Faulkner is heart of the VU Lions

Barry Faulkner

Lisa Faulkner loved basketball from the start. Even when it didn’t

love her back. Even when the neighborhood game that included her

older brother Brian was deemed off limits to the pint-sized

first-grader whose hand was barely big enough to alter the direction

of, let alone control, a bouncing ball.

Faulkner loved the game even when it tore up her left anterior

cruciate ligament, depositing her on the bench just as she began to

dominate her high school peers as a sophomore at Oregon City High in

Oregon.

Faulkner even loved the game when it gave her something to hate,

when her freshman season at UC Irvine began with eight losses in nine

games and later ended with nine losses in the final 11.

“You learned to hate losing,” recalled Faulkner, who, gravitating

toward the smaller Christian-school environment that had already

embraced her high school teammate and best friend, Lacey Mills,

transferred to Vanguard University after two seasons at UCI, the

latter marking the most wins (17) for the program since 1995.

Even now, after she drove the No. 3-ranked Lions to the NAIA

Division I quarterfinals Saturday in Jackson, Tenn., darting,

dribbling and dishing her way to within four assists of tying the

NAIA single-season record of 338 in the process, the game gives her a

rewarding richness few things in her life can.

“When I was younger, I was mainly motivated by my brother not

letting me play,” said the 5-foot-5 junior point guard, whose supreme

competitiveness in all things is reflected by her 4.0 grade-point

average. “I just loved going outside and playing and, eventually, the

older guys would let me play. As I got older, [basketball] kind of

became my fun. A lot of teenagers would like to go hang out with

their friends and do whatever. But me and my friends, we loved to go

to the gym. We loved to work on basketball, ball-handling or

shooting, whatever. That was just kind of like my fun. Still is. I’d

much rather be in the gym than just about anywhere other than the

beach. Right now, the beach and basketball are kind of tied.”

A tie is a concept Faulkner considers even less frequently than

losing. That is to say, well, let Vanguard Coach Russ Davis explain.

“I’ve always said I’m one of the most competitive human beings on

the planet and she’s in my area,” Davis said. “There were times that

she just took over games and would not let us lose.”

Davis’ love for Faulkner’s game has increased since he has become

a direct beneficiary.

“I never worry when she’s out on the court,” Davis said. “There’s

a calmness when she’s out there ... she doesn’t let us get rattled.

She has made a big difference with our freshmen. She never put any of

our young kids in a position where they are not going to succeed. She

elevates everyone’s game.”

Formerly a perimeter-shooting specialist, Faulkner has elevated

her own skill level since helping Oregon City win state titles as a

freshman and a senior.

Her devotion to developing her game has allowed her to become a

devilish dribbler, who regularly breaks down defenders either to

create for teammates or open up scoring chances for herself.

Though maintaining a pass-first mentality -- her 9.8 assists led

the NAIA -- she averaged 13 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Her 73

three-pointers were second-best on the team and, with just 110

turnovers in 34 games, she finished second among NAIA players in

assist-to-turnover ratio.

“In the [Golden State Athletic Conference] championship game, she

had 13 assists and one turnover,” Davis said.

With Faulkner scoring 10 second-half points and distributing

efficiently enough to allow five teammates to score in double

figures, as well, Vanguard won the GSAC tournament final, 76-59, over

Biola March 9.

With Faulkner at the controls, the Lions won two NAIA tournament

games, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal

defeat, a 65-61 setback to Brescia University of Kentucky, snapped a

14-game winning streak and finalized the Lions record at 31-3. The 31

wins are a school record.

And with all five starters returning, as well as some heralded

recruits, Davis believes his team can make a run at a national title

next season.

“A national championship is the goal for me,” said Faulkner, who

blushes at the mention of individual awards, such as GSAC Player of

the Year (already secured) and NAIA All-American status (a virtual

formality).

“I’m not setting out to set records or get Player of the Year or

anything,” Faulkner said. “I’m playing because I love to be

competitive and I love basketball and I think it’s a great platform

for me to share my faith with other people.”

Clearly, Faulkner’s love for the game is no longer unrequited.