High school basketball: Medina girls stay focused, don't overlook Bedford for sectional win

MEDINA — When everyone is already talking about a Valley Forge Division I District semifinal that is five days away, staying in the here and now is difficult. Second-seeded Medina showed incredible patience Thursday in a 51-14 sectional final win over 10th-seeded Bedford. Next up is a rubber match with third-seeded Solon (14-9) on Tuesday, but the Bees (17-6) had to get through a Bearcats squad intent on slowing the pace. It only worked for Bedford (7-17) for a quarter, as Medina went into the second frame up only 6-4. When the Bees stepped on the gas, it was all over. "We always talk about being poised in these kinds of games," said Medina point guard Hailey Tripp, who had 11 points and four rebounds. "Coming into the game, we focused on defense because that defense leads to offense and hypes us up. "We work on situations during practice, so we're kind of used to it. Coming into games where we know it's a fast-paced game, we'll call no plays. If it's a slow game, we have to slow it down and play our game." Once the Bearcats couldn't afford to stall, the talent of Medina shined during a 32-0 run over a 10:27 span of the second, third and fourth quarters. "We waited it out and needed some sparks," Medina coach Karen Kase said. "Alyssa Johnson was definitely a spark. I thought Elizabeth Stuart played pretty well on defense and Shannon (Wojciak) always gets in there with Leona Owings. All of them were sparkplugs tonight." While 6-foot-3 Lindsey Linard (8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks) and 6-2 Sarah McKee (6, 3, 3, 4) used their length to create problems for an opponent whose tallest player was 5-6, Johnson led the charge with four points, four rebounds, an assist and four steals. If Johnson wasn't taking the ball from Bedford herself, she was in the middle of many of the Bearcats' 24 turnovers. "Defense was a huge key," she said. "We've been working on it in practice the last week. We wanted to try some new things out in help (man) defense. It's what sparks our offense. If we play good defense, that transitions and we can get good steals. That leads to transition layups. It's the emphasis of our game and makes us what Medina basketball is." That defense allowed only 33 shots, largely due to the fact the Bees won the rebounding battle 40-18. When Bedford was able to penetrate, there was usually a hand in a shooter's face, which led to just one assist for the visitors. "We wanted to get better at some things in our man defense," Kase said. "We stuck with it. I actually got on them at halftime because there are some things we have to clean up in that man defense for next week. We stuck with that and wanted to get better at it and we did." Solon held up its end of the bargain with a 66-52 win over sixth-seeded Parma, moving the attention to Tuesday. Medina beat Solon 67-59 on Dec. 7 and the Comets returned the favor with 67-48 win on Jan. 25. The Bees were missing McKee in the second game. The Comets were missing Chyanne Hatcher Tuberville and Kennedy Ford. Both teams head into the rematch at full strength. "We're obviously conference rivals, so it's going to be a tough game from their perspective and a tough game from our perspective," Kase said. "We need to be locked in these next practices and have a really good film session and scouting report. "We have (McKee) back. They have Hatcher Tuberville back. I think we're in a better place than we were the last time we played them. We just have to 100 percent bring it and bring hunger and intensity." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com. Medina 51, Bedford 14 Valley Forge Division I Sectional Final BEDFORD 4 4 4 2 — 14MEDINA 6 22 16 7 — 51Bedford — Indy Lymon 3-2-8, Logan Tyson 1-0-2, Mya Thomas 0-0-0, Lyric Well 0-0-0, Yolanda Lavender 2-0-4, Lashanti Alston 0-0-0, Jenaya Brooks 0-0-0, Cree Hall 0-0-0, Denim Whitted 0-0-0, Kalech Hinton 0-0-0, Amariah Richardson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 6-2-14.Medina — Elizabeth Stuart 2-2-6, Lindsey Linard 3-2-8, Sarah McKee 2-2-6, Hailey Tripp 4-1-11, Haley Letner 2-0-4, Shannon Wojciak 1-0-2, Alyssa Johnson 2-0-4, Gillian Wagner 0-0-0, Leora Owings 2-0-4, Chloe Helsel 1-0-2, Kayla Joyner 1-0-2, Regan Todia 0-0-0, Grace Koehler 0-0-0, Maddi Rath 0-2-2, Courtney Maruna 0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-9-51.3-point goals — Tripp 2. Rebounds — Bedford 18 (Lymon 5), Medina 40 (Linard 8). Assists — Bedford 1 (Lavander), Medina 14 (Linard 3, McKee 3). Records — Bedford (7-17), Medina (17-6).