Potterville at Saranac – – CMAC Girls Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 4, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Christmas Vacation is over for your Bleacher Denizen and now it’s time to rise from my couch and had over to Saranac to watch a boys/girls basketball doubleheader between the Potterville Vikings and the Saranac Red Hawks. (I wanted a more dramatic rise, like the Phoenix who rises from the ashes every 500 years, but there aren’t any ashes in my house – – -)

Years ago, Horace Greeley exhorted young men to go west!! Of course Saranac is west of Lansing, where I live, so I guess I am in compliance with Mr. Greeley. (I do realize that referring to myself as “young” can be a stretch.)

As we are heading west, I thought it might be fun to listen to a Western tune from my You Tube Channel as we wait for the game to start!!

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

I was able to get to Saranac in time to have a pasty from Vicki’s. They do an amazing job; the pasty was great as always!!

Saranac lost a great deal of talent to graduation last year (especially Paige Guernsey) and is off to an 0-6 start this season. Red Hawk Coach Chance Wells was helpful and let me in on some background information about his players.

Jadyn Kirby is a threat from the three point line. Jordan Sterzick runs the point; she handles the ball well and gives the Red Hawks another outside threat. Sarah Greenfield is a forward who plays fine perimeter defense. Madeleine Hill is a fine perimeter defender. Brenna Simmons has a nice mid-range shot. Madison Trahan is a strong rebounder.

Potterville Coach Al Adams shared this information about his Viking players. Kaylee Bush is a senior who is a returning fourth year starter. She is the only player on the team that had much playing time in the past. She plays the center position and does all the rebounding and inside scoring you would expect from that position. However, she has been a fine three point shooter her entire career and this year is helping a lot with the ball handling on the perimeter as well.

Emily Cates runs the point for the Vikings and is a stout perimeter defender. Autumn Reynolds also defends well on the perimeter.

It is time to review the events of this game through the aging eyes of an ancient Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in ancient times. I guess the varsity coach was afraid that the Bleacher Denizen’s frequent bricks would severely damage the peach baskets we shot at in the days of yore.

Saranac wins the opening tap. The Red Hawks miss a layup. Delaney Reagen steals the ball for Saranac. Saranac misses a jump shot. Potterville misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Kaylee Bush steals the ball for the Vikings. Kaylee Bush is fouled on a fast break shot and hits one of her two free throws for the Vikings. Brenna Simmons is fouled as she launches a threeball from the corner. She hits one of her three free throws to tie the game at 1-1 with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter.

Kaylee Bush drives and hits a layup for Potterville. Saranac misfires on a threeball from the top of the key. Potterville misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Emily Cates pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. Brenna Simmons hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side for Saranac to tie the game at 3-3.

Kaylee Bush throws in a threeball from the wing for Potterville and the score is Kaylee Bush 6 Brenna Simmons 3.

Autumn Reynolds gets her hand on the ball and Saranac loses it out of bounds. Madison Trahan steals the ball for Saranac. Kaylee Bush knocks the ball away from Saranac and Emily Cates picks it up for Potterville. Madison Trahan steals the ball for Saranac. Brenna Simmons passes to Jordan Sterzick, who banks in a three pointer from the wing for Saranac to tie the game at 6-6.

Potterville misses a three point attempt from the wing. Kyra Marciniak hits a putback to give the lead to the Vikings. Emily Cates steals the ball for Potterville. The Vikings miss a layup. Saranac loses a pass out of bounds. Jadyn Kirby gets her hand on a pass and the Vikings lose the ball out of bounds. Saranac misfires on a threeball from the wing. Jordan Sterzick steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Avery Koeppen steals the ball for the Vikings. Emily Cates passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both her free throws. With 1:06 to play in the first quarter, Saranac has an 8-6 lead.

Saranac misses a layup. Potterville reciprocates and misses a layup. Kaylee Bush hits a putback for the Vikings. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Jadyn Kirby pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Autumn Reynolds hits the floor to tie the ball up for Potterville. As the Possession Arrow is preoccupied with Tik Tok videos, it misses the play and awards the ball back to Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a three point shot from the corner at the buzzer.

After one quarter, Potterville has a 10-6 lead.

Potterville has the ball to open the second quarter. Autumn Reynolds passes to a Viking teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both her free throws. Emily Cates gets her hand on the ball, but Saranac is able to recover. Faith Hicks steals the ball for Potterville and hits a fast break layup to boost the Viking lead to 12-6.

Autumn Reynolds gets her hand on the ball and Kyra Marciniak takes it for Potterville. Kaylee Bush is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of her two free throws for Potterville. Faith Hicks steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits one of her two free throws. Kaylee Bush is fouled on a putback of the missed free throw and sinks two of her own to boost the Vikings to a 16-6 lead with 6:21 remaining in the first half.

Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville misses a fast break layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets the ball back. Emily Cates passes to Kaylee Bush, who banks in a hook shot for the Vikings. Saranac misses a three pointer from the side. Potterville reciprocates and misses a three pointer from the side. Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville misses a fast break layup. Autumn Reynolds gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings.

Potterville misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Red Hawks get another opportunity. Saranac misses a threeball from the corner. Potterville misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Kaylee Bush steals a Saranac pass. Potterville misfires on a triple try from the corner. Brenna Simmons hits a layup for Saranac. Kyra Marciniak hits a layup to give Potterville a 20-8 lead.

Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Brenna Simmons pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses an eight footer in the lane, but gets the offensive rebound. Jordan Sterzick passes to Brenna Simmons, who tosses in a threeball from the top of the key for Saranac. Potterville is whistled for a traveling violation on a drive. Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings and is fouled on a fast break layup. After she hits one of her two free throws, the Vikings have a 21-11 lead with1:10 to play in the half.

Mya Griffin is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for Saranac. Kaylee Bush passes to Kyra Marciniak, who hits a layup for Potterville. Kaylee Bush ties up the ball; this time the Possession Arrow was actually paying attention and awards the ball to Potterville. Kaylee Bush makes a slick post move and is fouled on a layup. She hits two free throws to push Potterville to a 25-12 lead with 11.7 seconds left on the first half clock.

Emily Cates ties up the ball for Potterville. The Possession Arrow consults with its team of restaurant employees and decides to give the ball to Saranac. Saranac misses a long threeball from the wing as the halftime buzzer blares.

Potterville has a 25-12 lead at halftime.

Brenna Simmons leads the Saranac halftime scoring with 8 points.

Kaylee Bush has 15 points and Kyra Marciniak has 6 points for Potterville.

Since there is no halftime entertainment, here is another Western (piano instrumental) song for your listening pleasure! I hope you enjoy “Rose of San Antone!”

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

Potterville inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. Kaylee Bush hits a layup for the Vikings. Saranac misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Red Hawks get another opportunity. Saranac misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Potterville misses a six footer in the lane. Kaylee Bush knocks a Saranac pass out of bounds; the Red Hawks retain possession. Saranac misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Madison Trahan pulls down the offensive rebound for Saranac. Kaylee Bush ties up the ball and the Possession Arrow gives the ball to Potterville. Kyra Marciniak passes to Heidi LaFrance, who hits a layup to give Potterville a 29-12 lead.

Saranac misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline and fouls on the rebound. Potterville misses a layup. Emily Cates is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws for Potterville. Saranac loses a pass out of bounds. Kyra Marciniak makes a nice post move and banks in an eight foot shot to give Potterville a 33-12 lead.

Kyra Marciniak blocks a Saranac layup; the ball goes out of bounds and the Red Hawks get it back. Saranac mislaunches a threeball from the wing. Madison Trahan gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point shot from the corner. Potterville misses a fast break layup. Saranac throws a pass behind the intended receiver and out of bounds. Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. Saranac is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 3:59 to play in the third quarter, Potterville’s lead is at 33-12.

Potterville misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Emily Cates gets her hands on the ball to force a Saranac traveling violation. Potterville misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Saranac misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Madison Trahan knocks the ball away from Potterville and Jordan Sterzick picks it up for Saranac. Brenna Simmons is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Potterville lead to 33-13 with 2:34 showing on the clock.

Potterville misses a driving layup. Kaylee Bush is fouled on the putback and hits two free throws for Potterville. Saranac fumbles a pass out of bounds. Jadyn Kirby knocks the ball away from Potterville and Madison Trahan picks it up for Saranac. The Red hawks misfire on a threeball from the side. Potterville misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Vikings get another opportunity. Emily Cates passes to Kaylee Bush, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost the Vikings to a 36-13 lead with 1:21 left in the third quarter.

Brenna Simmons prevents an errant Red Hawk pass from becoming a turnover. Jordan Sterzick passes to Brenna Simmons, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Saranac. Madison Trahan steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point attempt from the side. Madison Trahan gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Kaylee Bush passes to Emily Cates, who hits a layup to boost Potterville to a 38-16 lead.

Kaylee Bush knocks the ball away from Saranac and Emily Cates picks it up for Potterville. Madeleine Hill steals the ball for Saranac. Saranac misses a half court heave at the buzzer.

After three quarters, Potterville has a 38-16 lead.

Saranac inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Red Hawks miss a three point shot from the top of the key. Kyra Marciniak passes the ball to a Viking teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both her free throws. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Delaney Reagen steals the ball for Saranac. Kaylee Bush steals the ball for Potterville. Emily Cates drives and hits a reverse layup to give Potterville a 40-16 lead.

Mya Griffin hits a fifteen foot shot from the baseline for Saranac. Delaney Reagen nearly steals the ball for Saranac, but Potterville recovers. Kyra Marciniak is fouled on a shot and hits one of her two free throws for Potterville. With 5:42 left on the clock, Potterville has a 41-18 lead.

Saranac loses the ball out of bounds. Briana Barnes blocks a Potterville layup. Saranac throws a pass too high and out of bounds. Brenna Simmons knocks the ball away from Potterville and Delaney Reagen picks it up for Saranac. Saranac misses a threeball from the wing. Potterville reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Kaylee Bush is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to give Potterville a 43-18 lead with 4:38 remaining in the contest.

Saranac misses a jumper from the free throw line. Potterville is fouled on the rebound, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Saranac misses a three pointer from the wing. Mya Griffin nearly steals the ball and brings chaos to Potterville’s offense. Madison Trahan capitalizes on this chaos and steals the ball for Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a three point shot from the wing. Kaylee Bush is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to push Potterville to a 45-18 lead with 2:51 to play.

Jadyn Kirby passes to Jordan Sterzick, who hits a three point shot from the side for Saranac. Delaney Reagen gets her hand on the ball and Potterville loses it out of bounds. Saranac misfires on a threeball from the side. Madison Trahan secures the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup. Potterville misses a three pointer from the wing. Saranac throws the ball out of bounds. Briana Barnes steals the ball for Saranac.

Saranac misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Sarah Greenfield ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow is indifferent to her hustle and awards the ball to Potterville. Potterville is assessed with a double dribble violation. Briana Barnes passes to Hannah Knepper, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the corner for Saranac. Potterville runs out the clock.

Potterville wins this CMAC Girls Game of the Week by a 45-23 score.

Brenna Simmons led the Saranac scoring with 12 points. Jordan Sterzick added 6 points. Mya Griffin tossed in 3 points and Hannah Knepper scored 2 points.

Kaylee Bush led the Viking attack with 22 points. Kyra Marciniak joined her teammate in double figures with 11 points. Emily Cates contributed 7 points. Faith Hicks had 3 points and Heidi LaFrance added 2 points.

For those of you who are interested, these teams also played a boys’ game. Here is a link to that play by play report.

https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/01/05/potterville-at-saranac-cmac-boys-basketball-game-of-the-week-the-bleacher-denizen-january-4-2022-by-chuck-krafft/

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