Pewamo-Westphalia at Fowler – – CMAC Girls Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 12, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

The Fowler Eagles enter the game with a 6-1 record and the #2 ranking in Division 4. Their only loss is to top-ranked St. Patrick. They just had an impressive win over #3 Plymouth Christian Academy on Monday. The Pirates from Pewamo-Westphalia (hereafter known as P-W to save wear and tear on your Bleacher Denizen’s aging fingers) is at 5-2.

Fowler is led by the Riley sisters, who are both returning All-State players. Both of them are guards with all the quickness, coordination and skills one expects from a top quality guard. Their biggest attribute is probably their fierce competitiveness. They defend relentlessly and set a fine example for their teammates. Both of them are excellent ball handlers and passers. They also shoot well from the three point line. Both are excellent rebounders as well; Mia is especially impressive with this skill.

Avery Koenigsknecht and Carly Andros are competitive, relentless perimeter players who are threats from the three point line. Grace Epkey plays tough near the basket. She defends well, gets more than her share of rebounds and can score on putbacks. If you leave her open from the three point line, she is also a threat from there. Madison Wirth is another fine three point shooter who defends the perimeter well and provides senior leadership.

For P-W, Sierra Schneider protects the paint well on defense and can score inside. Jenna Pung can score inside or outside. Brooke Kramer is a threat to score from the perimeter. She also rebounds well from her guard position. Mackenna Weber runs the point for the Pirates. She is a competitive perimeter defender. Logan Drake defends with aggression. Brynn Bauer has a great basketball IQ and is the Pirates’ quickest perimeter defender. Aylah Smith is a good three point shooter. Kierstyn Griesmer puts her great length to good use when defending opponents’ wing players.

The Bleacher Denizen was not able to see most of the JV game, which Fowler won 44-34.

Caroline Hengesbach led the Pewamo-Westphalia JVs with 14 points. Taylor Nurenberg supported her teammate with 7 points. Brooke Spitzley added 4 points. Kambrie Thelen had 3 points. Bridget Nobach, Brynn Bauer and Logan Drake each had 2 points.

Grace O’Hare led the Fowler JVs with 13 points. Brooke Weber supported her with 7 points. Elizabeth Hufnagel and Kelcie Pung each tossed in 6 points. Rebecca Smith scored 4 points. Anna Andros, Paisley Hansen, Mary Spitzley and Katie Spicer each had 2 points.

The Fowler Pep Band played the National Anthem and did a fine job. As I am a professional musician when I’m not writing basketball blogs, I always like to salute a musical job well done! Here are a couple recent videos I have put on my “Chuck Krafft” You Tube Channel!

Swing Low Sweet Chariot (sung and played)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlxkotTZ9PQ

Here’s one that’s a bit late for Christmas, but is also on my new German Christmas CD. (Oh Come All Ye Faithful sung in German.) I know there are a lot of fellow people of German descent in Pewamo, Westphalia and Fowler; I hope you’ll enjoy this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGlHhrvmuE

And here’s today’s addition to my channel. You just never know where the Red River Valley might take you, at least when you’re playing solo piano!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8

Now that I have shamelessly plugged my You Tube Channel, introduced the players and recapped the JV game, it’s time to bring you the events of this game through the tired, cloudy lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop. Alas, it was a total shock to the Bleacher Denizen to learn that his shots only produced points when they floated through this rim thing. He was never able to correct his shot after that.

Fowler wins the opening tap. The Eagles miss on a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and P-W takes possession. Emma Riley knocks the ball out of bounds; P-W retains possession. Emma Riley steals the ball from the Pirates and draws a foul. Mia Riley passes to Grace Epkey, who hits a layup to give Fowler the first two points of the game. Makenna Weber passes to Sierra Schneider, who is fouled on a short bank shot. Sierra Schneider hits one of her two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 2-1 with 6:10 to play in the first quarter.

Mia Riley passes to Carly Andros, who throws in a threeball from the wing for Fowler. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Fowler misses a layup. P-W turns the ball over. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Mia Riley gets her hands on a Pirate pass and the ball goes out of bounds; Fowler takes possession. Mia Riley dribbles around a screen and throws in a three point shot from the wing to give the Eagles an 8-1 lead.

Emma Riley steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Carly Andros pulls down the offensive rebound for Fowler and passes to Emma Riley, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Eagles. P-W misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Sierra Schneider blocks a Fowler fast break layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Makenna Weber steals the Eagle inbound pass. Emma Riley steals the ball for Fowler.

Fowler misses a fast break layup. Grace Epkey steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. P-W misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Grace Epkey drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Emma Riley steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits two free throws to push the Eagle lead to 15-1 with 1:15 to play in the first quarter.

P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Mia Riley cans a jumper from the free throw elbow for Fowler. P-W loses a pass out of bounds. Fowler misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane as the first quarter buzzer sounds.

After one quarter, Fowler has a 17-1 lead.

P-W inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Pirates miss a layup. Aylah Smith knocks the ball away from Fowler, but the Eagles are able to recover. Emma Riley is fouled on a driving banked hook shot and makes two free throws for Fowler. P-W misses a fourteen foot shot from the wing. Mia Riley is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Mia Riley steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup; she hits one of her two free throws. With 6:21 to play in the first half, Fowler has a 21-1 lead.

Emma Riley steals the ball and leans in to scoop the ball into the basket from about twelve feet away for Fowler. Jenna Pung passes to Brooke Kramer, who hits a layup for P-W. Jenna Pung steals a Fowler pass. P-W misfires on a threeball from the wing. Fowler loses its dribble and the ball goes out of bounds. Emma Riley nearly steals the ball for the Eagles, but knocks it out of bounds. The Pirates retain possession. P-W commits an offensive foul. The Riley Connection comes into play as Emma passes to her sister Mia for a layup that gives the Eagles a 25-3 lead.

The Riley Connection is still flowing as Mia Riley knocks the ball away from the Pirates and Emma Riley picks it up for the Eagles. Emma Riley hits a fast break layup for Fowler. Emma Riley steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. P-W misses the front end of a one and one free throw opportunity. With 3:06 remaining in the first half, Fowler has a 27-3 lead.

Mia Riley is fouled catching a pass and hits two free throws for Fowler. P-W misses a three point shot from the corner. Jenna Pung steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one opportunity. Logan Drake blocks a Fowler layup. Aylah Smith tosses in a three point basket from the wing for P-W. Fowler misses a driving layup. Logan Drake is fouled and hits one of her two free throws with 51 seconds to go in the half. The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball. Fowler holds the ball for the last shot. Mia Riley scoops in a layup at the buzzer for Fowler.

At halftime, Fowler has a 31-7 lead.

Mia Riley has 13 points and Emma Riley has 11 points at halftime for Fowler.

Aylah Smith has 3 points to lead Pewamo-Westphalia.

Fowler inbounds the ball to commence the third quarter. (Occasionally, it’s fun to use high-falutin’ words and pretend that I’m actually a journalist.) Fowler misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. P-W misses a threeball from the wing. Fowler misses a six foot banked shot from the side. Mia Riley knocks the ball away from P-W and out of bounds; Fowler takes possession. Fowler misses a three pointer from the side. Sierra Schneider saves a bad pass to prevent a P-W turnover and powers her way to a basket that trims the Fowler lead to 31-9.

Jenna Pung knocks an Eagle pass out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler misses a driving layup and is fouled on a putback. The Eagles miss two free throws. A P-W dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler loses a pass out of bounds. Mia Riley knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Emma Riley blocks a Pirate five foot shot in the lane. Emma Riley hits a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw elbow to give Fowler a 33-9 lead.

The Pirates miss a six foot shot in the lane. Grace Epkey is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Grace Epkey blocks a Pirate jumper from the baseline. Jenna Pung harasses a Fowler pass receiver and the Eagles lose the ball out of bounds. Madison Wirth knocks the ball away from the Pirates and the ball is tied up. To be fair, the Possession Arrow was watching my You Tube videos and was distracted. It awarded the ball back to P-W, but I can forgive the mistake since it was my channel being watched.

P-W commits a double dribble violation. Makenna Weber knocks a Fowler pass out of bounds; the Eagles get the ball back. Fowler misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Avery Koenigsknecht dives to the floor to secure the offensive rebound for Fowler. Mia Riley is fouled on an up and under ten foot shot in the lane. She hits two free throws to give Fowler a 36-9 lead with 38.8 seconds to play in the third quarter.

P-W misses a three point shot from the corner. Grace Epkey hits a putback for Fowler. P-W loses the ball out of bounds with 4 seconds to play in the quarter. Fowler dribbles out the last few seconds.

After three quarters, Fowler has a 38-9 lead.

Fowler starts off the fourth quarter by throwing the ball in. Carly Andros passes to Avery Koenigsknecht, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws. Quinn Watts gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Mia Riley steals the ball for the Eagles, stops suddenly and banks in a five foot shot for Fowler. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 6:54 to play in the game, Fowler has a 41-9 lead.

Madison Wirth steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a twelve footer from the side of the lane and fouls on the rebound. Carly Andros knocks the ball away from P-W, but the Pirates are able to recover. Brooke Spitzley banks in a six foot hook shot for P-W. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 5:42 left on the clock, Fowler’s lead is at 41-11.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Emma Riley steals the ball for the Eagles. Carly Andros throws in a threeball from the wing for Fowler. P-W misses a driving layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Pirates get another opportunity. Kambrie passes to Brooke Spitzley, who hits a three point shot from the wing for P-W. Emma Riley drives and hits a layup for Fowler to give the Eagles a 46-14 lead.

Brynn Bauer recovers a loose ball for P-W; she drives and hits a layup. Emma Riley passes to Madison Wirth, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Eagles. P-W is fouled on a layup and misses two free throws. Fowler misses a driving layup. Brianne Halfmann gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Emma Riley steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Emma Riley steals the ball for Fowler. The Eagles miss a twelve foot shot from the side. Quinn Watts knocks the ball out of bounds; P-W retains possession.

Brin Thelen steals a Pirate pass. Taylor Weber drives and hits a layup for Fowler. P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Kambrie Thelen gets the offensive rebound for the pirates. P-W is fouled on an eight foot shot in the lane with 1:14 to play in the game, but misses two free throws. Fowler gets the rebound and runs out the clock.

Fowler wins this game by the score of 51-16.

Brooke Spitzley led the Pewamo-Westphalia scoring with 5 points. Aylah Smith and Sierra Schneider each added 3 points. Brynn Bauer and Brooke Kramer each had 2 points. Logan Drake tallied 1 point.

The Riley Connection scored 32 of Fowler’s points. Mia had 17 and Emma had 15. Grace Epkey supported her teammates with 7 points. Carly Andros added 6 points. Madison Wirth scored 3 points. Taylor Weber had 2 points and Avery Koenigsknecht put in 1 point.