Girls basketball: Top-seeded First Baptist runs away from Lake Ridge in conference tournament

ELYRIA — Top-seeded First Baptist was firing on all cylinders out of the gate Monday, grabbing a double-digit lead over No. 4 Lake Ridge in the semifinals of the Lake Effect Conference tournament and never looking back back in winning 44-28. The Sabres improved to 11-3 and will face either Mentor Christian or Andrews Osborne Academy on Friday at 5:30 pm at Cuyahoga Community College for the conference championship. "All season we've been having great first quarters and maybe would rest on whatever lead we may have built," First Baptist coach Lawrence Nagengast said. "We did a great job of converting (turnovers) and that's why I kept pressing into the second half." Kate Burman and Jo Wacker gave the Royals all they could handle in the first six minutes, scoring the first 14 points, with Burman scoring eight of her 11 points and Wacker scoring six, all in the paint, as she closed out with a game-high 12 points. "Kate had been our leading point scorer all year, but that may have been one of Jo's top three games she has played all year long," Nagengast said. "Those two gave us a huge boost to start the game." "Our mindset was to come out and apply pressure for the whole game," Wacker said. "After getting that big lead, we settled down a little bit but were able to keep that lead for the whole game." Kathryn Krueger provided the only points for Lake Ridge in the early run with a 3-pointer that helped the Royals cut the lead to 17-7 after a quarter, as Krueger added a bucket on a baseline drive and Lilly Shmois dropped in a mid-range jumper. Shmois was solid for Lake Ridge (9-7), finishing with eight points while pulling down 10 rebounds. The 10-point deficit was the closest the Royals got, as First Baptist kept forcing turnovers and converting. Lake Ridge finished the night with 22 turnovers. "We dug ourselves that hole and First Baptist just kept capitalizing on our mistakes. That's why they are the No. 1 one team in our conference" Royals coach Alan George said. "This was our season in a nutshell, we are our own worst enemy at times, turning the ball over and it just hurts." The Sabres made sure not to let Lake Ridge get back in the game to start the second half as they expanded the lead to 34-15. Wacker scored four more, Katelyn Anderson scored on a layin and Brynn White nailed the only 3-pointer for the Sabres with 2:15 left in the third. Lake Ridge got the First Baptist lead down to 11 midway through the fourth quarter. Contact James Brady at jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. FIRST BAPTIST 44, LAKE RIDGE 28 LAKE RIDGE (28): Leah Foltin 3-0-6, Elizabeth Krueger 0-0-0, Kathryn Krueger 2-0-5, Lilly Shmois 4-0-8, Maia New 2-0-5, Zaya Battur 0-0-0, Ava White 0-2-2, Isadora Llanos Churby 1-0-2. Totals 12-2-28. FIRST BAPTIST (44): Kate Burman 5-1-11, Jo Wacker 6-0-12, Evelyn Fisher 0-0-0, Meghan Hennebey 0-0-0, Katelyn Anderson 4-2-10, Brynn White 2-0-5, Kara Gravley 3-0-6. Totals 20-3-44. Lake Ridge 7 6 6 9 — 28 First Baptist 17 8 9 10 — 44 Three-point goals: Lake Ridge 2-5 (40 percent, K. Krueger, New), First Baptist 1-5 (20 percent, White). Field goals: Lake Ridge 12-32 (38 percent); First Baptist 20-45 (44 percent). Free throws: Lake Ridge 2-8 (25 percent); First Baptist 3-9 (33 percent). Rebounds: Lake Ridge 22, First Baptist 33 Turnovers: Lake Ridge 22, First Baptist 18 Fouled out: Foltin, White