First Baptist has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Shawnee Mission Christian Mustangs at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
First Baptist suffered their closest defeat yet this season on Tuesday. They fell just short of South Metro HomeSchool by a score of 41-39.
Despite the loss, First Baptist saw an underclassman step up: Lydia Wynja dropped a double-double on 21 points and 21 rebounds. Wynja is absolutely dominating the rebound category: she's posted at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Maya McKinney, who scored seven points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, Shawnee Mission Christian came up short against Northeast Kansas Nighthawks HomeSchool on Friday and fell 36-28. While losing is never fun, Shawnee Mission Christian can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 270th, while Northeast Kansas Nighthawks HomeSchool is ranked 75th).
Despite the loss, Shawnee Mission Christian had strong showings from Jeydan Umberger, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Isabella Anderson, who scored six points along with eight rebounds and four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Umberger has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Emily Kleczka, who scored a point along with 11 rebounds and two steals.
First Baptist's defeat ended a six-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-5. As for Shawnee Mission Christian, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost four of their last five matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-5 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's game: First Baptist have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 30.5% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Shawnee Mission Christian, though, as they've only made 22.7% of their threes per game this season. Given First Baptist's sizeable advantage in that area, Shawnee Mission Christian will need to find a way to close that gap.
First Baptist was able to grind out a solid victory over Shawnee Mission Christian in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, winning 26-17. Will First Baptist repeat their success, or does Shawnee Mission Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
