Lady Flames earn tournament title and big road win
Faith Academy of Marble Falls senior guard Taylor Denton slides the ball under a shot blocker during the Lady Flames’ 61-38 win against Hico.
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
SAN SABA — The Faith Academy of Marble Falls girls basketball team earned another tournament championship on back-to-back weekends then added a big road win right before the Thanksgiving break.
The Lady Flames (10-1) beat Austin St. Michael’s 62-42 on Nov. 24 and won the San Saba Tournament on Nov. 22 by beating Hico 61-38 in the championship, Cherokee 54-33 in the semifinals and Early 55-32 and San Saba 54-42 in pool play.
Against St. Michael’s, Faith found itself trailing 17-10 after the first quarter.
“We had a very, very weak start,” Lady Flames head coach Jerry English said. “I don’t know if we weren’t ready to play or what. We had some turnovers, and they did a really good job of attacking our zone.”
So English moved freshman center Sedona Prince, who stands 6 feet 6 inches, closer to the 3-point line. That limited the outside shooting and allowed the Lady Flames to pick up the pace of the game.
By the end of the second period, Faith had a 27-20 lead and never trailed again.
English commended his players for their play in the tournament championship game.
“We played well,” English said. “Hico had three girls over 5 (feet) 11 (inches). It was a heck of a game.”
The Lady Flames trailed 12-11 after the first period then outscored Hico 33-14 in the next two quarters to put the game away.
English said that during a dead ball period, he told the players if they got five great possessions on five great shots, they’d win the game. The Lady Flames scored on four of the five.
“I’m very, very pleased from the standpoint of (losing 50-38 to Austin Regents) in the first game,” the coach said. “We have come light years from that game.”
One adjustment the Lady Flames made was moving senior wing Sierra Brinkley to the top of the zone to utilize her speed and wing span.
That kept Hico’s 3-point shooting in check. Through six games, the Lady Tigers had attempted 86 shots from long range. In the first quarter against Faith, they made three 3-pointers.
Then Faith went to its uptempo of the contest.
“We started running them,” English said. “By the third quarter, we broke their spirits.”
While Taylor Denton was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Hannah Cozby and Jayla Reeves were named to the all-tournament team, English commended the play Brinkley and Prince.
“Sierra had a great tournament,” he said. “Sedona was a lock. But she didn’t play (Nov. 21).”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
ALL-TOURNAMENT PLAYERS: Most Valuable Player – Taylor Denton; All-Tournament Team – Hannah Cozby and Jayla Reeves
AGAINST HICO: Points – Jayla Reeves 6, Taylor Denton 13, Sierra Brinkley 8, Allison Metzger 6, Sarah Williams 2, Sedona Prince 11, Alisha Williams 6, Hannah Cozby 9; assists – Reeves 5, Denton 2, Brinkley 4, S. Williams 1, Prince 5, A. Williams 1, Cozby 1; rebounds – Reeves 2, Denton 6, Brinkley 6, Metzger 3, Prince 15, A. Williams 5, Hanah Marks 1, Cozby 4; steals – Reeves 5, Denton 4, Metzger 1; blocks – Reeves 1, Prince 4, Cozby 1
AGAINST CHEROKEE: Points – Jayla Reeves 12, Taylor Denton 16, Sierra Brinkley 7, Allison Metzger 2, Sarah Williams 2, Alisha Williams 2, Hannah Cozby 13; assists – Reeves 3, Denton 6, Brinkley 2, S. Williams 1; rebounds – Reeves 4, Denton 2, Brinkley 4, Metzger 5, S. Williams 1, Susanna Case 1, A. Williams 6, Hanah Marks 3, Cozby 14; steals – Reeves 6, Denton 9, Brinkley 2, Metzger 1, S. Williams 2, A. Williams 1, Marks 1, Cozby 3; blocks – Cozby 5
AGAINST EARLY: Points – Jayla Reeves 6, Taylor Denton 9, Sierra Brinkley 7, Allison Metzger 2, Sarah Williams 3, Sedona Prince 6, Alisha Williams 4, Hanah Marks 4, Hannah Cozby 14; assists – Reeves 2, Denton 7, Brinkley 4, Metzger 4, S. Williams 1, Prince 2; rebounds – Reeves 2, Brinkley 4, Metzger 5, S. Williams 1, Susanna Case 2, A. Williams 3, Hanah Marks 2, Cozby 1; steals – Reeves 4, Denton 7, Brinkley 1, Metzger 5, S. Williams 2, Cozby 2; blocks – Denton 1, Prince 6, Cozby 2
AGAINST SAN SABA: Points – Jayla Reeves 2, Taylor Denton 21, Sierra Brinkley 5, Allison Metzger 9, Sedona Prince 7, Hannah Cozby 10; assists – Reeves 3, Denton 8, Brinkley 4, Metzger 1, Prince 1; rebounds – Reeves 3, Denton 3, Brinkley 3, Metzger 6, Prince 9, A. Williams 3, Cozby 4; steals – Reeves 7, Denton 4, Brinkley 2, Metzger 2, Prince 1; blocks – Prince 7, Cozby 2
AGAINST ST. MICHAEL’S: Points – Jayla Reeves 7, Taylor Denton 10, Sierra Brinkley 10, Allison Metzger 8, Sarah Williams 1, Sedona Prince 10, Alisha Williams 2, Hannah Cozby 14; assists – Reeves 5, Denton 5, Metzger 1, S. Williams 2, Prince 1; rebounds – Reeves 2, Denton 5, Brinkley 1, Metzger 3, Prince 1, A. Williams 4, Cozby 6; steals – Reeves 4, Denton 3, Brinkley 1, Metzger 1, Prince 3, A. Williams 1; blocks – Prince 7
RECORDS: Faith is 10-1.
UP NEXT: 6:15 p.m. Dec. 2, Faith Academy vs. Texas School for the Deaf at The Fire Pit, located three miles east of Marble Falls off RR 1431