Camden-Frontier at Reading – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – November 29, 2021 – – by Chuck Krafft

It’s a new season and time from your Bleacher Denizen to make a big turn and head into basketball season. Tonight, his journey takes him to Reading where the Rangers will take on the Redskins from Camden-Frontier in the first game of the season. (Someday I hope to learn what it would take for my travels to constitute an “odyssey”.)

Generally when a guy talks about opening day, he’s referring to the opening of deer hunting on November 15. However, for your Bleacher Denizen, basketball is his favorite time of the year and so he made the trip from Lansing to Reading to write up this game.

Reading Coach Kevin Bailey provided me with this information about this year’s Ranger team. Two seniors who would have had huge roles on the team are out with injuries tonight. Mallory Wheeler was an all-State guard who would have done a lot of the ball handling and scoring. Kaylee Williams would have provided a lot of help in the post.

Serenity Trott will run the point tonight. She is a fine passer and defender who can hit the three point shot. Ashlyn Tesch will play in the post. She is a tough defender and rebounder. Kennedy Mailahn will also work in the post. Emily Stewart will provide strong perimeter defense and energy. Aubree Ervans is a freshman who plays on the permiter. She is adept at slashing to the basket or shooting from the three point line.

Camden-Frontier Coach Jordan Stevenson was helpful and gave me this information about his players. Dakota Sigler is a fine scorer, tough rebounder and diligent defender in the post. She also helps handle the ball against the press. Jaden Clark is a hard-working, tough perimeter defender with great footwork. Karley McKibbin is a fine, versatile athlete who is at home either in the post or on the perimeter.

Thanks to both coaches for their time and information.

Your Bleacher Denizen arrived in time to watch the JV game; here is a summary. Reading jumped out to a 21-2 lead in the first quarter. Camden-Frontier (hereafter known as C-F to save wear and tear on your Bleacher Denizen’s aging fingers) played much better the rest of the way, but Reading stayed on top and took home a 42-17 victory.

Alisyn Friskney led the C-F JVs with 7 points. June Best supported her with 6 points. Lina Koehm and Annabelle Corkle each added 2 points.

Sydney Fowler led the victorious Rangers with 9 points. Elizabeth Hamilton, Maggie Santure, Jenna Londeau and Alexis Engle each contributed 6 points. Isabella Johnson scored 3 points. Taylor Engle, Cadence Flynn and Maddie Snead each added 2 points.

It is now time to look at the varsity game through the somewhat clear lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball. Alas, it was too late before he learned that high turnover production can be valuable in a bakery, but is seldom appreciated much by basketball coaches.

Camden-Frontier wins the opening tap. Serenity Trott nearly steals the ball for Reading, but C-F is able to recover. The Redskins miss a layup. Lexus Sigler pulls down the offensive rebound. C-F misses a layup. Reading loses a pass out of bounds. C-F misses a layup. Dakota Sigler hits a putback to give C-F the first two points of the game.

Reading misses a ten footer in the lane. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Rangers get another opportunity. Dakota Sigler steals the ball for the Redskins. Alexis Engel applies pressure and causes a C-F travelling violation. Reading misses a twelve footer from the side of the lane. Karley McKibbin passes to Jaden Clark, who hits a jumper from the free throw elbow to boost C-F to a 4-0 lead.

Reading loses the ball out of bounds. Serenity Trott steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give Reading its first two points. Ashlyn Tesch steals a C-F bounce pass. Reading throws a pass out of bounds. Karly McKibbin passes to Dakota Sigler, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give C-F a 5-2 lead with 4:10 to play in the first quarter.

Karley McKibbin steals a Ranger pass. Serenity Trott knocks a pass out of bounds; C-F retains possession. Karley McKibbin hits a jumper from the free throw line for the Redskins. Dakota Sigler steals a Reading pass. C-F throws a pass from the lane out of bounds. Jazmin Johnson’s frenetic defense causes a Ranger travelling violation. C-F misses a jumper from the free throw elbow. Dakota Sigler blocks a Ranger shot, but Reading recovers the ball. Reading commits a travelling violation. Alexis Engel steals a C-F pass. Lexus Sigler’s defense leads to a Ranger travelling violation. Jazmyn Johnson passes to Dakota Sigler for a layup that gives C-F a 9-2 lead.

Jazmin Johnson nearly steals the ball, but Reading is able to recover. Reading is fouled on a shot in the lane, but misses both free throws. Ashlyn Tesch gets the offensive rebound. Reading misses a layup. Alexis Engel gets the offensive rebound, but Reading turns the ball over. C-F misses an eight foot banked shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Redskins get another opportunity. C-F misses a layup. Lexus Sigler pulls down the offensive rebound. C-F misses a layup. Reading misses a ten foot runner from the baseline. The Rangers get the offensive rebound, but miss a twelve foot shot from the wing.

The first quarter ends with C-F holding a 9-2 lead.

Reading inbounds the ball to commence the second quarter. The Rangers miss a seventeen footer from the wing. C-F misses a layup; Dakota Sigler snares the offensive rebound. C-F misses layups and gets three more offensive rebounds before Reading is able to finally snag the ball. Reading misses a threeball from the wing. Serenity Trott knocks the ball out of bounds; C-F retains possession. Alexis Engel steals the ball for Reading. Reading misfires on a triple try from the wing. Alexis Engle pulls down the offensive rebound. Karley McKibbin steals the ball for C-F. Dakota Sigler drives from the side and hits a layup to give C-F an 11-2 lead.

Jazmyn Johnson steals the ball for C-F. C-F misses a layup, gets the offensive rebound and misses a putback. Reading misses a ten foot attempt from the side. Abby Affholter gets the offensive rebound and is fouled on a putback. She hits one of her two free throws to trim the C-F lead to 11-3 with 5:23 to play in the third quarter.

(This marks a probable milestone for your Bleacher Denizen. I believe this is the first time that four students from one family have been named in a Bleacher Denizen blog article. Nick and Ben Affholter how are at Hillsdale College, where they start on the football team’s offensive line. Both of them appeared in football and basketball articles in 2019-20. Zach Affholter, a junior on Reading’s football team was in a football article in August, 2021. And now freshman Abby Affholter is in this basketball article!! If any other family has had four members appear in my articles, I’m not aware of it. Unfortunately, I would have to read over 1000 articles over twelve years to verify this.)

Taylor Engle forces a C-F double dribble violation. Reading misfires on a three pointer from the side. Taylor Engel forces C-F to dribble out of bounds. Reading misses a three pointer from the side. Jenna Londeau steals the ball for the Rangers. Reading misses a spinning layup. Taylor Engel steals the ball for the Rangers. Reading misses a six foot shot in the lane. Jazmin Johnson passes to Dakota Sigler for a layup that pushes the C-F lead to 13-3.

Reading misses on a threeball from the wing. Aubree Ervans knocks a C-F pass into the lane out of bounds to prevent a layup. C-F retains possession, but misses a sixteen foot shot from the side. Reading reciprocates and misses a sixteen foot shot from the side. Abby Affholter hits a putback to trim the C-F lead to 13-5.

Abby Affholter knocks a pass away from C-F and forces a tieup. Reading takes possession. Reading lofts a pass over the lane and out of bounds. C-F misses a jumper from the free throw line. Dakota Sigler hits a putback to push C-F to a 15-5 lead.

Reading loses the ball out of bounds. Alexis Engel steals the ball for Reading. Reading misses a three point shot from the side. Jenna Londeau steals the ball for the Rangers. Reading misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Alexis Engel grabs the offensive rebound for the Rangers. Reading is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Emily Stewart steals the ball for Reading. Dakota Sigler harasses the Rangers into missing a layup. The halftime buzzer sounds.

Camden-Frontier takes a 15-5 lead into the locker room at halftime. If basketball traditions are followed, they will also open the third quarter with a 15-5 lead.

Abby Affholter leads the leading halftime scoring with 3 points.

Dakota Sigler has 11 points for Camden-Frontier.

Camden-Frontier inbounds the ball to open the third quarter. The Redskins miss a six foot shot from the baseline. Lexus Sigler knocks a pass away from Reading, but the Rangers are able to recover. Dakota Sigler knocks a Ranger pass out of bounds; the Rangers retain possession. Reading loses the ball on an over and back violation. Lexus Sigler passes to Dakota Sigler for a layup that pushes the C-F lead to 17-5.

She was fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. Karley McKibbin hits a putback for C-F and is fouled. She misses her free throw, but Dakota Sigler gets the putback to give C-F a 21-5 lead.

Reading is whistled for an offensive foul. C-F misses a jumper from the free throw line. Reading misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and C-F takes possession. Aubree Ervans steals the ball for Reading. Alexis Engel passes to Aubree Ervans, who hits a jump shot from the free throw elbow to trim the C-F lead to 21-7.

Taylor Engle forces a C-F traveling violation. Reading misses a shot. Taylor Engel gets the offensive rebound and hits a fourteen foot shot from the side of the lane for C-F. Taylor Engel steals the ball for Reading; the Rangers miss a fast break layup. Taylor Engel snags the offensive rebound. Dakota Sigler’s tight defense causes Reading to miss a layup. Aubree Ervans blocks a C-F shot.

Lexus Sigler steals the ball for C-F. C-F misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Dakota Sigler grabs the offensive rebound for C-F. C-F misses a layup. Reading misses a three point shot from the side. Taylor Engel gets the offensive rebound for the Rangers. Aubree Ervans drives and hits a layup for Reading. Serenity Trott knocks the C-F inbound pass out; the Redskins retain possession. Ashlyn Tesch steals the ball for C-F. Taylor Engel passes to Serenity Trott, who hits a three point shot for Reading. The Rangers have scored the last nine points to chop the C-F lead to 21-14.

Aubree Ervans steals the ball for Reading. The Rangers miss a six foot shot from the side and foul on the rebound. Dakota Sigler grabs a loose ball and hits a layup for C-F to stop the Reading streak. Dakota Sigler steals the ball for C-F. Karley McKibbin passes to Lexus Sigler, who hits a layup for C-F. Jaden Clark nearly steals the ball; Reading recovers, but their offense is broken and they throw a pass out of bounds. Dakota Sigler is fouled. She hits the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity to extend the C-F lead to 26-14 with 2:04 to play in the third quarter.

Lexus Sigler gets the offensive rebound for C-F. C-F misses a layup. Reading misses an eight footer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and C-F takes possession. Aubrey Pitts blocks a C-F shot. Reading tosses a pass out of bounds. Karley McKibbin passes to Dakota Sigler, who hits a layup, is fouled and sinks her free throw to give C-F a 29-14 lead with 53.2 seconds remaining on the third quarter clock.

Reading misfires on a triple try from the wing. Emily Stewart steals the ball for Reading. Alexis Engel steals the ball and passes to Emily Stewart, who hits a fifteen footer from the side just before the third quarter buzzer to shave the C-F lead to 29-16.

C-F inbounds the ball to start the fourth quarter. Aubree Ervans’ tight defense causes D-F to lose the ball out of bounds. Reading mislaunches a threeball from the side. Elizabeth Hamilton gets the offensive rebound for Reading. Reading is fouled on a layup, but misses both free throws. Aubree Ervans knocks the ball away from C-F and Jenna Londeau picks it up for Reading. Reading turns the ball over. Jazmyn Johnson hits a layup to give C-F a 31-16 lead.

Jaden Clark steals the ball for C-F. C-F is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Dakota Sigler pulls down the offensive rebound for C-F. C-F misses a layup. REading misses a three point shot from the wing. Elizabeth Hamilton gets the offensive rebound and hits a ten foot shot from the side to trim the C-F lead to 31-18.

Jenna Londeau steals the ball for C-F. Reading misses a layup. Serenity Trott’s defensive hustle causes C-F to mishandle the ball and lose it out of bounds. Reading misses a three pointer from the corner; the rebound goes out of bounds and C-F takes possession. C-F misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Jaden Clark hits a layup for C-F; she is fouled, but misses her free throw. Emily Stewart passes to Aubree Evans, who hits a three point shot from the side for Reading. Jaden Clark passes to Lexus Sigler for a C-F layup that boosts their lead to 35-21.

Aubree Ervans passes to Serenity Trott for a Reading layup. C-F misses a shot. Reading misses a three pointer from the side. C-F misses a fast break layup. Karley McKibben’s defense forces a Reading ball handler to dribble on the sideline for a turnover. C-F throws a pass out of bounds vs. the Reading press. Reading misses a three point shot from the wing. Aubree Ervans steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits one of her two free throws to shave the C-F lead to 35-25 with 3:06 left in the game.

Ashlyn Tesch pulls down the offensive rebound for the Rangers. Reading loses the ball out of bounds. Aubree Ervans knocks the ball away from C-F, but Jazmyn Johnson hustles to recover the ball for the Redskins. Jazmyn Johnson is fouled and makes both shots in a one and one opportunity to boost C-F’s lead to 37-25 with 2:51 to go.

Reading misses a three point shot from the corner and two putbacks. Jazmin Johnson is fouled and hits one of two free throws for C-F. Taylor Engle passes to Ashlyn Tesch, who is fouled on a layup. She makes one of her two free throws to cut the C-F lead to 38-26 with 1:58 left on the clock.

C-F is fouled, but misses two free throws. Reading misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Serenity Trott gets the offensive rebound. Reading misses a six foot shot. C-F is fouled, but misses two free throws. Reading misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Reading gets another possession. Reading misses a three pointer from the side. Jenna Londeau hustles and knocks the ball out of bounds; C-F retains possession.

C-F is whistled for a travelling violation. Averil Miller nearly steals the ball for C-F, but Reading recovers. Reading misses a jump shot. C-F gets the rebound and dribbles away the last few seconds of the game.

Camden-Frontier wins by the score of 38-26.

For Reading, Aubree Ervans and Serenity Trott shared the scoring leadership with 8 points each. Abby Affholter scored 3 points. Emily Stewart, Elizabeth Hamilton and Taylor Engel each added 2 points. Ashlyn Tesch tallied 1 point.

Dakota led the victorious Camden-Frontier team with 21 points. Jazmyn Johnson tossed in 5 points. Jaden Clark, Lexus Sigler and Karley McKibbin each added 4 points.