High school basketball: Hailey Tripp, Elizabeth Stuart lead Medina girls over SVSM

AKRON — In the gym named for a king, Hailey Tripp and Elizabeth Stuart were the queens of the basketball court. Tripp collected 15 points and five rebounds and Stuart scored 10 points Sunday, powering Medina to a 54-39 non-conference victory over St. Vincent-St. Mary at LeBron James Arena. Junior point guard Tripp also had two assists and two steals, while senior small forward Stuart grabbed four rebounds in their first career game inside the legendary school on Maple Street. "This gym is amazing, and we don't take any opportunities like this for granted," said Tripp, who made 4-of-5 shots from the field, 3-of-4 3-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws. Stuart agreed, saying, "Knowing this is where LeBron James went to school and everything started for him makes this win even more special." The Bees (3-2) led from wire to wire, scoring the first four points on steal-and-scores by Shannon Wojciak and never looked back. They reached their high-water mark of 38-15 on a layup by sophomore Kayla Joyner late in the third quarter. Medina essentially put the game away early, holding the Fighting Irish (2-4) scoreless for more than seven minutes during a 13-0 run spanning the first and second periods. Tripp scored seven points during the surge that gave the Bees a 26-6 advantage. "(Tripp) did a great job dictating the action right away as the point guard," Stuart said. "We got some really good looks because of how she pushed things against their defense." Tripp, Stuart and senior power forward Wojciak accounted for all 29 Medina points in the first half with 12, 10 and seven, respectively. St. Vincent-St. Mary standout Dream Cherry, meanwhile, missed her first nine shots and didn't score in the first 13 minutes. Cherry, a senior point guard, finished with a game-high 16 points on 6-of-22 shooting and had three assists. Fighting Irish center Annie Watson was limited to five points and a team-best six rebounds. "We try to learn how to play perfect defense in practice all the time, and everyone came through doing it today," Tripp said. "It also helps when you have a player like Stu who keeps the energy up when we have rough stretches, still motivating everyone." Medina pitched another seven-minute shutout to open the second half, showing no signs of fatigue in its second game in two days. The Bees beat North Canton Hoover 49-42 in their return from a two-week, district-imposed pause. Senior shooting guard Aly Dwyer added five points and Joyner grabbed five boards for Medina. Ashland signee Sarah McKee had four points and game highs of nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks despite being blanketed by multiple defenders. "Preparing to play Hoover and St. V in the same weekend really helped us focus on the task at hand," Bees coach Karen Kase said. "Playing back-to-back games wasn't something we've done before, but everyone is learning to deal with them. "We played a great first half and were really locked in, which is what you're looking in a situation like this on the road." Nicole Johnson put the cherry on top of Medina's sundae in the fourth quarter, scoring two points in her varsity debut after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. The junior drew three fouls in her two minutes of action, going 2-of-5 from the charity stripe. The giddy reaction from the Bees' bench and their fans during the sequence was worth the price of admission. "Nicole is scrappy and you saw that's what she brought to the court," a smiling Kase said. "Our players want everyone on the team to be involved and they cherish celebrating moments like this. It was a nice way to wrap up a nice day." Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com. Follow him @BrianDulik on Twitter. Medina 54, St. Vincent-St. Mary 39 MEDINA &emsp;&emsp;18 11 11 14 — 54 ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY &emsp;&emsp;6 9 3 21 — 39 Medina — Shannon Wojciak 3-0-7, Elizabeth Stuart 4-0-10, Sarah McKee 1-2-4, Aly Dwyer 1-2-5, Hailey Tripp 4-4-15, Regan Todia 1-0-3, Mylie Roberts 2-0-4, Leora Owings 1-0-2, Maddi Rath 0-0-0, Ella Silvis 0-0-0, Kate Bobey 0-0-0, Kayla Joyner 1-0-2, Audrey Kotick 0-0-0, Nicole Johnson 0-2-2. TOTALS: 18-10-54. St. Vincent-St. Mary — Chenoa Moss 2-1-5, Tejzah Brooks 2-3-7, Annie Watson 1-3-5, McKenna Jones 1-0-2, Dream Cherry 6-0-16, Ka'Miah Pryor 2-0-4, Dyllan Metcalf 0-0-0, Ja'Nya McNeal 0-0-0, Lauren Dubravetz 0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-7-39. 3-point goals — Tripp 3, Stuart 2, Wojciak, Dwyer, Todia, Cherry 4. Rebounds — Medina 35 (McKee 9), St. Vincent-St. Mary 23 (Watson 6). Assists — Medina 10 (McKee 4), St. Vincent-St. Mary 10 (Cherry 3). Records — Medina (3-2), St. Vincent-St. Mary (2-4). Junior varsity — Medina 32, St. Vincent-St. Mary 30 (M: Izzy Kurka 11).