Faith Academy girls basketball wins sixth Johnson City tourney crown
Faith Academy junior guard Taylor Denton (left) finishes a fast break with a layup during the Lady Flames' 35-15 victory against Canyon Lake on Dec. 6. Courtesy photo
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE EDITOR
JOHNSON CITY — The Faith Academy girls basketball team’s home away from home is the Johnson City gym. After all, the Lady Flames have won six of the past seven Johnson City tournament championship trophies with the latest Dec. 7.
Faith (8-2) defeated Schertz John Paul II 51-42 in the championship game. Earlier, it beat Canyon Lake 35-15 and Ingram Tom Moore 54-33.
Lady Flames head coach Jerry English was pleased with winning another championship and said had his players made more high-percentage shots, the margin of victory would have been greater.
“We are still missing way too many shots,” he said. “It was a nine-point victory that could have easily been 29. We did a lot of positive things like getting solid rebounds.”
Junior guard Taylor Denton saw the court in a way that was thrilling for observers, he said.
“Taylor made passes that were jaw dropping,” he said. “But they don’t come up on assists unless you finish the play. You score six points; you could have easily scored 12 to 14 points.”
That also illustrated the Lady Flames’ need to improve on their quick breaks when a defensive rebound is made and players pass the ball instead of dribbling in order to get a layup before the other team crosses mid-court.
“Our quick break is out of sync,” English said. “The ball should not be dribbled. The only dribble should be the preparation of a layup. We’ll spend a lot of time this week on that.”
Faith also will work on creating better depth, he said, adding he’s pleased with freshman forward Alisha Williams’ progress.
“She has been a little bit of a surprise,” he said. “We’re not getting as much from the post position as we need. But if you’d told me at the beginning of the season we’d be 8-2 after 10 games, I’d be a happy camper. If we start finishing, we’ll be fun to watch.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
ALL-TOURNAMENT PLAYERS: Taylor Denton, Joanna Piatek
ON OFFENSE: (tournament averages) points – Taylor Denton 16, Joanna Piatek 6, Sierra Brinkley 3, Kristen Cherry 2, Juliette Fisher 10, Alisha Williams 1, Hannah Cozby 8, Sarah Burrage 1, Susanna Case 1; rebounds – Piatek 2, Brinkley 2, Fisher 2, Williams 1, Cozby 1, Denton 1, Cherry 1, Case 1; assists – Denton 5, Piatek 3, Fisher 2, Brinkley 1, Cherry 3, Cozby 1, Burrage 1
ON DEFENSE: (tournament averages) rebounds – Denton 2, Piatek 3, Brinkley 1, Cherry 3, Fisher 3, Williams 3, Cozby 2, Case 1, Laura Benac 1; steals – Denton 5, Cherry 2, Williams 1, Piatek 2, Brinkley 1, Fisher 2, Cozby 1, Burrage 1; blocks – Piatek 1, Cozby 1, Fisher 1
RECORDS: Faith Academy is 8-2.
UP NEXT: 12:30 p.m. Dec. 14, Faith Academy vs. Austin Regents (10-2) at The Fire Pit, located three miles east of Marble Falls off RR 1431