Lady Flames triumph against Kerrville Our Lady of the Hills
MARBLE FALLS — The sixth straight district crown for the Faith Academy girls basketball team was a hard-fought battle.
But the Lady Flames (27-4, 10-0) took Kerrville Our Lady of the Hills’ best shot and still prevailed 54-25 Jan. 31. It also marked the 66th consecutive district victory, a streak dating back to the 2006-2007 season.
"We were really ready," head coach Jerry English said. "We came out, and I thought just shut everything down. We really did do a good job on defense."
OLH took a 6-2 lead to begin the game. English said he told his players the first three minutes were crucial because he wanted the Lady Flames to force OLH to bend to Faith’s will. That didn’t happen, so he called a timeout.
A basket by sophomore guard Jo Anna Piatek and a 3-pointer from freshman guard Taylor Denton gave the Lady Flames a 7-6 lead. Faith never trailed again.
The Lady Flames relied on the outside shooting of senior forward Beth Ann Berkman, the inside presence of senior post Brooke Field, and drives to the hoop by junior guard Bailey Brinkley and Piatek for points.
Meanwhile, Brinkley shut down all-state player Hannah Reyes, who finished with five points, all in the first half.
English commended Brinkley for her defensive efforts.
He also was pleased with the play of sophomore guard Kristen Cherry, who contributed solid defense and helped the offense find its rhythm.
"We felt for some time that Kristen was going to help us," he said. "She was in the right spots on both sides of the court."
The result was a 28-15 lead at the half. While Faith scored 10 points in the third period, it only allowed OLH a total of 10 points in the second half.
As a team, the Lady Flames were 20 of 25 from the foul line for 80 percent.
Field finished with 24 points to lead all scorers, while Brinkley added 12 and Denton scored eight.
Hannah Blake led OLH with 11 points followed by Emily Ashley with nine.
"It was a great team win," English said.
Faith will take a bye Feb. 3.