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When Mount Airy Christian Academy head coach Matthew Reisburg heard that one of the best private school girls basketball programs in the country had scared off a good number of teams from an impending national tournament, his team did the opposite.

Reisburg and his Lions relished the challenge of playing up in competition, and wound up placing third in the National Association of Christian Athletics (NACA) Division II basketball tournament in Dayton, Tenn., from March 3-5.

After Mount Airy Christian defeated Grace Christian School of Sanford, N.C., 56-41 in the opening game of the tournament, the Lions then took on The Potters House Christian Academy of Jacksonville, Fla., dropping an 80-23 decision to the eventual National Division I champs , who feature nine Division I college commits.

Webster scored a team-high 10 points for MACA, while Morley added nine. In the opening victory, sophomore guard Kirsten Webster tallied 20 points and grabbed 12 steals and dished out six assists. Senior Brooke Morley added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Anna Monroe added 12 points.

With the majority of Division I programs dropping out of the tournament, the Lions (17-4) stayed and participated in pool play, blending together both Division I and II schools. After defeating Division II Grace Christian and losing to The Potter House, MACA dropped the final game of the weekend to the eventual Division II champion Hamilton Heights of Chattanooga, TN, 59-41. Webster notched 16 points to go with five assists. Monroe chipped in with 13 points, while Morley contributed six points and eight rebounds.

"I am very pleased with the way we played this season, the girls worked very hard," said Reisburg of his team, who also claimed the Maryland Association of Christian Schools Athletic Conference. "We want to increase the level of play, and we can only get better by taking our lumps here and there. We didn't want to drop out, we figure in order to be the best you can be, you have to play the best."

The Lions, the 2008-09 Maryland State Christian Tournament Division II champs, competed in the Division I Maryland Christian State Tournament in late last month, advancing to the semifinals before falling to Covenant Life of Gaithersburg, 49-43 at Anne Arundel Community College.

In the game prior, MACA downed defending Division I state champ Grace Brethren of Clinton, 49-46. Against Covenant Life, Webster tossed in a game-high 16 points. Morley added nine, followed by Emily Braden (eight) and Christy Rettig (six). Webster also scored 16 in the Grace Brethren contest as well, while Morley added 10.

Reisburg noted that Morley, the Lions' lone senior, is looking to attend Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. where she will look to walk onto the Division I program which competes in the Big South Conference.

"She is a multi-sport athlete, so she didn't get a chance to play AAU basketball, but she's [very] athletic," said Reisburg of Morley.