Genesee at Webberville – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 31, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen’s journey will take him to Webberville. (Someday, I hope to earn the credentials necessary to call my travels an “odyssey.” I’m trying to find an “Odyssey Traveler’s Manual” on the internet to learn exactly what the qualifications are. The Spartans from Webberville are hosting the Wolves from Genesee in both a girls’ and a boys’ basketball game.
The Bleacher Denizen hopes that Good Vibrations from his “Chuck Krafft” You Tube channel will be felt by both teams and everyone in the gym!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3482fQh0Rdo

The Girls game is being played first. Webberville enters the game with a 2-11 record while Genesee is at 8-2.

Webberville Coach Greg Glover provided me with the following information about his Spartan players. Ryleigh Nelson has great hustle on offense and defense. She rebounds and scores well in the post. Ruth Wisuri is a strong perimeter defender who helps a lot with the Spartan ball handling at the point position. Abby Vogel provides great energy to the Spartan defense.

Kalista Matiyow is a good three point shooter who provides great energy to the perimeter defense. Hayley Williams and Mackenzie Langham play good defense in the post. Katelyn Banning helps out with ball handling and is a persistent perimeter defender.

Genesee Coach Mike Zinn provided me with this information about the Wolves’ players. Ryleigh Zinn is an All-State caliber player who is strong at every phase of the game. She is long enough to defend well in the post and quick enough to harass opponents on the perimeter. She handles the ball well and can shoot it. She is a threat to score from the three point line, on slashes to the basket or on post up moves.

Madison Knag is a versatile scorer who can shoot from the three point line or slash to the basket. Harleigh Bradley is a fine rebounder and defender in the post; she is a threat to score on putbacks as well. Nadia Martinez puts the “d” in defense and the “e” in energy. She is a non-stop threat to force turnovers and disrupt offenses so much that they can’t start plays. Alissa Ryder is another energetic perimeter defender for the Wolves. Autumn Simpson provides good rebounding and defense in the post.

It is now time to review the results of this game through the eagle eye (or possibly the bat’s blind eye) of a Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore. When he was young, he learned that turnovers were a great thing when his mom was baking them. Alas, he did not learn until it was too late that coaches were frowning on the turnovers with the Bleacher Denizen was making them. The mind boggles – – –

Webberville wins the opening tap. Nadia Martinez steals the ball for the Wolves. Genesee misses a ten foot shot from the side. Madison Knag gets the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Genesee misses a twelve footer from the baseline. Nadia Martinez steals the ball for the Wolves. Genesee misses a three ball from the wing and gets the offensive rebound.

Ryleigh Nelson steals the ball for the Spartans. Genesee steals the ball. The Wolves miss a three point shot from the wing. The Spartans reciprocate and miss a three point shot from the wing. Hayley Williams gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans and Allison Bliesner hits a layup to give Webberville a 2-0 lead.

Genesee misfires on a threeball from the corner. Webberville misses a jumper from the free throw elbow. Nadia Martinez passes to Madison Knag, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give her Wolves the lead. Webberville turns over the ball against the Genesee press. Genesee misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Ryleigh Zinn gets the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Nadia Martinez passes to Harleigh Bradley, who hits a layup to give the Wolves a 5-2 lead.

Ryleigh Nelson hits a layup for Webberville. Ryleigh Nelson knocks the ball away from the Wolves, but Harleigh Bradley is able to recover the ball for Genesee. Ryleigh Nelson steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give her Spartans a 6-5 lead.

Ryleigh Zinn hits a three point shot from the side for Genesee to retake the lead. Webberville misses on a three pointer from the side. Hayley Williams gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a layup. A Genesee dribbler steps on the baseline. Nadia Martinez steals the ball for Genesee. (This may be the start of a personal athletic crime wave!!) Genesee misses a three point shot from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Spartans take possession. Autumn Simpson steals the ball for the Wolves. Nadia Martinez is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost the Genesee lead to 9-6 with 2:14 to play in the first quarter.

Alissa Ryder and Nadia Martinez tie up the ball for Genesee. The Possession Arrow consults its battery of attorneys and concludes that the ball belongs to Genesee. Madison Knag banks in a threeball for the Wolves from the wing. (I heard her call, “Bank!” I know I did!!! I KNOW I did!!!) Genesee has a 12-6 lead.

Genesee’s press causes Webberville to lose the ball out of bounds. Abby Vogel steals the ball for the Spartans. Webberville misses a fast break layup. Abby Vogel steals the ball for the Spartans again. Nadia Martinez knocks the ball away from Webberville and Madison Knag picks it up for Genesee. Genesee misfires on a triple try from the wing. Nadia Martinez steals the ball for Genesee. (This is her fourth steal in just one quarter!) Genesee misses a reverse layup; Autumn Simpson hits a putback for Genesee. Ryleigh Zinn steals the ball as the first quarter buzzer blares.

After one quarter, Genesee has a 14-6 lead.

Webberville has the ball to start out the second quarter. Nadia Martinez (who else?) knocks the Spartan inbound pass out of bounds; Webberville gets another opportunity. Webberville misses a three point shot from the side. Genesee misses a sixteen foot shot from the baseline. The rebound goes out of bounds and Genesee gets the ball back. Ryleigh Nelson steals the Genesee inbound pass. Mackenzie Langham is fouled on a fourteen foot shot from the wing and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Wolves’ lead to 14-7 with 7:08 remaining in the first half.

Allison Bliesner steals the ball for Webberville. Webberville misses a jump shot. Madison Knag is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of her two free throws for Genesee. Webberville misses a fourteen foot shot from the wing. Mackenzie Langham, snares the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a layup; Ryleigh Nelson hits a putback to trim the Wolves’ lead to 15-9.

Genesee misses a three point shot from the top of the key and fouls on the rebound. Webberville misses a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane. Allison Bliesner steals the ball for the Spartans. Webberville throws its outlet pass too high and out of bounds. Genesee misses a three pointer from the wing. Webberville misses a six foot banked shot. Allison Bliesner steals the ball and draws a foul from the Wolves in the process. Ryleigh Nelson dribbles through the Genesee press and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits one of her two free throws to trim the Genesee lead to 15-10 with 4:50 to play in the quarter.

Genesee misses a six foot shoot shot from the side. Webberville is whistled for a traveling violation. Genesee misses a three pointer from the wing. Webberville misses a layup. Genesee misses a jump shot. Ryleigh Zinn pulls down the offensive rebound for Genesee. The Wolves miss a jump shot from the free throw line. Ryleigh Zinn goes to the floor to get the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Genesee misses a three pointer from the wing.

Harleigh Bradley blocks a Webberville fast break layup. Genesee misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow consults its legal team and provisionally gives the ball to the Wolves. Genesee misses a three point shot from the wing. Webberville is whistled for an offensive foul. Nadia Martinez drives and hits a six foot hook from the baseline to boost the Wolves’ lead to 17-10.

Harleigh Bradley blocks a Webberville ten footer in the lane. Genesee misses a three point shot from the side; Ryleigh Zinn gets the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Nadia Martinez drives and scoops in a layup for Genesee. Webberville misses a layup. Genesee misses a driving layup. Webberville misfires on a three pointer from the wing. Allison Bliesner hits a putback for Webberville. Genesee misses a three point shot from the side as the halftime buzzer makes its presence known.

At halftime, Genesee holds a 19-12 lead. If conventional basketball protocols are followed, Genesee will also have a 19-12 lead when the third quarter starts.

At halftime, Ryleigh Nelson has 7 points for Webberville.

Madison Knag has 7 points and Nadia Martinez has 5 points for Genesee.

Webberville inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. Webberville misses a six foot driving shot from the side of the lane. Genesee misses a ten foot shot from the side. Webberville is assessed a traveling violation on a too fast break. Genesee misses a three point shot from the side. Nadia Martinez gets the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Genesee misses a three point shot from the corner. Allison Bliesner inbounds the ball to Ryleigh Nelson, who hits a fast break layup to grim the Wolves’ lead to 19-14.

Genesee misses a three pointer from the side. Ryleigh Nelson hits a fast break layup for Webberville. Genesee misfires on a threeball from the side. Nadia Martinez continues her one person athletic crime wave as she steals the ball for Genesee. Hayley Williams responds by stealing the ball for Webberville. Webberville misses a layup. Allison Bliesner dives and ties the ball up. The Possession Arrow and its team of highly paid international consultants ignore Ms. Bliesner’s fine hustle and awards the ball to Genesee. Genesee is fouled on a ten foot shot in the lane and misses two free throws. With 4:37 to play in the third quarter, the Wolves have a 19-16 lead.

Ryleigh Zinn pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Genesee misses a three point shot from the wing. Webberville loses a pass out of bounds. Genesee misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Madison Knag is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to give the Wolves a 20-16 lead with 3:47 remaining in the third quarter.

Abby Vogel passes to Ryleigh Nelson, who drives and hits a layup for Webberville to chop the Wolves’ lead to two points. Genesee misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Harleigh Bradley gets the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Ryleigh Zinn is fouled on a five foot shot from the side and hits one of her two free throws. With 3:17 left on the third quarter clock, Genesee has a 21-18 lead.

Ryleigh Zinn steals a Webberville pass. Abby Vogel takes a charging fouls to negate a Genesee driving layup. Webberville misses a six foot banked shot. Genesee is fouled on the rebound; a double technical foul is also called; Genesee gets the ball back. Genesee is whistled for an offensive foul. Kalista Matiyow passes to Abby Vogel, who throws in a threeball from the side for Webberville to tie the game at 21-21.

Abby Vogel knocks the ball away from Genesee, but the Wolves save their possession. Genesee misses a three point shot from the wing. Nadia Martinez steals the ball for Genesee. (I’m amazed that the powers that be are not running out of basketballs!) Hayley Williams steals the ball for Webberville. Webberville misses a jumper from the free throw line. Mackenzie Langham gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans.

Webberville misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Genesee misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Webberville takes possession. Webberville travels with the ball. (Sports cliches can be interesting; somehow I doubt that traveling without the ball is terribly newsworthy.) Genesee misfires on a triple try from the wing. Webberville travels as an outlet pass is caught. Genesee misses a jumper from the free throw line. Webberville misses on a threeball from the top of the key. Emma LeBouef gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a layup as the buzzer sounds.

After three quarters, this game is tied at 21-21.

Genesee inbounds the ball to start out the fourth quarter. Ryleigh Zinn is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to give her Wolves a one point lead. Webberville misses a three pointer from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Wolves get the ball. Hayley Williams and Allison Bliesner team up to draw a charging foul from the Wolves.

Alissa Ryder’s stern defense causes a Webberville traveling violation. Genesee turns the ball over. Webberville misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Ryleigh Nelson hits a putback and is fouled; she misses her free throw, but Webberville takes a 23-22 lead with 6:40 left on the clock.

Madison Knag responds by sinking a three pointer from the wing to retake the lead for Genesee. Webberville misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. After a volleyball imitation that sees Webberville miss four putbacks, Genesee finally rebounds the ball. Genesee misses a driving layup. Alissa Ryder is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to give her Wolves a 26-23 lead with 5:32 left in the contest.

Alissa Ryder steals the ball for the Wolves. Genesee misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Madison Knag and Nadia Martinez team up to cause Webberville to throw the ball out of bounds. Genesee misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Nadia Martinez ties up a Webberville ball handler’s dribble. The Possession Arrow ignores her hustle and toughness and awards the ball back to the Spartans just because it can. (We give a lot of power to this electronic light thingie, don’t we!)

Webberville misses a driving layup. Genesee misses a three point shot from the wing. Alissa Ryder pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Genesee misses a threeball from the wing. Ryleigh Zinn pulls down the offensive rebound for Genesee. Genesee is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. With 4:15 remaining in the game, Genesee’s lead remains at 26-23.

Webberville misses a ten foot banked shot from the side. Genesee misfires on a threeball from the wing. Alissa Ryder gets the offensive rebound for Genesee. Genesee is assessed with a traveling violation. A Webberville illegal screen negates a fast break layup. Genesee misses a fourteen foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Nadia Martinez knocks the ball out of bounds; Webberville gets another possession. Allison Bliesner inbounds the ball to Ryleigh Nelson, who hits a layup to close the Genesee lead to 26-25.

Ryleigh Nelson knocks the ball away from Genesee and forces a tieup. The Possession Arrow decrees that Genesee shall have the ball. Genesee misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Kalista Matiyow guards a Genesee player closely to cause a five second violation and the Spartans get the ball. Nadia Martinez steals the ball for Genesee. Genesee misses a layup. Nadia Martinez knocks the ball out of bounds; Webberville gets the ball back. Kalista Matiyow passes the ball to Ryleigh Nelson, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to tie the game at 26-26 with 1:31 remaining to be played.

Genesee misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Webberville misses a driving layup. Ryleigh Zinn is fouled on a driving layup and hits two crucial free throws with 49.1 seconds to go to give her Wolves a 28-26 lead.

Kalista Matiyow is fouled and hits one of two free throws in a one and one opportunity with 42.4 seconds left to pull her Spartans to within one point. Allison Bliesner stands tough in the lane and forces Genesee to miss a scooping layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Spartans take possession. Ryleigh Zinn knocks the ball away from Webberville and Autumn Simpson grabs it for Genesee. Ryleigh Zinn is fouled and makes on of her two free throws. With 12.5 seconds left, Genesee holds a 29-27 lead.

Webberville is fouled on a fast break layup with 3.4 seconds remaining, but misses two free throws. Genesee dribbles out the clock.

Genesee wins this fiercely contested game by a 29-27 score.

Webberville’s Ryleigh Nelson led all scorers with w18 points. Allison Bliesner scored 4 points. Abby Vogel tossed in 3 points. Kalista Matiyow and Mackenzie Langham each tallied 1 points.

Madison Knag led the victorious Wolves with 11 points. Ryleigh Zinn supported her teammate with 8 points including the final three free throws that gave Genesee its winning margin. Nadia Martinez scored 5 points to go along with an amazing number of steals. Harleigh Bradley and Autumn Simpson each added 2 points. Alissa Ryder put in 1 point.
Here is a link to the boys game that followed this exciting battle!
https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2022/02/01/genesee-at-webberville-boys-basketball-the-bleacher-denizen-january-31-2022-by-chuck-krafft/