Medina girls pass first test of the season with GCC win over Euclid

EUCLID — Coach Karen Kase was looking forward to seeing how her veteran Medina girls basketball team would react when it got punched in the mouth. With 6-foot-3 Lindsey Linard at center and 6-1 Sarah McKee at forward, the Bees have had the run of the land, but Euclid tested them Saturday in a 60-52 Greater Cleveland Conference game. "I told them this was a really big win at this point in the season," Kase said. "This is an awfully tough place to play and they have some good players. Yeah, they lost (Constance) Chaplin, but they're still a good team. This was a huge step forward in terms of growth." The Bees (3-0, 2-0) looked like they were going to run away after scoring nine of the final 10 points of the first quarter to take a 17-9 lead. The lead increased to 32-19 at the break, but the Panthers (1-3, 0-2) figured something out and Alexis Reese (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Stephanie Martin (18 points) went off. Martin scored 12 of Euclid's 20 third-quarter points and had the Panthers right back in in the game. "We always know coming in here, things are going to be tough," said Medina forward Elizabeth Stuart, who led the Bees with 16 points. "We know it's going to be crazy, but we have to stick together as a team and play our game and not fall into their game. We had to stay calm. We know how to play." They proved that a few times in the second half after a 16-3 Euclid run made the score 41-39 Medina with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter.McKee (14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists) hit a jumper and split a pair of free throws to give Medina a five-point lead heading into the final quarter. When Reese made it 48-45 with 4:12 left, McKee made an and-one to push the lead back to six. "Sarah was big because she can do damage from lots of different areas on the court," Kase said. "She helped ball handle. We talked about staying calm and she stayed calm and hit that shot that wing jumper. She just was calm and poised and sank it to give us that cushion." For McKee, it was a chance to block out distractions and step up when she was needed. "Everyone on our team is poised in those moments," McKee said. "I believed in what we were doing, so I just let it fly." Lost in the back-and-forth game was an incredible defensive effort from Linard, who joined Stuart and McKee in double figures with 12 points. The Duquesne signee clogged the middle and stopped Euclid from driving the lane. When Linard wasn't picking up one of her career-high 10 blocks, she was forcing altered shots and getting the Panthers to turn over the ball. "She's always been a defensive presence," Kase said. "She's been there since freshman year, but I think it has grown and grown and grown. She's confident on both ends of the court, but she was tough and muscling them back. Reese is a load, but Lindsey was in the right place at the right time. She instinctively moved over and made some big plays." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com. Medina 60, Euclid 52MEDINA 15 17 12 16 — 60EUCLID 7 12 20 13 — 52Medina — Elizabeth Stuart 5-2-16, Sarah McKee 5-4-14, Lindsey Linard 5-2-12, Hailey Tripp 1-1-4, Aly Dwyer 1-2-5, Regan Todia 1-0-2, Haley Letner 1-0-2, Shannon Wojciak 1-3-5, Alyssa Johnson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-14-60.Euclid — Stephanie Martin 6-5-18, Iyanna Jenkins 2-0-4, Alexis Reese 9-0-18, Destinee White 1-4-6, Kaylonna Robinson 0-0-0, Taylor Curtain 0-0-0, Jasmine Perkins-Hirz 0-2-2, Mariah Childress 1-1-4, Raven McClain 0-0-0, Indian Clinton 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-12-52.3-point goals — Stuart 4, Dwyer, Martin, Childress. Rebounds — Medina 25 (McKee 9), Euclid 32 (Reese 10). Assists — Medina 16 (McKee 3, Todia 3, Wojciak 3), Euclid 7 (Martin 2). Records — Medina (3-0, 2-0), Euclid (1-3, 0-2). Junior varsity — Medina 51, Euclid 35 (M: Kate Bobey 12 points).