Pewamo-Westphalia at Bath – – CMAC Girls Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 20, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight your Bleacher Denizen’s journey was only about ten minutes from the music studio in DeWitt just off Clark Road to Bath High School, which is on Clark Road. It was a cold day to travel, but the BleacherDenizenMobile was able to make it to Bath without incident. (Last night, my lights went out on the way back from Portland and I had to consult the owner’s manual when I got home to turn them on. Today, they are still working!!)

Enough of your Bleacher Denizen’s travel anxiety. Tonight, the Bath Bees are hosting the Pirates from Pewamo-Westphalia in girls basketball. Pewamo-Westphalia has a 6-3 record entering the game and Bath is at 4-5. Both teams are at 3-3 in CMAC competition.

Sierra Schneider protects the paint on defense and scores inside on offense for P-W. (For the rest of this article, to save wear and tear on your aging Bleacher Denizen’s fingers, most of the time, we will refer to Pewamo-Westphalia as P-W.) Jenna Pung is a tall, long player who can defend or score in the lane or on the perimeter. Makenna Weber, who runs the point for the Pirates is a competitive perimeter defender.

Logan Drake is an aggressive defender in the post. Brynn Bauer combines a great basketball IQ with quickness on the perimeter, especially on defense. Aylah Smith is a solid three point shooter. Kierstyn Griesmer has great length that she uses to defend opposing perimeter layers.

For Bath, Sophia Westphal is a senior leader who who can hit the three point shot or score on slashes to the basket. Aubrie Schaibly and Anna Schaibly are wing players who can either slash to the basket or score from the three point line. Megan Cook is a strong perimeter defender who is a threat from the three point line. Kassi Buck runs the point for the Bees; she is a good ball handler and passer.

Madison Grennell is a glue type player who does the unsung things every team needs. She sets screens well, defends her position and can hit midrange shots. Ally Estrada provides depth in the post. She scores well there and also rebounds well. Corynne Ojerio is a strong post defender and rebounder who is a threat to score on putbacks.

P-W won the JV game 46-21. The Pirates led 10-7 after the first quarter and extended their lead to 25-11 at halftime. After Brooke Spitzley hit a three point shot from halftime at the third quarter buzzer, P-W had a 42-19 lead and continued on to win by a 46-21 score.

Kaitlin Dickey led the Bath JVs with 10 points. Sophie VanNorman added 6 points. Kylie Grennell put in 4 points and Justice Jubb tallied 1 point.

Kaitlyn Nurenberg led the victorious Pirate JVs with 13 points. Brooke Spitzley joined her teammate in double figures with 10 points. Kambrie Thelen and Brynn Bauer each added 6 points for the Pirates. Julia Klein and Bridget Nobach each added 4 points and Logan Drake scored 3 points.

The Bath Band played the National Anthem and did a fine job. Your Bleacher Denizen is a professional musician who loves to salute a musical job well done, especially when it’s by students! For those who may be curious, here are a couple songs from my “Chuck Krafft” You Tube channel.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol3R-ZL9568

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the hopefully enlightened prism of an aging Bleacher Denizen who never did escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore. It took way too long for him to learn that the coach will avoid yelling when you pass the ball only if you get the ball to players who are wearing the same color uniform as you. The mind boggles!!

Bath wins the opening tap. The Bees miss a driving, scooping layup. P-W misfires on a three pointer from the wing. Brynn Bauer gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-T throws the ball out of bounds. Bath reciprocates and throws the ball out of bounds. P-W takes more than ten seconds to cross midcourt against the Bath defense and turns the ball over. Kassi Buck passes to a teammate who is fouled before she can shoot. Bath misses a layup. Aubrie Schaibly is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Bath the first point of the game about 90 seconds into the first quarter.

Megan Cook hits the floor to tie the ball up for the Bees. The Possession Arrow consults its international panel and decides to see things differently; it awards the ball to the Pirates. P-W misfires on a three pointer from the wing. Sierra Schneider causes a Bath traveling violation. P-W misses a hook/layup. Jenna Pung’s defense causes Bath to badly miss a scooping shot. P-W misses a sixteen foot shot from the wing. Bath misses a three point attempt from the wing. P-W reciprocates and misses a three point attempt from the wing. Bath misses a driving layup. The Bleacher Denizen misses watching the ball go through the basket.

P-W loses the ball out of bounds. Sophia Westphal passes to Aubrie Schaibly, who hits a three point shot from the side for Bath. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Aylah Smith’s stout defense causes a Bath double dribble violation. Kassi Buck knocks the ball away from P-W and Madilyn Johnson picks it up for Bath. Jenna Pung gets her hand on the ball and it goes out of bounds; the Bees retain possession. Aubrie Schaibly drives and hits a layup to give Bath a 6-0 lead.

P-W misses a seventeen foot shot from the wing. Jenna Pung pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Aylah Smith gets her hand on the ball; Bath fouls trying to get the ball back. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Aylah Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a three point shot. Bath misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Ally Estrada gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Brooke Spitzley is fouled on a driving banked hook shot; she makes one of two free throws to give P-W its first point. With 55.6 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Bath has a 6-1 lead.

A Bath dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Brooke Spitzley passes to Sierra Schneider, who hits a layup for P-W. Bath misses a thirty-five foot shot at the buzzer.

After one quarter, Bath has a 6-3 lead.

Bath has the ball to begin the second quarter. Logan Drake knocks the ball away from the Bees; however it goes out and Bath retains possession. Bath throws the ball out of bounds. Sierra Schneider hits a putback for P-W. Bath is assessed or a traveling violation. P-W misses a fourteen foot shot from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and P-W gets another opportunity. P-W misses on a threeball from the wing. Bath misses a layup. Makenna Weber hits a fast break layup to give the Pirates a 7-6 lead.

Brooke Spitzley steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup. Brynn Bauer gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-w misses a layup. Sophia Westphal drives from the side to hit a layup to give the Bees a one point lead. P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Sierra Schneider is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws for P-W to tie the game at 8-8 with 3:54 to go in the second quarter.

Bath misses a six foot shot from the baseline. P-W misses a three pointer from the side. Brynn Bauer hits a putback to give P-W a two point lead. Aubrie Schaibly hits a layup for Bath to tie the game. P-W throws a pass out. Brooke Spitzley knocks the ball away from Bath; the Bees are able to recover. Kierstyn Griesmer knocks the ball away from Bath and Makenna Weber picks it up for P-W. Brooke Spitzley passes to Logan Drake, who hits a layup to give P-W a 12-10 lead.

Bath misses a shot; Anna Schaibly gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Logan Drake blocks a Bee putback; Bath recovers the loose ball. Sophia Westphal hits a three point shot near the top of the key to give Bath a 13-12 lead.

P-W is whistled for a traveling violation. Brooke Spitzley knocks the ball away from Bath and Makenna Weber picks it up for P-W. The Pirates miss a three point shot from the side. Bath drives from the side and misses a layup. Ally Estrada gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup at the buzzer.

At halftime, Bath has a 13-12 lead.

Sierra Schneider has 5 points to lead the Pirate scoring at halftime.

Aubrie Schaibly has 8 points and Sophia Westphal has 5 points for the Bees.

The Pirates open the third quarter with the ball. P-W misses a layup. Sierra Schneider gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Bath misses a three point shot from the side. Makenna Weber inbounds the ball to Jenna Pung, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to tie the game at 13-13 with 7:11 to play in the third quarter.

Bath misses a three point shot from the wing. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Sophia Westphal drives and hits a layup for Bath. She is fouled on the play, but misses a free throw. Madilyn Johnson blocks a Pirate layup. P-W recovers the ball and misses a layup; Jenna Pung hits a putback for the Pirates to tie the game. Bath misses a driving layup. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Bath reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the side. P_W misses a layup. Bath is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 4:21 to play in the third quarter, the game is tied at 15-15.

P-W misses a ten foot shot from the side. Makenna Weber and Sierra Schneider team up to block a Bee layup. Bath recovers the ball; Sophia Westphal bounces the ball to Anna Schaibly, who hits a layup to give Bath the lead. Megan Cook knocks the ball away from the Pirates and Kassi Buck picks it up for the Bees. Bath misfires on a threeball from the wing. Makenna Weber drives and hits a layup for the Pirates to tie the game at 17-17.

Makenna Weber knocks the ball out of bounds; Bath retains possession. Bath drives from the side and misses a reverse layup. Sophia Westphal blocks a P-W layup. Bath misses a three point shot from the side and fouls on the rebound. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Brynn Bauer knocks the ball out of bounds to prevent a Bee layup; Bath is able to retain possession. Sophia Westphal passes to Aubrie Schaibly, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Bath an 18-17 lead with 48.2 seconds to play in the quarter.

P-W misses a three point shot near the top of the key. Bath misses a triple try near the top of the key. Aubrie Schaibly knocks the rebound off P-W and out of bounds to earn another possession for her Bees. Sophia Westphal inbounds the ball to Corynne Ojerio, who hits a layup for Bath at the buzzer.

With three quarters in the books, Bath has a 20-17 lead.

Bath inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter underway. Brooke Kramer knocks the Bee inbound pass out; Bath retains possession. Corynne Ojerio passes to Aubrie Schaibly, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Bath a 23-17 lead.

Corynne Ojerio knocks the ball away from the Pirates and Kassi Buck grabs it for the Bees. The ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow decrees that the Pirates shall have the ball. P-W commits an offensive foul. Brooke Spitzley knocks the ball away from Bath; Brooke Kramer dives to tie up the ball. The Possession Arrow coldly ignores her hustle and willingness to give up her body for her team; the ball is awarded to Bath. Brooke Spitzley knocks the ball away from Bath, but the Bees are able to recover.

Bath misses a five foot banked shot; they get the offensive rebound, but miss a layup. Corynne Ojerio gets the offensive rebound for Bath. The Bees misfire on a triple try from the side. P-W misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Sierra Schneider picks off the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. the Possession Arrow awards the ball back to P-W. Jenna Pung drives and hits a layup for P-W to trim the Bath lead to 23-19.

Logan Drake and Brooke Schneider execute a fierce double team and force Bath to call timeout to avoid losing the ball. Sophia Westphal is fouled and hits two free throws to push Bath to a 25-19 lead with 5:25 to play in the game.

Corynne Ojerio knocks the ball away from the Pirates, but P-W is able to recover. Jenna Pung passes the ball to Brooke Kramer, who hooks in a layup for the Pirates to shave the Bee lead to four points. Bath turns the ball over. P-W misses a driving layup. Bath misses a ten foot hook shot from the side. P-W misses a layup. Sierra Schneider snags the offensive rebound for P-W. The Pirates miss a layup. Sophia Westphal is fouled and hits one of two free throws in a one and one opportunity to extend the Bath lead to 26-21 with 3:30 left on the clock.

Brooke Spitzley drives and hits a layup for P-W to trim the Bath lead to three points. Sophia Westphal is fouled and hits one of two free throws in a one and one opportunity to extend the Bee lead to four points. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Bath misses a layup. Aubrie Schaibly gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. P-W ties up the ball. Bath is awarded the ball. Bath commits an offensive foul. P-W misses a ten foot runner in the lane. Bath is fouled, but misses two free throws. With 1:17 to go, the Bee lead is at 27-23.

Makenna Weber passes to Sierra Schneider, who spins and hits a layup for P-W. Brooke Spitzley steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W passes the ball out of bounds. P-W’s fierce defense forced Bath to call a time out when they are in danger of not inbounding the ball in the required five seconds. Brooke Spitzley knocks the Bee inbound pass out of bounds; Bath retains possession. Aubrie Schaibly is fouled an makes one of her two free throws to give Bath a 28-25 lead with 51.2 seconds to play.

Megan Cook steals the ball for Bath. The Bees are fouled and miss two free throws. Jenna Pung hits a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line to pull P-W to within one point. Bath is fouled, but misses two free throws with 16.1 seconds left. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Sierra gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup. Jenna Pung gets the offensive rebound for P-W. The Pirates miss a layup just before the final buzzer blasts.

Bath wins this CMAC Conference game by the score of 28-27.

Sierra Schneider and Jenna Pung each had 7 points to lead the Pewamo-Westphalia scoring. Makenna Weber had 4 points. Brooke Spitzley scored 3 points. Brynn Bauer, Brooke Kramer and Logan Drake each added 2 points.

Aubrie Schaibly had 13 points to lead the Bath scoring. Sophia Westphal supported her with 11 points. Corynne Ojerio and Anna Schaibly scored 2 points.