Faith Academy a runner-up no longer
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YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – After coming up short in the finals the last two seasons, Faith Academy’s Grace & Kelly Show concluded its Far East Girls Division I Basketball Tournament run in high style on Saturday.
Seniors Grace Fern and Kelly Hardeman – the latter celebrating her 18th birthday – combined for 44 points, earned tournament co-MVP honors and the Vanguards led virtually from the start, beating Kadena 57-33 at Yokota High School’s Capps Gym.
“They’re coachable, they work hard and Fern is a terrific floor general, the consummate point guard,” said Kadena first-year head coach Willie Ware. “They have Hardeman and Fern and everybody else knows their roles and steps up when they need to.”
Right from the jump, Faith controlled the ball and the pace of the game, while attacking Kadena’s ballhandlers, forcing turnovers and converting transition baskets.
“We had way too many turnovers in the first half, and every time, Faith would come down the court and capitalize,” Ware said.
In contrast to the last two championship games, in which Faith tried to match Seoul American’s pace and ended up losing 50-47 and 47-39, the Vanguards played their game instead of their opponent’s, Hardeman said.
“We controlled the ball and went at our pace instead of theirs,” she said. “We slowed it down a lot.”
Faith took a 15-point lead after one period. After Kadena trimmed the deficit to 12 by halftime, the Vanguards pulled away with a 14-7 third period.
Hardeman nearly recorded a triple-double, with 18 rebounds and nine steals. Fern added seven steals.
“It’s been a long time coming for these girls,” Vanguards coach Josh Manthe said. “They worked so hard to get here. I can’t imagine a better outcome for Kelly, to win Far East and co-MVP with Grace” on her birthday.
Seoul American had been the bane of the Vanguards’ existence, winning four straight D-I titles in three sports from February 2010 to February 2011, all at Faith’s expense. Saturday’s victory wiped all the bitterness away, Hardeman and Fern said.
“We gave it our all. Definitely worth it,” Fern said.
“It’s worth all those losses,” Hardeman said.
NOTES – For Faith, Saturday’s title was its second in four years, its sixth D-I title and 10th overall Far East championship, to include four Division II titles. … Kadena, a semifinalist the last two years, was trying for D-I crown No. 7 overall and its first since capturing back-to-back titles in 2007-08. … Hardeman is the granddaughter of legendary Faith boys coach Tine Hardeman, who won seven Pacific state or invitational tournament titles in his more than 40 years as coach. … 14 years ago, the former Val Parsons played for a Faith team that beat the Panthers at Kadena for the D-I title; Faith on Saturday was coached by Manthe, Parsons’ husband.
