Preview: Lake Region Christian Hornets vs. First Baptist Crusaders
Lake Region Christian and First Baptist are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The Lake Region Christian Hornets will head out on the road to challenge the First Baptist Crusaders at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Lake Region Christian has struggled recently with 11 defeats in a row, while First Baptist will arrive with nine straight wins.
Lake Region Christian struggled with assists on Monday (Chisago Lakes Baptist had 14 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Lake Region Christian suffered a rough 49-23 defeat at the hands of Chisago Lakes Baptist. The game was over by the end of the first half, with no points scored by either team from that point forward.
Despite the defeat, Lake Region Christian saw an underclassman step up: Tamara DeVries scored eight points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, First Baptist escaped with a win last Tuesday against Rochester Area HomeSchool by the margin of a single free throw, 54-53.
First Baptist can attribute much of their success to Keira Wynja, who scored 15 points along with six assists and six rebounds, and Lydia Wynja, who scored 27 points along with seven rebounds. Wynja continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last five games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Maya McKinney, who scored ten points.
Lake Region Christian dropped their record down to 3-18 with that loss, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for First Baptist, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Lake Region Christian have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27 rebounds per game. However, it's not like First Baptist struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lake Region Christian took a serious blow against First Baptist in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 49-13. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Wynja, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 13 rebounds. Now that Lake Region Christian knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
