Faith Academy basketball teams get district wins against Cedar Park Summit

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

CEDAR PARK — The Faith Academy of Marble Falls girls basketball team stomped Cedar Park Summit 77-18 in a district contest Jan. 24.

Faith (20-4, 5-0) outscored Summit 26-2 after the first period and 48-8 by the half.

The Lady Flames prepare to start the second round of District 4-2A play of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools against Temple Holy Trinity on Jan. 28.

Does that mean Faith is peaking at the right time?

“You don’t want it to be too early,” Lady Flames head coach Jerry English said. “We are starting to do more things where I’d say that I challenged them to do more things.”

As a team, he asked his players to improve offensive rebounding. Individually, he’s pulled athletes aside to tell them where they can help the team. For some, it’s more scoring. For others, it’s rebounding.

English also made a change in the starting lineup that he believes allows more versatility. Junior guard Sierra Brinkley started, while sophomore post Hannah Cozby became a reserve.

English’s reason was because he wanted to see more production from the sixth-man position. The sixth man is the first player to enter the game from the bench.

The coach said he told Cozby he believed her self-confidence could handle the change. And he was pleased she responded.

He’s also noticing the Lady Flames are becoming more versatile in playing a variety of positions. He has used seniors Joanna Piatek and Juliette Fisher in three different spots, while freshman Alisha Williams has rotated between high and low post.

And he complimented senior forward Kristen Cherry, who is known as the team’s talker, for her communication and encouragement on the court.

“There’s no doubt who are leader is right now,” he said.

jfierro@thepicayune.com

TOP PLAYERS: Taylor Denton 24 points, 8 assists, 7 steals; Hannah Cozby 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist

ON OFFENSE: points – Joanna Piatek 11, Sierra Brinkley 10, Juliette Fisher 8, Kristen Cherry 4, Sarah Burrage 2, Laura Benac; assists – Cherry 6, Piatek 4, Fisher 2, Alisha Williams 2, Brinkley 1; rebounds – Piatek 4, Cherry 4, Fisher 3, Brinkley 2, Burrage 1, Williams 1

ON DEFENSE: steals – Cherry 5, Brinkley 4, Piatek 3, Fisher 3, Burrage 1, Williams 1; rebounds – Cherry 3, Fisher 3, Piatek 2, Burrage 1, Williams 1; blocks – Cherry 2, Williams 1

RECORDS: Faith is 20-4 overall and 5-0 in district.

UP NEXT: 6:15 p.m. Jan. 28, Faith at Temple Holy Trinity, 6608 W. Adams Ave. in Temple

Faith Academy boys 67, Cedar Park Summit 14

CEDAR PARK — The Faith Academy boys basketball team defeated Cedar Park Summit 67-14 in a district matchup Jan. 24.

Faith head coach Randy Denton said the Flames (9-7, 4-1) entered the contest with the proper mindset.

“We came out with intensity to finish 4-1 the first round of district,” he said. “The kids did a good job of staying in the game. I thought that was the thing I was most pleased about.”

The score indicates Faith played at a high pace, and Denton said what’s been a challenge was playing at that tempo with only seven players on the roster. Thanks to moving up some junior varsity players, the Flames are now at nine.

“We’ve pushed the whole game,” he said. “We definitely like the tempo to be an up-tempo. Tempo sets the flow.”

Every Flame scored, he said, led by Joseph Woods, Rawley Jackson and Sam Marrs. Coaches are looking for matchups that favor Faith.

“We have a lot of different weapons,” the coach said. “We’re young. Every single game, these guys get it a little more. We’re young, but we have good players. We have good leadership from the upperclassmen. It’s been fun to coach and watch them grow.”

The second round of District 4-2A play of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools begins Jan. 28. The Flames are at Temple Holy Trinity, 6608 W. Adams Ave. in Temple, at 7:45 p.m. Holy Trinity sits in third place.

“It’ll be a big night,” Denton said. “We’ve played well on the road, and we’ll need to come away with a victory. Right now, we’re trying to finish no worse than second. We’re trying to peak as the playoffs are starting.”