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Lafayette, La. —
For the first two seasons of their existence, the Faith Training Christian Academy Lady Patriots reached the state semifinals, only to fall to the eventual champions.
But on Saturday, the third time was the charm.
After rallying Friday for a victory, the Lady Patriots (20-1) pulled off another comeback, overcoming an early eight-point deficit to beat CHA of Monroe (13-3) in the state finals of the Louisiana Christian School Athletic Association’s girls basketball tournament, 43-32.
“We didn’t shoot particularly well in the first half. I thought we were rushing our shots a bit,” FTCA head coach Vic Ortiz said. “But we settled down in the second half and we took a better shot selection and they started falling.”
With the victory, the Lady Patriots gave Ortiz his eighth state championship as a coach, sixth in girls’ basketball.
He also has state championships in golf and track and field.
Faith Training is the third different school Ortiz has won a state championship in basketball, including four at Anacoco and one at Hicks.
Early on, however, it looked as if a state title wasn’t in the cards for the Lady Patriots.
The Lady Patriots fell behind, 5-0, as Mary Lynn Alexander scored on a three-point play, while Hannah Qualls added a pair of free throws.
Feliciana Groves put the Lady Patriots on the board with a free throw and Kylee Williams added a three-pointer to get FTCA within three.
The Lady Flames scored four straight points to take an 11-4 lead before Williams netted a short jumper to cut the deficit to five points heading into the second quarter.
With a bucket from Qualls and a free throw by Alexander, the Lady Flames went up, 14-6.
But back came the Lady Patriots.
Two free throws each from Groves, Emily Reese and Williams allowed the Lady Patriots to get to within two points, 14-12.
But a free throw from Alexander and a bucket from Qualls sent CHA back out to a five-point advantage before the Lady Patriots got back to within three at the intermission, 19-16.
CHA saw its lead balloon back to six early in the third period, 22-16, thanks again to Qualls and Alexander.
But the Lady Patriots began to find their rhythm.
Beginning with a three-pointer from Williams, FTCA put together a 12-2 run, which saw Sara Reese give the Lady Patriots their first lead of the game at 26-24 with 1:40 to go in the third quarter.
A late bucket in the post by Kirstyn Jeane gave the Lady Patriots a four-point edge going into the final frame.
CHA of Monroe got no closer than three points the rest of the way as Groves scored seven points in the fourth, leading the Lady Patriots on a game-ending 15-8 surge, thus claiming the championship.
Ortiz pointed out that not only did the Lady Patriots find their groove on offense in the second half, but also noted that CHA didn’t shoot as well as they normally do.
“Things really started clicking for us in the fourth,” Ortiz said. “We had a little foul trouble, so we shifted into a couple of different zones and CHA didn’t shoot as well as they are capable of. We got a good spark off the bench from Emily Guidry and Jordan Anderson, while Kirstyn and Sara hit some big shots. Kylee also started shooting well and Feliciana made some big shots in the fourth.”
Williams led the Lady Patriots with 16 points, while Groves finished with 10 points. Sara Reese added six points, while Guidry and Jeane notched four points apiece. Emily Reese chipped in with three points.
Qualls paced the Lady Flames with 17 points, while Alexander netted seven points in the loss.
In the semifinals on Friday, FTCA rallied from a halftime deficit to knock off Covenant, 57-51.
After being down by four at the break, FTCA outscored Covenant, 39-29, in the second half to claim the semifinal win.
Williams led the Lady Patriots with 26 points in the win, while Groves and Sara Reese were in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Emily Reese added six points and Jeane chipped in with two in the win.
Randi Brown led the way for Covenant with 30 points in the loss.
For the first two seasons of their existence, the Faith Training Christian Academy Lady Patriots reached the state semifinals, only to fall to the eventual champions.
But on Saturday, the third time was the charm.
After rallying Friday for a victory, the Lady Patriots (20-1) pulled off another comeback, overcoming an early eight-point deficit to beat CHA of Monroe (13-3) in the state finals of the Louisiana Christian School Athletic Association’s girls basketball tournament, 43-32.
“We didn’t shoot particularly well in the first half. I thought we were rushing our shots a bit,” FTCA head coach Vic Ortiz said. “But we settled down in the second half and we took a better shot selection and they started falling.”
With the victory, the Lady Patriots gave Ortiz his eighth state championship as a coach, sixth in girls’ basketball.
He also has state championships in golf and track and field.
Faith Training is the third different school Ortiz has won a state championship in basketball, including four at Anacoco and one at Hicks.
Early on, however, it looked as if a state title wasn’t in the cards for the Lady Patriots.
The Lady Patriots fell behind, 5-0, as Mary Lynn Alexander scored on a three-point play, while Hannah Qualls added a pair of free throws.
Feliciana Groves put the Lady Patriots on the board with a free throw and Kylee Williams added a three-pointer to get FTCA within three.
The Lady Flames scored four straight points to take an 11-4 lead before Williams netted a short jumper to cut the deficit to five points heading into the second quarter.
With a bucket from Qualls and a free throw by Alexander, the Lady Flames went up, 14-6.
But back came the Lady Patriots.
Two free throws each from Groves, Emily Reese and Williams allowed the Lady Patriots to get to within two points, 14-12.
But a free throw from Alexander and a bucket from Qualls sent CHA back out to a five-point advantage before the Lady Patriots got back to within three at the intermission, 19-16.
CHA saw its lead balloon back to six early in the third period, 22-16, thanks again to Qualls and Alexander.
But the Lady Patriots began to find their rhythm.
Beginning with a three-pointer from Williams, FTCA put together a 12-2 run, which saw Sara Reese give the Lady Patriots their first lead of the game at 26-24 with 1:40 to go in the third quarter.
A late bucket in the post by Kirstyn Jeane gave the Lady Patriots a four-point edge going into the final frame.
CHA of Monroe got no closer than three points the rest of the way as Groves scored seven points in the fourth, leading the Lady Patriots on a game-ending 15-8 surge, thus claiming the championship.
Ortiz pointed out that not only did the Lady Patriots find their groove on offense in the second half, but also noted that CHA didn’t shoot as well as they normally do.
“Things really started clicking for us in the fourth,” Ortiz said. “We had a little foul trouble, so we shifted into a couple of different zones and CHA didn’t shoot as well as they are capable of. We got a good spark off the bench from Emily Guidry and Jordan Anderson, while Kirstyn and Sara hit some big shots. Kylee also started shooting well and Feliciana made some big shots in the fourth.”
Williams led the Lady Patriots with 16 points, while Groves finished with 10 points. Sara Reese added six points, while Guidry and Jeane notched four points apiece. Emily Reese chipped in with three points.
Qualls paced the Lady Flames with 17 points, while Alexander netted seven points in the loss.
In the semifinals on Friday, FTCA rallied from a halftime deficit to knock off Covenant, 57-51.
After being down by four at the break, FTCA outscored Covenant, 39-29, in the second half to claim the semifinal win.
Williams led the Lady Patriots with 26 points in the win, while Groves and Sara Reese were in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Emily Reese added six points and Jeane chipped in with two in the win.
Randi Brown led the way for Covenant with 30 points in the loss.
