Faith Academy girls basketball faces Central Texas in rematch

CAPTION: Junior guard Lily Koziel’s ability to get Faith into the right offense and make long-range shots will be crucial for the outcome against Temple Central Texas Christian. Photo by Stennis Shotts

If the Faith Academy of Marble Falls girls basketball team wants to advance to the Class 3A playoffs of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, the Lady Flames must do what they’ve done the last two years.

Sweep the season series against Temple Central Texas Christian.

Currently the Lady Flames have a five-game winning streak against the Lady Lions with the most recent victory coming Jan. 20 when Faith prevailed 52-44.

In that contest, the Lady Flames played from behind for 24 minutes. After CTC hit a jumper to extend the lead to 43-37 with 7 minutes and 43 seconds remaining in the game, Faith didn’t allow another point until the Lady Lions connected on a free throw with 37 seconds left.

By then, the Lady Flames were assured of the win thanks to 3-pointers by junior guard Lily Koziel, free throws and a lay-up from sophomore guard Olivia Kraenzel, and two layups from sophomore guard Cuyleigh Zimmerman.

And while head coach Harvey Vaughn was pleased with his team’s defense and finish that night, he noted the Lady Flames can’t have that type of offensive start in the rematch when the two meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10.

“Throughout the course (of the game) we made little runs at the end of the quarter,” he said. “It looked good and we were in the game, but it was hard climbing uphill the whole game offensively. We just weren’t shooting the ball well. It wasn’t that we weren’t playing well offensively – we just weren’t shooting it well and we just were missing easy shots that we should be making. We should have been in the game but we just weren’t.”

He pointed out the Lady Flames’ defense gave them a chance in the final stanza because his players “keyed into what they were doing.”

“They just kept trying to do the same thing over and over, and we stopped it and would get steals and go for fast breaks and get fouled,” the coach said. “At home, our fans were going crazy. We ended up making a run. I don’t think we can count on that.”

Both teams are in District 4-3A and unlike other districts, coaches voted to use stats instead of a play-in game to determine which team advances to the postseason in case of a tie.

Since Faith won the first game by eight points, the Lady Flames can still advance to the playoffs with a loss but can’t lose by more than seven points. Vaughn noted the district made a decision before he took over the program last season.

Faith is entering this contest with losses to Waco Live Oak, the state’s No. 1-ranked team, 65-20 Feb. 6 and to San Antonio Lutheran 50-34 Feb. 3. Lutheran is ranked in top three in the state.

Faith led Lutheran 12-9 after the first quarter. Then the Lady Mustangs outscored the Lady Flames 15-4 in the second stanza for a 24-16 lead at the half that went to 40-23 going into the final stanza.

Live Oak almost scored all the points they needed for the win in the first period when the Lady Falcons outscored the Lady Flames 19-3.

“We got beat pretty good,” Vaughn said. “It was senior night for them, the place was packed, and they were in rare form.”

By contrast the Lady Lions are riding a three-game winning streak and even the 64-60 overtime loss to Lutheran is encouraging because they had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

“They’re absolutely playing the best they’ve played all year right now,” Vaughn said. “They have a little more size; we have a little more speed. As a coach, these are the games you live for.”