Basketball Game Preview: First Baptist Crusaders vs. St. Francis Christian Patriots

First Baptist and St. Francis Christian are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2022, but not for long. The First Baptist Crusaders will be taking part in a tournament against the St. Francis Christian Patriots at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday. First Baptist is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last six games.

First Baptist picked up another tournament win on Friday. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 52-1 win over Shawnee Mission Christian. The Crusaders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine games by 21 points or more this season.

First Baptist can attribute much of their success to Lydia Wynja, who went 8 for 10 on her way to 18 points and eight rebounds, and Taylor Zschokke, who went 6 of 7 en route to 13 points and six steals. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Wynja has scored at least a third of First Baptist's points. Another player making a difference was Keira Wynja, who posted four points and seven steals.

First Baptist smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in 18 consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, St. Francis Christian beat Lake Region Christian 44-36 on Saturday. The Patriots' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.

First Baptist has also been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.8 points per game. As for St. Francis Christian, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.

First Baptist didn't have too much breathing room in their game against St. Francis Christian in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 39-33 win. Does First Baptist have another victory up their sleeve, or will St. Francis Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.