Williamston at Portland – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 2, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, our Bleacher Denizen is off to Portland High School where the Raiders will host the Hornets from Williamston in a non-conference game. This is the second game of the season for both teams. Portland has a win over Bath on its record; Williamston lost to a huge Division 1 school, Flint Carman-Ainsworth.

The trip to Portland was a pleasant one. Your Bleacher Denizen attempted to get to Portland High without using GPS for the first time, but he got lost in the dark streets. He was afraid he would have to start writing a pilot for a TV series, “Lost in Portland”, but he finally swallowed his pride and used the GPS. I made it to the game in plenty of time.

I got here in time to see the last half of the JV game. Portland had a halftime lead of about ten points. Williamston reduced it to six points late in the game and fell by a 29-23 score.

Julia Belloli led the Hornet JVs with 9 points. Sophia Gaytan put in 6 points and Madison Bush added 5 points. Tamara Stoner-Sleight and Jaiden Griffith each added 2 points.

Allie Sutberry led the victorious Portland JVs with 9 points. Claire Lyon supported her teammate with 7 points. Bailee Fish added 5 points. Avery Wezensky scored 4 points. Erica Russman and Anna Morris each tallied 2 points.

Both varsity coaches were really helpful in providing information about their players.

Williamston Coach Pete Cool told me this about his Hornets. Reese Gaytan, a junior three year varsity player, who has already signed to play for Grand Valley when she graduates, is a tall player who excels near the basket with defense and rebounding. She also has some ball handling and perimeter skills. Claire Casey,, another three year varsity player usually runs the point, but will not be at tonight’s game.

Addison Feig, Anna Judit, Thea Fortin, Leisya Newell and Meah Palmatier are all in their first year on the varsity. There will also be three four players who participated in the JV game on the roster for at least tonight.

Portland Coach Jason Haid provided me with this information about his Raider players. Malia Thelen, a Junior Point Guard who got a lot of time on last year’s State Quarterfinalist team (which graduated all but two of their players) is the floor leader. She is an excellent outside shooter who also gets to the rim well and is a strong passer. She also makes a lot of hustle plays.

The other returning player from last year is post player Alexa Weber, who is a strong rebounder and defender near the basket who also scores well in the post.

Ella Gruber is an excellent defender who is very scrappy and can slash to the basket. She is also a threat from the three point line. Lilly Thelen is a fine ball handler and passer who slashes to the basket well and is speedy in the transition game. Jayden Townsend is an excellent defender on the perimeter.

Paige Spedoske is an excellent shooter who is strong and can also finish well inside. Summer Stopcynski can run the point or play the shooting guard. She is also a strong perimeter defender. Erica Russman runs the floor well; she also rebounds and defends well. McKenna Boykin is a fine rebounder who is tall and athletic. Bella Spitzley is a great on the ball defender who can attack the rim or hit the outside shot. Ally Logel, who is injured and out of tonight’s game, is a good shooter and solid defender.

The Middle School Choir sang the National Anthem and did a fine job! They sang most of the anthem with a two part harmony and were able to fill the gym with their fine singing even without the PA system!

Since we can’t hear them sing, I guess we can listen to this Christmas Parody of a Christmas Parody from my You Tube Channel as we wait for the game to start!! Now we know “The Rest of the Story” in regard to “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp3FW5dhL3E

It is now time to review the events of this game through the cloudy prism of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the ancient times also known as his youth. He had so much potential as a dunker when he was young, but alas, the basketball powers that be ruined everything by raising the rim from five feet to ten feet!!

Williamston wins the opening tap. Jayden Townsend knocks the ball out of bounds; the Hornets retain possession. Lilly Thelen ties up the rebound; the Possession Arrow is really impressed with her hustle and awards the ball to Portland. Lilly Thelen drives and hits a layup to give Portland a 2-0 lead.

Williamston misfires on a threeball from the side. Leisya Newell pulls down the offensive rebound for the Hornets. A Hornet dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Portland misses a three point shot. Ella Gruber gets the offensive rebound for the Raiders. Reese Gaytan steals a Portland inbound pass. Alexa Weber gets a hand on the ball and nearly steals it for Portland. Lilly Thelen knocks the ball away from Williamston and Alexa Weber picks it up for Portland.

Portland misses a layup. Malia Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Raiders. Reese Gaytan blocks a Raider layup. The loose ball is tied up and the Possession Arrow, after a bit of indecision, awards the ball to Williamston. Lilly Thelen knocks a Hornet pass out of bounds, but Williamston retains possession. The Hornets miss a three point shot from the wing. Leisya Newell hits a putback for Williamston to tie the game at 2-2.

Portland misses a layup; Alexa Weber hits a putback to retake the lead for Portland. Reese Gaytan drives in for a Hornet layup that ties the game. Portland misses a layup. Williamston misses a fast break layup. Portland misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Williamston misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Leisya Newell hits a putback to give the lead back to Williamston. Malia Thelen launches a successful threeball from the corner to give Portland a 7-6 lead.

The Hornets commit an offensive foul. Thea Fortin steals the ball for the Hornets. Malia Thelen blocks a Hornet fast break layup. The ball goes out of bounds and Williamston gets another opportunity. Portland’s defense forces a turnover when Williamston fails to inbound the ball in the required five seconds. Thea Fortin steals the ball for Williamston and hits a fast break layup to give the Hornets an 8-7 lead.

Portland misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Summer Stopcynski hits the floor to grab the offensive rebound for the Raiders. Malia Thelen hits a two point jump shot for Portland to retake the lead for the Raiders at 9-8.

Williamston misfires on a threeball from the side. Portland misses a fast break layup and fouls on the rebound. Ella Gruber gets her hand on a Hornet pass and Williamston loses the ball out of bounds. Meah Palmatier gets her hand on the ball, but Portland is able to recover. The Raiders miss a three point shot from the top of the key and foul on the rebound. Meah Palmatier passes to Leisya Newell, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Williamston an 11-9 lead.

Portland misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Paige Spedoske gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Portland misses a three pointer from the corner. Williamston misses an eight footer from the side of the lane just before the first quarter buzzer sounds.

After one quarter, Williamston has an 11-9 lead.

Portland has the ball to open the second quarter. The Raiders miss a three point shot from the side. Reese Gaytan drives and hits a layup for Williamston. Malia Thelen drives and hits a layup to trim the Williamston lead to 13-11.

Summer Stopcynski gets her hand on the ball and a Williamston dribbler loses it out of bounds. Portland misses a driving six foot banked hook shot. Williamston misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Williamston gets another possession. Williamston misses a driving layup. Paige Spedoske drives and hits a layup from the side to tie the game at 13-13.

Malia Thelen nearly steals the ball for Portland, but Williamston is able to recover. Williamston misses a three point attempt from the top of the key. POrtland loses a pass out of bounds. Addison Feig passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup but misses both her free throws. With 4:49 to play in the first half, the game remains tied at 13-13.

Portland misses a driving layup. Malia Thelen knocks the ball out of bounds, but Williamston retains possession. Williamston misses a layup. Portland misses a fast break layup. In a deja vu moment, Williamston misses a fast break layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Williamston gets another opportunity. Reese Gaytan passes to Leisya Newell,, who spins and hits a layup to give Williamston the lead. Portland misses a driving layup. Meah Palmatier is fouled and given a one and one free throw opportunity. She hits one of two free throws to boost the Williamston lead to 16-13 with 3:45 remaining in the half.

Portland misses a driving layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Williamston gets the ball. Lilly Thelen ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow, who has been experiencing blackouts, misses the play and awards the ball to Williamston. Lilly Thelen ties up the ball again. This time, after being provided with smelling salts, the Possession Arrow sees the play and awards the ball to Portland. Thea Fortin steals the ball. Williamston is fouled on a layup, but misses both free throws. With 2:49 to play in the half, the Williamston lead remains at 16-13.

Portland misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Williamston misses a three point shot from the side. In another deja vu moment, Portland misses a three point shot from the side. Your Bleacher Denizen’s vocabulary does not know how to handle deja vu in the third power, but Williamston misses another three point shot from the side. Reese Gayton ends this streak as well as the stress on the Bleacher Denizen’s vocabulary by hitting a putback that gives the Hornets an 18-13 lead.

Portland throws a pass out of bounds. Reese Gayton is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to boost Williamston to a 19-13 lead with 1:02 to play in the half.

Portland misfires on a triple try from the wing. Reese Gaytan passes to Meah Palmatier, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Williamston. Portland travels with the ball. (I sometimes wonder about basketball cliches; I don’t know that traveling without the ball is terribly newsworthy.) Paige Spedoske steals the ball for the Raiders. A Portland dribbler loses the ball out of bounds with .5 of a second left. Williamston inbounds the ball and the buzzer sounds as soon as the ball is touched.

Williamston has a 22-13 lead at halftime.

Malia Thelen leads the Portland scoring with 7 points.

Leisya Newell has 9 points and Reese Gaytan has 7 points for Williamston.

As we enjoy our halftime break, maybe we can enjoy this version of “Holly Jolly Christmas” from my You Tube Channel!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msk3US5xeZc

Williamston has the ball to open the third quarter. Lilly Thelen steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Portland. Malia Thelen steals the ball for the Raiders. Portland loses the ball out on a too fast break. Williamston misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Portland gets the ball. Addison Feig steals the ball and passes to Thea Fortin, who hits a three point shot from the side to push the Hornet lead to 25-15.

Portland is assessed with a traveling violation. Ella Gruber tips the ball away from Williamston, but the Hornets are able to recover. Williamston misses a layup. Malia Thelen reacts quickly to prevent a bad pass from becoming a Raider turnover. Malia Thelen hits a fifteen foot jumper off the dribble from the baseline to shave the Williamston lead to 25-17.

Williamston misses a twelve footer from the baseline. Portland misses a three point shot from the side. In another deja vu moment, Williamston misses a three point shot from the side. (Hopefully the readers are not having deja vu moments of rolling their eyes when I use that term.) Malia Thelen goes coast to coast for a fast break layup that further reduces the Hornet lead to 25-19.

Williamston misfires on a three pointer from the side. Anna Judit knocks the ball away from the Raiders and Meah Palmatier picks it up for the Hornets. Malia Thelen gets her hand on the ball and Williamston loses it out of bounds. Portland misses a three point shot from the side and fouls on the rebound. Williamston misses a three point shot from the side. (The Bleacher Denizen misses an opportunity to stretch the deja vu thing further.)

Reese Gaytan steals the ball for the Hornets. Williamston throws a pass too high and out of bounds. Malia Thelen is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws. With 2:12 remaining in the third quarter, Williamston leads 25-20.

Anna Judit reacts quickly to grab a loose ball and prevent a Hornet turnover. Anna Judit passes to Madison Bush, who hits a layup for Williamston. Portland is assessed a traveling violation. (The Bleacher Denizen backs away from another somewhat stale joke about the newsworthiness of traveling.) Williamston misses a three pointer from the side. Meah Palmatier pulls down the offensive rebound for the Hornets.

Williamston misses a layup. Portland misses a driving layup. Williamston throws a pass too high and out of bounds. Portland misses a driving layup. Malia Thelen nearly steals the ball for Portland, but her momentum carries her out of bounds. Thea Fortin passes to Anna Judit, who hits a six foot shot from the side at the buzzer for the Hornets.

After three quarters, Williamston holds a 29-20 lead.

Williamston inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter underway. The Hornets miss a three point shot from the side. Malia Thelen inbounds the ball to Lilly Thelen, who hits one of her two free throws to trim the Williamston lead to 29-21 with 7:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Williamston misses a three point shot from the side. Meah Palmatier gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Williamston misses a layup. Portland misses a layup. Portland gets the offensive rebound. The Raiders miss a driving layup. Reese Gaytan passes to Leisya Newell, who hits a ten foot shot in the lane to give Williamston a 31-21 lead.

Portland turns the ball over. Williamston misses a layup. The Hornets are fouled on a putback, but miss both their free throws. Reese Gaytan gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Williamston is called for an offensive foul. Malia Thelen hits a three point shot from the top of the key to trim the Williamston lead to 31-24.

Williamston misses a six foot banked shot from the side. Portland fouls on the rebound. Meah Palmatier inbounds the ball to Leisya Newell, who hits a layup for Williamston. Portland misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Reese Gaytan passes to Meah Palmatier, who hits a three point shot from the wing to stretch the Hornet lead to 36-24.

Paige Spedoske hits a nice twelve footer off the dribble in the lane for Portland. Portland’s chances take a big hit when their best player and top scorer tonight, Malia Thelen gets her fifth foul and has to leave the game. Williamston misses a three point shot from the side. Leisya Newell gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Willimaston misses a layup. Lilly Thelen takes the ball coast to coast to trim the Williamston lead to 36-28.

Williamston commits a traveling violation. Portland misses a three pointer from the corner. Williamston commits an offensive foul. Portland misses a driving layup. Williamston misses a laytup. Portland misses a threeball from the top of the key. Thea Fortin is fouled on an eight footer from the side and hits one of her two free throws for the Hornets. With 2:25 left on the clock, the Williamston lead is at 37-28.

Paige Spedoske drives and hits a layup for Portland. Lilly Thelen gets her hand on the ball and Williamston loses it out of bounds. Portland misses a driving layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Raiders get another opportunity. Ella Gruber is fouled and hits one of two shots in a one and one opportunity to shave the Hornet lead to 37-31 with 1:15 to go.

Portland’s tough defense forces Williamston to take a timeout to avoid turning the ball over for failing to inbound it in time. Jayden Townsend steals the ball for the Raiders. Portland misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Williamston takes the ball. Summer Stopcynski nearly steals the ball for Portland. Williamston is fouled and misses the first shot of a one and one opportunity. With one minute left, Williamston’s lead remains at 37-31.

Portland misses a driving layup. Reese Gaytan drives and dishes the ball to Anna Judit, who hits a layup for the Hornets. Portland loses the ball out of bounds. Williamston is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Portland misses a three point shot from the wing. Lilly Thelen steal the ball and hits a layup for Portland just before the final buzzer.

Williamston wins 39-33.

Portland’s Malia Thelen led all scorers with 15 points. Lilly Thelen added 9 points. Paige Spedoske contributed 6 points. Alexa Weber added two points and Ella Gruber tallied 1 point.

Leisya Newell had 13 points to lead Williamston’s scoring. Reese Gaytan and Meah Palmatier each contributed 7 points. (Reese Gaytan also had a lot of rebounds, many great defensive plays and handled most of the point guard duties even though it is not her usual role.) Thea Fortin scored 6 points. Anna Judit added 4 points and Madison Bush put in 2 points.