Girls basketball: Medina Christian starts slow, can't recover in loss to First Baptist

ELYRIA — Despite its best efforts, the Medina Christian girls basketball team couldn't recover from a slow start. Elyria First Baptist scored 18 points in the first quarter and the Knights were playing catchup the rest of the way as the host Sabers won the Lake Effect Conference Tournament championship 47-30 Friday evening. "We spotted them a big lead at the beginning," Medina Christian coach Dan Tousley said. "When you have to constantly work to overcome that, it makes the game that much tougher. Those are nearly impossible to overcome. "One of our goals was to get them into foul trouble, and we did that. We wanted to go inside, but unfortunately we didn't execute that. Credit to First Baptist. They worked harder than we did tonight, and they deserve to get the win." Top-seeded First Baptist (19-4) held Medina Christian (8-9) without a field goal for the first 3:35. Grace Workman changed that with a layup and proceeded to score six of the Knights' seven first-quarter points. She tied for the game high at 13 points and led the team in rebounds with nine. "I was just trying to move the ball since they were playing a zone," Workman said. "Attack the gaps, kick it out and drive." Medina Christian, which only has eight players in its program, had an even thinner bench, losing key reserve Anna Gibson to a torn ACL. The Knights managed to stay out of foul trouble, only committing eight for the game to First Baptist's 15, but were unable to take advantage as they shot 7-of-16 from the line. Shots, in general, weren't falling for the Knights, who went 10-of-44 from the field and 3-of-21 from 3-point range. "That was a big focus, to stay out of foul trouble," Tousley said. "Anna is a massive part of our team. Not only on the floor, but her spirit, her attitude, the way she approaches the game. She's a great kid and a great player. We really care about her. It's hard to overcome, but the girls will keep fighting. This team never quits." Ashley Conwill was able to give the Knights a spark at the end of the third quarter with her second 3-pointer of the evening, leading to a 9-4 run that stretched into the fourth quarter. She ended the run with another 3-pointer that cut the First Baptist lead to 41-28. Conwill also finished with 13 points. The Sabres responded with four unanswered to seal the deal. "It was definitely a lesson," Workman said. "I feel like we can grow from this. We saw what we have to work on, so we'll just keep on working. We tried our best. We were down by a lot and we came up, but we just need to keep on pushing." Contact Chris Sweeney at sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. First Baptist 47, Medina Christian 30 MEDINA CHRISTIAN&emsp;7 7 8 8 — 30 FIRST BAPTIST&emsp;18 9 10 10 — 47 Medina Christian — Grace Workman 4-5-13, Leah Stroup 0-1-1, Ann Sems 0-1-1, Deanna Pace 0-0-0, Ashley Conwill 5-0-13, Ansley Wood 1-0-2, Aalijah Ruckhorst 0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-7-30. First Baptist — Kate Burman 5-2-12, Joanna Wacker 2-0-5, Katelynn Anderson 6-0-12, Kaylen Patton 1-0-2, Kara Gravely 1-0-2, Olivia Quick 6-0-12, Brynn White 0-0-0, Meghan Hennessey 1-1-2. TOTALS: 22-2-47. 3-point goals — Conwill 3, Wacker. Rebounds — Medina Christian 18 (Workman 8), First Baptist 33 (Anderson 8). Records — Medina Christian (8-9), First Baptist (19-4).