Lady Flames continue learning together
“I honestly believe if we can withstand this onslaught, once we get a regular practice, we’ll get better,” he said. “I want to see competitiveness and a fighting spirit.”
But he gave the San Saba players credit for their prowess.
“San Saba is a very mature and experienced team,” English said. “They’re going to present a lot of problems to a lot of teams.”
The Lady Flames began the game in a zone defense, and San Saba took advantage by dropping in 13 three-pointers.
“They do a really good job of passing the ball around and making the extra pass,” English said. “It was a little disappointing we did not respond better than we did.”
In the first four minutes, San Saba led, 8-6. But then the Armadillos began to connect on three-pointers, three in a row, to take control of the contest.
San Saba ended the first half by scoring six three-pointers.
“They have a perfect shooter’s conscience,” the Faith coach said. “If they miss, they’re convinced the next one is going in.”
Instead of completing a fast-break with a layup, the Armadillos pulled back and took three-point shots.
“The trailer might be one to go to the deep corner,” English said. “After they bust five threes, a mature team would have made the adjustment. We dropped to defend the post, who did not hurt us at all.”
Several of the San Saba athletes played summer basketball, which helps during the season, he said.
Still, he saw some good traits from his squad, including how well the Lady Flames played full-court defense.
“We really did put a lot of pressure on the basket,” he said. “It had more open areas we could have exploited.”
Instead of dribbling, English said the players could have made quick passes for buckets.
“I did not think we fast-broke the ball at all,” he said. “Right now, that’s an area we haven’t spent any time on.”
Kendra Field led the Lady Flames with 16 points followed by sister Brooke with 10. Deanna Hoover added five points, while Tori Diamond scored two, and Katie Jung and Shiloh Reaves each had one.
The Lady Flames reviewed the game film Wednesday and discussed defense and the quick break, and the coach said he believes the team will learn from the setback.
“I still think we have the potential to be a solid team,” he said. “Our problem is we have to stay within the scoring realm of a team.”
That means Faith cannot be more than 10 points behind an opponent, he said.
With only a handful of lettermen, who have limited court time, English said patience will be important during the pre-district schedule.
“I think the analogy of a computer is as good as it can get,” he said. “We have absolutely zero ability to adapt.”
But he believes that will change as the players practice and play more.
Faith will compete in the Bulverde Bracken Tournament today when they meet Texas Military Institute, which is a Class 4A member of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. The game will be played at San Antonio Christian School at 3:30 p.m.