Faber and Merfeld receive post-season recognition

by Marianne Gasaway

Clear Lake’s Sara Faber has received state-wide honors for her exceptional play on the basketball court.  Faber, a junior, was named to the Iowa Girls Coaches Association Class 3A First Team, as well as the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association’s Second Team.  Faber, along with junior Julia Merfeld, were also named to the All-Region team.

Faber was an all-around leader on the Lions team which finished the season with 17-5 record.

She led the Lions in points scored and per game, and had the top shooting percentages from two and three-point range.  Faber poured in 401 points in 22 games played in 2018-19, for an average of 18.2 points per game.  She shot the ball with 52.1 percent accuracy.  From three-point range she drained one-third of her attempts, going 36/108.   She also topped the team in assists, with 80.

Faber was also was a leader on defense, pulling down a team-high 131 rebounds.  She also paced the team in steals with 84.

“Sara had another great year for us.  She continues to get better each year and I’m impressed with how productive she is after being the main focal point in a lot of the opponents scouting report,” said Clear Lake Head Coach Bart Smith.  “She’s is just great athlete and basketball player that makes a lot of plays on the offensive and defensive end of the floor for our team.”

Merfeld was also a solid all-around player, averaging 8.9 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting.  She was credited with 73 assists, second only to Faber, and made 26 steals on defense.

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“I was happy to see Julia have the year she did this year,” added Coach Smith.  “She was able to add some scoring at the point guard position this year, something we haven’t had for a few years.  The point guard position is a very tough position to play and Julia has the right mindset and toughness for this position.”

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