Background
Faith Bible girls entered Tuesday night's game as the #4 ranked team in 2A, and with good reason. They were 10-1 with the only loss being to 9-3 Morenci (an Arizona 3A equivalent), averaging 65.3 points per game on offense, and only allowing 29.5 points per game on defense. The Faith Bible Falcons were well-ranked at #4. The Knappa Loggers entered the game at an even 4-4, averaging 35.4 points per game on offense, and allowing 45 points per game.
Summary
From the opening tip Faith Bible showed why they are ranked #4. Constant pressure defense, beautiful ball movement, and solid play allowed them to take 14-6 lead after the first quarter. However, the Loggers got their feet under them in the second quarter. With the help of a full-court press and solid play by sophomore Ariana Miller helped keep the lead from increasing going into halftime. At half, Faith Bible led 24-16. Unfortunately for the Loggers, they could not keep the pace up. Strong play by both seniors from Faith Bible (Ashley Lohmon and Taylor Masterson scored 16 and 18 points respectively in the game), coupled with a half-time adjustment to combat the press proved to be too much for Knappa. The third quarter was essentially a repeat of the first with the Falcons stretching the lead to 16 with a score of 38-22. The Loggers continued to fight until the end of the fourth quarter, but Faith Bible still managed to stretch the lead.
The exact final score is unknown as of now. OSAA.org shows Faith Bible winning 47-30, while the Knappa scorebook has a final score of 47-28 Faith Bible. Either way, Faith Bible won a key league victory to improve to 11-1 on the season and Knappa lost its first league game and fell to 4-5 on the season.
Takeaways
Although the score seems lopsided, Knappa has a lot to be proud of. They held the #4 team in the state to 18 points below their scoring average while managing to cause problems with their press. Arianna Miller is a good post inside and she carried the team offensively with 18 points. Freshman Alondra Pina shows potential and heart with her hustle and defensive tenacity. Hopefully the Loggers can continue to build upon the good things they accomplished in this game into the rest of league play. Their next game Thursday, January 6th, at home against Vernonia.
Faith Bible is well-deserving of their now #3 ranking in state. They are a solid team that has some great athletes. Their senior guards, especially Masterson, are a tough matchup from an athletic perspective and the entire team is disciplined - doing the little things correctly. On defense they do not give up anything easily and they do not hurt themselves with excessive turnovers or unnecessary mistakes. While they might not jump off the page with flash or a killer-look, the Falcons will capitalize on their opponents mistakes and steadily build their lead. The Falcons' next game is Monday, January 10th, against Vernonia.
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