It wasn’t a secret that the bar was expected to be raised for Faith Christian girls basketball this season.
Despite coming off a mediocre season, the Lions had a good season with a full core of players back in the fold. After again finishing third in the District One Class A playoffs, the Lions lost an opening-round PIAA Class A playoff game to Northumberland, 48-36, March 7.
Yet, it wasn’t the total story. Faith Christian posted an overall 21-7 mark, and the Lions will once again have depth for next season.
Leading scorer junior Sydney Heller and freshman point guard Izabella Forker – the coach’s daughter – are expected to lead the way next year. Sophomore Bianca Acevedo, an exchange student who blossomed this season, could also be back.
“Our expectation level has gone up,” said Lions head coach Dave Forker. “We only lose one senior this season and we’ll have four starters back. We also have an exchange student, and we’re not sure about her status.
“We had several players that were freshmen who improved and really know their roles on the team.”
Against Northumberland, Forker was proud of his team’s late second-half surge after they had scrapped to stay within distance throughout most of the game. Karleigh Garber, the team’s lone senior, also was battling an ankle injury.
“We struggled to get the ball in the basket early,” said Forker. “We also had trouble with our execution.
“We were down 16 points in the second half and then we began put it together offensively, and we also pressured them into turnovers. We cut it to five with about two-and-a-half minutes left, but we couldn’t get past that.
“We could easily have folded when things weren’t falling for us. Our kids fought hard and they left everything on the floor.”
Even though the season ended on a sour note, Garber knew her team would be relentless.
“We knew we were facing a good team and had to come out strong right away,” said Garber. “We came into the game confident and thought we had a good chance.
“We came back, but we just didn’t have enough at the end.”
She appreciated the journey along the way.
“I was very pleased on how things went for us all season,” added Garber, who will attend Lancaster Bible College next fall. “Even though we lost, this was a good way for me to end my high school career. We had a team who believed in each other and we managed to get over 20 wins.
“I think our turning point was a good win over Lower Moreland. We came out with fire and won easily and had our best rebounding game. We knew then what we were capable of doing. It helped everyone improve their game and helped us finish a good season.”
