Faith Academy girls headed to state tourney after 63-40 win
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
CHINA SPRING — The Faith Academy of Marble Falls girls basketball team earned its sixth trip to the Class 2A state tournament with a 63-40 win against DeSoto Canterbury on Feb. 25.
The Lady Flames (28-4) will face either Sherman Texoma or Temple Holy Trinity at 4:30 p.m Feb. 28 at Mansfield Legacy High, 1263 Main St. in Mansfield, in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state tournament.
“I could not relax until the final two minutes,” Faith head coach Jerry English said. “When we got up by 20, for most teams, that would be it.”
But to the Eagles’ credit, they wouldn’t go away. So neither did Faith sophomore post Hannah Cozby. She led the Lady Flames with 22 points, four rebounds and two blocks.
“We needed a consistent big girl who can make two- and three-foot shots,” English said.
The Lady Flames led 16-12 after the first period, scoring two buckets in the final 74 seconds. But they seized control in the next quarter when they began attacking the basket with drives and shots from the low block.
By the end of the half, Faith took a 27-16 advantage into the locker room.
The Lady Flames continued to apply defensive pressure, often outrunning the opponent to the basket, in the third. That led to a 17-4 run thanks to 3-pointers from junior guard Taylor Denton and senior forward Kristen Cherry and buckets from senior posts Joanna Piatek and Juliette Fisher and Cozby.
When the horn sounded to end the quarter, the Lady Flames led 52-26 to put the game out of reach.
English complimented the ball distribution, particularly from Denton, who finished with seven points.
“Taylor is without a doubt our best offensive player,” he said. “She distributes the ball and gets it to the right people.”
Piatek finished 12 points, while Fisher scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
After the win, the Faith family sang Happy Birthday to English. He said coaching a team to another state tournament, his 17th in a career that covers more than four decades, is the best gift.
“I’m almost overwhelmed,” he said. “That’s the only birthday gift I wanted.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com