This is a different cast of Falcon players from the end of December. Since the calendar flipped to January, these Falcons have remained sharp, focused and locked in, especially at the free-throw line. The Falcons beat host Sierra 56-34 to balloon their win streak to eight in a row. And 23 of F alcon’s points came at the free-throw line Friday night. “We shoot 20 to 50 free throws every day at practice,” Falcon’s Cobelyn Wiesner said. “Sometimes we have to run if we miss, but (making free throws) is part of our routine because that’s what we do.” The Falcons (12-4) played the Stallions (8-9) at home on Jan. 24 and earned a 59-22 victory against Sierra. However, prior to Friday’s showdown, the Stallions were 5-1 at home and had won four in a row at their gym. After the Stallions managed just 22 points in 32 minutes last week, Sierra tied the game at 14 after a 3-pointer by Ziyon Nicholson with 7:22 left in the second. But Wiesner hit the Stallions with a flurry of buckets they couldn’t stop. Wiesner went on a personal 8-0 run, all points coming via layups, to give the Falcons a 22-14 advantage midway through the quarter and finished the second with 11 of her game-high 22. The Falcons outscored the Stallions 10-4 the remaining 3:37 of the second quarter and took a 32-18 lead into halftime. “I love playing for all of these girls and I love playing for my coach and I want to come out and bust my butt for the people around me,” Wiesner said. Falcon continued to sink its free throws and outscored Sierra 13-8 in the third to build a 45-26 lead. Of Falcon’s 13 points in the third, nine came at the foul line. The Falcons closed the game on a 12-8 run to earn their eighth consecutive win and remain undefeated in Colorado Springs Metro League play at 6-0. The Falcons began the year 4-0, but dropped their next four contests and fell to 4-4. Since its 68-63 loss at Widefield on Jan. 12, Falcon has won seven of its eight games during this win streak by double figures. Five of those eight victories have come away from Falcon, including their previous three wins. “We were letting teams that didn’t deserve to hang with us, hang with us,” Wiesner said. “We knew for the rest of the season, that’s not going to be the case for us and that won’t be our story. We want to play for each other and we found that trust in each other and wanted to be better. It wasn’t just us saying we wanted to be better, we put in the effort to be better.” First-year Falcon coach Kevin Campbell said “it’s been great” to watch the Falcons recover from four consecutive losses and re-focus on the details of practice that parlays into game success. “It’s great and rewarding inside when you see the work that they’re putting in every day translate to the court,” Campbell said. “It’s enjoyable to see that they’re listening and putting those things into action.” For Sierra, although the loss is the Stallions’ third in a row and dropped them below .500, the game had a bright spot. Stallions senior Deja Burns was honored at halftime for breaking the Sierra girls’ basketball record for career blocks. Burns earned her 363rd block in a 51-22 loss on Wednesday against The Classical Academy. Burns finished the game with six blocks and eclipsed Kanecia Cooks, who earned 362 from 2012-16. Stallions coach Joseph Williams, who also coached Cooks, said Burns’ record shines a light on Sierra’s program. “It shows we compete and get after it,” Williams said. “Deja came in with the mindset as a freshman that she wanted that record. She had her mind set that she was going to get that record and that’s what she accomplished.” As of Friday, Burns is ninth in Colorado girls’ history after swatting two shots against the Falcons and moving to 365 career blocks. Burns said she’s thankful to have her name etched in Sierra’s history books. “It’s a privilege to be able to leave high school knowing my name will forever be remembered,” she said. “Hopefully, someone breaks it one day, but for now, I get to appreciate that as my record.” ...read more read less