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

St. Francis Christian and First Baptist are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2022, but not for long. The St. Francis Christian Patriots will take on the First Baptist Crusaders in a tournament on Saturday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Saturday, St. Francis Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over Lake Region Christian, taking the game 44-36. The Patriots' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.

Meanwhile, First Baptist waltzed into their matchup on Friday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They claimed a resounding 52-1 win over the Mustangs. 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.

St. Francis Christian better focus on containing Lydia Wynja and Taylor Zschokke as the pair were huge in First Baptist's win. Wynja went 8 for 10 en route to 18 points and eight boards, while Zschokke went 6 of 7 on her way 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 contests.

First Baptist has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-3 record this season. Those victories 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.

St. Francis Christian came up short against First Baptist when the teams last played back in January, falling 39-33. Can St. Francis Christian avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.