Williamston at Fowlerville – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 12, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen is off to Fowlerville, where the Gladiator Girls will host the Hornets from Williamston. Williamston enters the game with a 6-4 record and Fowlerville is at 2-9.

As we wait for the game to start, I’d like to send everyone some Good Vibrations from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3482fQh0Rdo

I have seen Williamston once so far this year. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2022/12/03/williamston-at-portland-girls-basketball-the-bleacher-denizen-december-2-2022-by-chuck-krafft/

Reese Gaytan is a junior three year varsity player who has already signed to play basketball with Grand Valley when she graduates. She is tall and athletic; she is a great defender in the lane and rebounds well. In the Portland game linked above, she had to play point on offense because of the absence of Claire Casey, the regular point guard and handled all those perimeter offensive duties really well (especially for someone new to the position.)

Claire Casey runs the point where she is a strong ball handler, three point shooter and perimeter defender. She is also a junior in her third year on the varsity. Leisya Newell can score inside. Anna Judit, Thea Fortin and Meah Palmatier are all in their first year on the varsity, but all get a lot of floor time.

Fowlerville Coach Lsa Cox provided me with this information about her Gladiator players.

Julia johnson is a four year varsity player who is the leading scorer. She shoots well from the outside and also is adept at slashing to the basket. Tori Briggs is a junior in her third year of varsity basketball. She runs the point and is really skilled at driving to the basket and dishing the ball to teammates for easy scores. She is a rugged perimeter defender as well.

Ava Kuch is a four year varsity player who plays the post, but can also shoot the threeball. She is a strong, active defender who leads her team in deeflections. Tommi Kleinschmidt is a fine athlete who is really strong and fast. She plays multiple positions, is one of the Glads’ best rebounders. On offense she can drive and pullup for jump shots or shoot the three point shot. Angelle Haan is a fine athlete who can defend in the post or on the perimeter. She also has an accurate three point shot. Ava Rajala is a forward who defends with toughness and rebounds well. She is a threat to slash to the basket.

Although there was a bit of a traffic jam after I got off the expressway, the trip from Lansing to Fowlerville went well. Your Bleacher Denizen got to the gym in one piece (so far as he can tell) and nursed his aging back down to the basketball floor with a bit of help from Fowlerville Athletic Director Brian Osborn. (You never know what an Athletic Director’s duties might end up entailing! Thanks Mr. Osborn for your help! I do feel an obligation to write the best article possible.)

The JV game was a one point affair at halftime with Fowlerville holding a 13-12 lead. Williamston’s JVs outscored Fowlerville 11-8 in the third quarter to take a 23-21 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Williamston held Fowlerville scoreless in the fourth quarter until McKenna Maybee hit a layup with about twenty seconds left to trim the Williamston lead to 26-23. Nicole Schafer was fouled with less than a second left and hit two free throws for Williamston. The Hornet JV won the game 28-23.

Mariah Kirby led the Gladiator JVs with 10 points. McKenna Maybee and Valerie Curd each tossed in 4 points. Ell Olrich scored 3 points and Molly Lamar tallied 2 points.

Jaiden Griffith led the Williamston JVs with 8 points. Sophia Gaytan supported her teammate with 7 points and Julia Belloli added 6 points. Nicole Schafer scored 4 points and Tamara Stoner-Sleight put in 3 points.

It is now time to review the events of the varsity game through the hopefully bright eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league during the days of yore when he tried to play basketball. He was a promising dunker, but alas, the basketball powers that be raised the rim from five feet to ten feet and destroyed his basketball career. (The final nail in the coffin was when they refused to allow him to either use stilts or wear a rocket belt during games.) Life can be sad sometimes.

Williamston wins the opening tap. Claire Casey passes to Leisya Newell, who launches and hits a three point shot from the wing to give Williamston the first three points of the game. Fowlerville misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Williamston misses a fast break layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Hornets retain possession.

Tommi Kleinschmidt knocks the ball out of bounds; Williamston gets the ball back. The Hornets misfire on a triple try from the wing. Fowlerville misses a three point shot from the side and fouls on the rebound. Tommi Kleinschmidt knocks the ball out of bounds; Williamston retains possession. Ava Rajala knocks a Hornet pass out of bounds; Williamston retains possession. It is Tori Briggs’ turn to knock a pass out of bounds and she does. Williamston again retains possession. (If this keeps up, I may need to develop a macro to type “Williamston retains possession.”)

Tommi Kleinschmidt adds a dive to this action and knocks the ball out of bounds. Williamston retains possession. Reese Gaytan has enough of the passes being knocked out of bounds, so she passes to Claire Casey, who sinks a three point shot from the side to boost the Hornet lead to 6-0.

Fowlerville misses a threeball from the corner. Ava Kuch knocks the ball away from Williamston and Tori Briggs picks it up for Fowlerville. Fowlerville misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Ava Kuch pulls down the offensive rebound for the Gladiators. Fowlerville misses a layup. Williamston is assessed with a traveling violation. The Glads miss a driving layup. Anna Judit passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both her free throws. With 3:52 to play in the first quarter, the Hornet lead remains at 6-0.

Fowlerville travels on a drive in the lane. Kylan Dillingham gets her hand on a Hornet pass, but Williamston is able to recover. Williamston misses a three pointer from the wing. Fowlerville misses a three pointer from the side. Williamston misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Fowlerville misses a layup. Williamston throws a pass out of bounds. Fowlerville misfires on a triple try from the wing. Williamston misfires on a triple try from the side. Reese Gaytan gets the offensive rebound and uses a nifty post move to hit a layup to boost the Hornet lead to 8-0.

Fowlerville is whistled for a traveling violation. Williamston misses a three point attempt from the top of the key. Leisya Newell pulls down the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Williamston misses a three point try from the side. The rebound is tied up and the Possession Arrow along with its steering committee, decrees that Fowlerville shall get the ball.

Claire Casey steals a Gladiator pass. Meah Palmatier hits a fast break layup for Williamston and is fouled. She misses her free throw. With 35.4 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Williamston has a 10-0 lead.

Leisya Newell gets the offensive rebound from the missed free throw. Meah Palmatier is fouled on a three point shot from the side at the buzzer. She hits one of her three free throws.

After one quarter, Williamston has an 11-0 lead.

Williamston inbounds the ball to begin the second quarter. Claire Casey passes to Addison Feig, who throws in a threeball from the corner for the Hornets. Claire Casey knocks the Fowlerville inbound pass back out of bounds; Fowlerville retains possession. Fowlerville misses a three point shot from the side. Ava Kuch gets the offensive rebound for the Glads. Fowlerville misses a layup.

A Williamston offensive foul negates a good three point shot from the side. Zaylin Rinehart drives and dishes the ball to Tori Briggs, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side to give Fowlerville its first points. Williamston misses a three point shot from the side. Leisya Newell is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to push the Hornet lead to 16-2 with 5:42 remaining in the first half.

Zaylin Rinehart is fouled driving to the basket and hits one of her two free throws for the Gladiators. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Hornets take possession. Thea Fortin passes to Reese Gaytan, who hits a layup for Williamston. Fowlerville misses a jumper from the free throw line. Kylan Dillingham pulls down the offensive rebound for the Glads. Fowlerville misfires on a threeball from the wing. Reese Gaytan hits a fast break layup for Williamston, is fouled on the play and sinks her free throw to give the Hornets a 21-3 lead with 4:50 to play in the half.

The Gladiators miss a sixteen footer from the side. Williamston misses a layup. Reese Gaytan pulls down the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Williamston misses a driving layup. Fowlerville misses a three point shot from the wing; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Hornets take possession. Reese Gaytan passes to Claire Casey, who hits a layup to give Williamston a 23-3 lead.

Fowlerville misses a three point shot from the wing. Williamston loses a pass out of bounds. Fowlerville reciprocates and loses a pass out of bounds. Williamston is fouled on a shot, but misses two free throws. Reese Gaytan blocks a Fowlerville fifteen footer from the side. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Fowlerville gets another opportunity. Thea Fortin steals the ball for Williamston. The Hornets miss a fast break layup and foul on the rebound. Izzy Cox drives and hits a layup for the Glads to trim the Hornet lead to 23-5.

Reese Gaytan finds Thea Fortin cutting to the basket and passes to her. Thea Fortin hits a layup for the Hornets. Tori Briggs passes to Kylan Dillingham, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for Fowlerville. With 38.2 seconds to play in the half, Williamston’s lead is at 25-6.

The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and Fowlerville gets another possession. Anna Judit’s stout defense forces a Gladiator traveling violation. Tori Briggs steals the ball for Fowlerville. Fowlerville’s half court heave goes out of bounds with .3 of a second left. Williamston inbounds the ball and the halftime buzzer adds its loud contribution to the basketball atmosphere.

At halftime, Williamston has a 25-6 lead.

Tori Briggs and Izzy Cox each have 2 points to lead Fowlerville.

Reese Gaytan has 7 points for Williamston. Claire Casey and Leisya Newell each have 5 points.

As there is no halftime program, why don’t we listen to this Western solo unedited piano video from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAyGsC_FuNo

Fowlerville inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. The Glads miss a driving layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Williamston takes possession. Tommi Kleinschmidt knocks a Hornet pass out of bounds; Williamston retains possession. Reese Gaytan passes to Leisya Newell, who hits a layup to give Williamston a 27-6 lead.

Meah Palmatier ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow and its posse admire her defensive hustle and award the ball to Williamston. Williamston misfires on a triple try from the wing. Meah Palmatier gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Tori Briggs steals the ball for the Glads. Reese Gaytan steals the ball back for Williamston. (Yikes! Do the powers that be know of this crime spree??)

Williamston misses a banked six foot shot from the side of the lane. Leisya Newell blocks a Fowlerville jumper from the side. Williamston misses a layup. Fowlerville misses a fast break layup. Kylan Dillingham pulls down the offensive rebound for the Gladiators. Fowlerville is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 5:35 remaining in the third quarter, the Williamston lead remains at 27-6.

Williamston misfires on a three point attempt from the side. Tori Briggs passes to Julia Johnson, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fowlerville. Claire Casey responds by hitting a three point shot from the wing for Williamston. Claire Casey steals the ball for the Hornets. Williamston misses a six foot shot from the side. Zaylin Rinehart drives and dishes the ball to Kylan Dillingham, who hits a layup for the Glads to trim the Williamston lead to 30-11.

Williamston misses a three point shot from the corner. Julia Johnson passes to Tori Briggs, who spins and hits a layup for Fowlerville. Thea Fortin drives and is fouled on a layup. She hits her two free throws to boost Williamston to a 32-13 lead with 2:19 to go in the third quarter.

Claire Casey’s stern defense forces Fowlerville to call timeout to avoid turning the ball over. Anna Judit knocks the ball away from the Glads and Leisya Newell picks it up for the Hornets. Williamston misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowlerville gets the ball. Fowlerville misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowlerville gets another opportunity. Angelle Haan passes to Kylan Dillingham, who hits a layup to cut the Hornet lead to 32-15.

Williamston mislaunches a threeball from the wing. Fowlerville misses a three point shot from the side. Williamston misses a driving layup. Tommi Kleinschmidt drives and hits a layup for Fowlerville. With twenty seconds remaining in the third quarter, Williamston holds the ball for the last shot. The Hornets miss a layup. Leisya Newell is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws with 1.2 seconds left in the quarter to give Williamston a 34-17 lead.

Fowlerville does not have time to shoot before the quarter ends.

With three quarters in the books, Williamston has a 34-17 lead.

Fowlerville has the ball to commence the fourth quarter. (It’s my blog, and if I want to use high-falutin’ words like “commence” I guess I can.) Reese Gaytan knocks the ball away from Fowlerville and Meah Palmatier picks it up for Williamston. Reese Gaytan passes to Addison Feig, who is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of her two free throws to extend the Williamston lead to 35-17 with 7:45 to play in the final quarter.

Claire Casey knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowlerville retains possession. Izzy Cox inbounds the ball to Tori Briggs, who is cutting to the basket; she hits a layup for Fowlerville. Tori Briggs knocks the ball away from a Hornet dribbler and out of bounds; Williamston gets the ball back. Leisya Newell passes the ball to Claire Casey, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Williamston a 36-19 lead with 7:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Tommi Kleinschmidt drives and hits a layup for Fowlerville. Tommi Koenigsknecht knocks the ball out of bounds; Williamston gets the ball back. Tori Briggs knocks a Hornet pass out of bounds; Williamston gets the ball back. Fowlerville plays aggressive defense and prevents Williamston from inbounding the ball in the required five seconds. Fowlerville gets the ball. Fowlerville misses an eight foot driving banked shot. Ava Rajala gets the offensive rebound for the Glads. Julia Johnson hits a jump shot from the free throw line to trim the Hornet lead to 36-23.

Williamston is assessed with an over and back violation. Fowlerville misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Williamston gets the ball. Williamston is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Leisya Newell ties up the offensive rebound and the Possession Arrow grants the ball to Williamston. Williamston is fouled, but misses the first shot of another one and one opportunity. With 4:27 remaining in the game, Williamston still holds a 36-23 lead.

Leisya Newell gets the offensive rebound from the missed free throw for the Hornets. Tori Briggs knocks a Hornet pass out of bounds; Williamston retains possession. Tommi Kleinschmidt’s tough, aggressive defense forces Williamston to call time out to prevent a turnover. Claire Casey inbounds the ball to Reese Gaytan, who spins and hits a six foot shot in the lane to give Williamston a 38-23 lead.

Fowlerville misses a layup. Williamston reciprocates and misses a layup. The Gladiators are fouled on a driving layup, but miss two free throws. The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and Fowlerville gets the ball back. Kylan Dillingham passes the ball to Tori Briggs, who spins and is fouled on a layup. Tori Briggs hits two free throws to shave the Williamston lead to 38-25 with 2:30 left on the clock.

Williamston misses a layup. Fowlerville misses a threeball from the side. Leisya Newell hits a fast break layup for Williamston. Leisya Newell steals the ball for Williamston. Anna Judit is fouled and hits both sides of a one and one opportunity to boost Williamston to a 42-25 lead with 1:23 remaining in the game.

Fowlerville misses a driving eight foot hook shot. Ava Kuhn steals the ball for the Gladiators. Sophia Gaytan forces a Fowlerville traveling violation. Sophia Gaytan passes to Madison Bush, who hits a three point shot from the side for Williamston. Fowlerville turns the ball over. Williamston misses a fast break layup. Tommi Kleinschmidt hits a jumper from the free throw elbow for Fowlerville as time expires.

Williamston wins this CAAC-Red Conference game by the score of 45-27. Kudos to Fowlerville for fighting to the end even after their early struggles!

Tori Briggs led the Fowlerville scoring with 8 points. Kylan Dillingham supported her teammate with 6 points. Kylan Dillingham and Julia Johnson each put in 5 points. Izzy Cox scored 2 points and Zaylin Rinehart tallied 1 point.

Leisya Newell led the Williamston scoring with 11 points. Reese Gaytan and Claire Casey each contributed 9 points. Thea Fortin and Addison Feig each tossed in 4 points. Meah Palmatier and Madison Bush each added 3 points. Anna Judit had 2 points.