Switch to basketball pays off for Faust, Lehighton

Skylynn Faust was a pretty good soccer player in elementary school.

On the other hand, she never even played basketball.

One injury changed all that — and soccer’s loss has turned into basketball’s gain.

“I played a lot of soccer when I was young,” Faust said. “But I suffered a pretty bad injury and it caused my mom not to trust the whole soccer experience anymore.

“She told me she didn’t want me to play soccer. I had never played basketball before, but with soccer out of the picture, I decided to give it a try.”

As they say ... the rest is history.

Faust, who hadn’t even played a pickup game of basketball at a playground, joined her first youth team in the seventh grade.

“I fell in love with the sport immediately,” she said. “From the first time I picked up a basketball until now, I’ve played almost 12 months a year.”

Her natural athletic ability, combined with her love and dedication to the sport, has paid major dividends.

Last week, in a game against Pottsville, the Lehighton High School senior topped the 1,000-point mark in her varsity career. She enters this week with 1,028 points.

Faust became the 15th basketball player overall - and the seventh girls basketball player - in Lehighton history to surpass the 1,000-point mark. On the girls side, Alison Semanoff is the all-time leader with 1,775 points, Courtney Siddlow had 1,477, Jen Harleman had 1,442, Erin Rupell had 1,307, Jordyn Homyak had 1,250 and Janie Neff had 1,076.

“I never imagined hitting a milestone like this when I started playing,” Faust said. “I grew up in the Parkland area and transferred to Lehighton as a freshman.

“Coming in and not knowing anyone as a freshman could have been difficult. But from Day 1, everyone on the team welcomed me and made me feel comfortable. It’s been incredible. I’ve loved every minute of my time here.”

The feeling of the players and coaches at Lehighton is mutual.

“I knew about Skylynn when I got this position,” said first-year Lehighton coach Joe Berezwick. “I knew she was a really good player. But she is even better than I expected.

“As a player, as a teammate, and as a leader, Skylynn has been everything I hoped for and more.”

Faust averaged 7.5 points per game as a freshman and scored 165 points. As a sophomore, she averaged 12.43 ppg. and scored 286 points. Last season as a junior, she averaged 15.48 ppg. and scored 325 points.

A four-year starter, Faust has taken her game to another level this season.

Through 10 games, she is averaging 25.2 ppg. — and more importantly, the Indians have an 8-2 record.

After being part of teams that have not finished above .500 in any of her first three seasons, Faust is thrilled with the start of this year’s team.

“Scoring my 1,000th point was great and it’s something that I’m really proud of accomplishing,” Faust said. “But winning is the most important thing to me.

“So the success we’ve enjoyed as a team this season is the thing I’m most excited about. The team is playing so well. Everyone is contributing, everyone is having fun. It’s been a great start.”

That great start has Lehighton in the thick of both the Schuylkill League and District 11 playoff races.

With Faust playing at such an elite level, it’s also a start that has the potential to become a memorable finish.