In the final games of the season, the Faith Academy Lady Knight basketball squad fought through two rounds of the Texas Association of Independent Athletic Organizations’ (TAIAO) State Tournament and finished on a high note. By the end of it, Faith Academy fell to Temple Christian 54-24 and Tribe Homeschool 27-21.

The Lady Knights traveled to Round Rock and competed against 11 other programs from around this great state of Texas. Faith Academy battled to the best of its abilities through two rounds before they gracefully bowed out, after what Head Coach David Sobey said was, “our best game of the season.”

The Lady Knights opened play against Temple Christian Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Round Rock Sports Complex. Faith Academy struck first and used its tenacious defense to disrupt and confuse the Lady Watchmen for the better part of the first quarter. The Lady Knights fought bravely but were outmatched.

“We may have lost, but this was not ‘a losing effort,’” Sobey said as he pointed out that Temple continued using their press and their starters throughout all four quarters. “As soon as they substituted away from their starting five, we would gain some momentum. We never put our heads down, never lost focus. As a coach this kind of performance is what you hope for when you are outmatched. The outcome of the game was never in question, but we did win the fourth quarter.”

The following morning, Faith Academy squared up against Tribe, a homeschool program from Bastrop. Once again, the Lady Knights relied on their smothering defense to remain competitive. As a great example of the toughness displayed by both teams, the first quarter ended with a 4-1 lead for Faith Academy.

In addition to a struggling offense, the Lady Knights fought bravely through additional hardships. Starting point guard Rachel Kuespert was injured mid-second quarter and did not return; sophomore starter Presley Hardin fouled out as the game rolled into the fourth quarter; a third starter, Lilly Kuespert, went down hard mid-fourth quarter with a badly sprained ankle; and one of Faith Academy’s stronger bench players, Noelle Walker, was only able to play for a minute or two because of a badly sprained ankle suffered in practice just before the tournament started.

“Wow! Did you see those ladies battle?” Sobey posed. “Did you see how well they adjusted and adapted to all of that adversity? I am so proud of this team! All things considered, this was our best game of the season.”

The Lady Knights were down four major players which left six others to finish.

“When you remember that three of those six ladies had never played basketball before this season, you gain additional respect for all of the hard work these young ladies put in all season long to be better every day,” said Sobey. “Our Lady Knights earned the respect of our opponents while ending the season by fighting for every point, every rebound. I love coaching this team!”