada called a timeout and drew up a play and witnessed her players execute it to perfection, she said. The result was a made 3-pointer by senior Ella Cozby that sent the Faith fans into a frenzy.

“Ella hit a buzzer beater to tie the game,” Canada said. “She had a lot of pressure on her. I haven’t seen her work so hard to get a 3-pointer. She’s a senior shooter, and I trusted her the most. She’s that person I trust. Coming off that screen, she knew what to do.”

In the extra session, the Lady Flames weren’t as careful with possessions as coaches would have liked, which allowed the Lady Rams to win. Still, Canada commended her players, noting they faced a deficit throughout the game.

Allen led 19-12 after the first quarter that went to 32-17 at the half.

“I’ve never seen my girls come back from 20 points,” Canada said. “They had two good players, and we needed to tighten up on defense and focus on rebounding and not giving them second chances.”

The Lady Flames outscored Allen 17-9 in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 41-34 going into the final quarter. Faith scored 16 points to the Lady Rams’ 9, none bigger than Cozby’s 3-pointer.

Faith sophomore post Natalie Weems had with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while senior forward Alayna Steele, recorded 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Cozby scored 11 points. Seniors Audri Poage and Claire Poage each added 6 points, freshman Kenley Virdell dropped in 2, and senior Ellis Lehmberg had 1 point, 5 assists and 8 rebounds. Claire Poage also had 8 rebounds and Audri Poage had 5.

Steele’s lone assist was to Cozby for the 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime.

“Alayna really stepped up and played the best I’ve seen her play,” the coach said.

This is the latest thriller between the two teams. Two years ago Morgan Weems hit a shot to tie the game only to watch a Lady Ram connect on a shot from half court at the horn for the win.

Leading into this year’s contest, Canada noted the Lady Flames had a productive practice Nov. 27 where they spent time on the offensive end, particularly pushing the pace by throwing quick passes and getting more spacing.

“It really, really helped,” she said. “It opened the court up a lot.”

While no one wants to lose, Canada said the Lady Flames did everything they could in the second half to give themselves a chance at a win.

“I was really proud,” she said. “They did not give up. They fought back to get the lead down. Their two best players didn’t score for a long time. We executed the offense really well. We have a lot to build on.”

Faith welcomes Austin San Juan Diego at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, to The Fire Pit.

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