Faith, Burnet, Marble Falls girls basketball teams in playoffs
STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO
The middle of February signals the start of the high school playoffs for three area girls basketball teams.
Faith Academy of Marble Falls defeated Round Rock Christian 52-46 on Feb. 7 to win the district championship for the 14th consecutive year.
The Lady Flames (20-5, 9-1 District 3, Division 3) will have a first-round playoff bye before hosting a second-round game tentatively scheduled for Feb. 18 with opponent and time still to be determined.
Head coach Larry Berkman said that opponent will be from the Houston area.
He commended his players, noting they perservered quite a bit. They learned a complete playbook of half-court offenses and defenses, presses and pressbreakers and 10 in-bounds plays.
Players also had to step up in ways they hadn’t before, and Berkman said he was very proud to see their bonds increase each day.
“They support each other, they play well together as a team,” he said. “It’s a good cameraderie. They work hard to put it all together as a team.”
The other area team waiting for an opponent is Burnet High School, which won’t know until the conclusion of the Boerne High-Bandera play-in game Friday, Feb. 8. The Lady Dawgs (26-7, 8-2) finished second in District 27-4A.
Marble Falls, meanwhile, has known since the beginning of the week that Lady Mustangs would face Georgetown High.
That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at Liberty Hill High School, 13125 Texas 29 West.
This is the first time sine the 2015-16 season the programs will face each other. They were in the old District 25-5A before Marble Falls was moved to District 26-5A for the past two years.
The Lady Mustangs (14-18, 6-6) finished fourth in the District 17-5A race, while the Lady Eagles (22-9, 12-0) are the District 18-5A champions.
“They went through district and did not lose a game,” Marble Falls head coach John Berkman said. “That’s a very difficult thing to do.”
He noted the Lady Eagles don’t usually beat themselves, which means they don’t make mental mistakes that cost them games.
“They’re disciplined with what they try to do, and they do it well,” Berkman said.
This also is the first time that Berkman will coach against Georgetown’s Rhonda Farney, who has more than 1,000 career wins and a state championship.
“She’s one of those coaches who is highly respected, and not just because she’s been successful in the wins column,” Berkman said. “She’s sustained her program for a length of time. That speaks volumes as well. It’s going to be a tough opponent.”
