Engadine at St. Ignace – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 7, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen has come to St. Ignace to blog the “Hooping For a Cure” boy/girls doubleheader. Here is a link to the boys’ game! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/02/07/engadine-at-st-ignace-boys-basketball-the-bleacher-denizen-february-6-2023-by-chuck-krafft/

Between the games there was a ceremony where many accolades were given and “Hooping For a Cure” was promoted. This is an annual event in St. Ignace and since 2009, nearly $300,000 has been raised to help cancer victims. This year’s goal is $40,000.

Both teams’ boys and girls as well as the coaches were introduced to the crowd. Many pictures were taken. At the end, the players and coaches for both teams held a giant American flag as the National Anthem was played.

The Engadine Eagles enter this game with a 9-6 record. Coach Roger French was helpful with information about his players.

Leah French is a prolific scorer who handles the ball well and can score either on slashes to the basket or from the three point line. Hali Butkovich is a versatile defender who can play in the post or on the perimeter. She is a solid ball handler and can make shots from the three point line. Claire Oven is a speedy guard who usually guards the other team’s best perimeter player. She is a threat to slash to the basket.

Bryce Zdebski plays physical defense in the post. She has a fine basketball IQ and frequently inbounds the ball for the Eagles. Elisa Carfora defends and rebounds well in the post. She is a really good ball handler for her size and helps to break opposing presses. Makayla Avery is a strong rebounder and defender in the post.

Lauren Hasenjager is a good perimeter defender. Lilia Bigelow plays tough, physical defense on the perimeter. Janet Sistrunk is strong in the post.

St. Ignace enters this game with an 11-5 record. St. Ignace Coach Dorene Ingalls gave me this information about her Saint players.

Tabby Shepard is a versatile defender who can play on the perimeter or in the post; she also handles the ball well. Jillian Fraser is a fine shooter who can hit the three point shot or slash to the basket to score. Addison Cullen is a tough post player who rebounds, defends and scores well down low. Cadence Cullen has a fine three point shot.

Riley O’Rourke is a quality rebounder and defender in the post. Allison Cece is a tough inside defender who rebounds well and takes a lot of charges. Heidi Dorenbecker is a strong perimeter defender. Avery Visnaw is a fine point guard who handles the ball and defends the perimeter well. She is a threat to slash to the basket.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally accurate vision of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. He was starting to show some skill as a three point shooter, but everything was ruined when the basketball powers that be ruled that he was no longer allowed to use a catapult to launch his three point shots.

Engadine wins the opening top. The Eagles misfire on a triple try from the top of the key. Tabby Shepard bounces the ball to Addison Cullen, who hits a layup to give the Saints the first two points of the game. Engadine misses a driving six foot shot in the lane. St. Ignace misses a fast break layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Engadine gets the ball. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the top of the key. Claire Oven snags the offensive rebound for Engadine and passes to Hali Butkovich, who hits a six foot shot off the dribble from the baseline for the Eagles to tie the game at 2-2.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Avery Visnaw pulls down the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace turns the ball over. Leah French drives the baseline and hits a layup for the Eagles. St. Ignace misses a threeball from the wing. Cadence Cullen gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a jumper from the free throw line. Jillian Fraser steals an Eagle pass. Jillian Fraser gets into the lane and banks in a six foot shot for the Saints to tie the game at 4-4.

Engadine misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Cadence Cullen steals the ball for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a fast break layup. Cadence Cullen gets the offensive rebound for St. Ignace. Engadine ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow consults its legal team and decides to award the ball to St. Ignace. The Saints miss a baseline jump shot. Leah French drives and hits a layup to give Engadine a 6-4 lead.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the corner. Addison Cullen gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. The Saints miss a layup. Leah French hits a three point shot from the top of the key for the Eagles. Leah French steals the ball for the Eagles. Addison Cullen steals the ball for the Saints.

St. Ignace loses the ball out of bounds. Engadine misses a three point shot from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Ignace takes possession. The Saints miss a ten foot shot from the baseline. Allison Cece gets the offensive rebound for St. Ignace. The Saints are whistled for a traveling violation. Leah French hits a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line to give Engadine an 11-4 lead.

St. Ignace misfires on a triple try from the wing. Engadine misses an eight footer from the side of the lane. St. Ignace misses a fast break layup. Leah French passes to Hali Butkovich, who hits a sixteen foot shot from the baseline for Engadine. Jillian Fraser passes to Addison Cullen, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to trim the Eagle lead to 13-6 with 1:12 to go in the first quarter.

Tabby Shepard draws a charging foul from Engadine. Lilia Bigelow gets her hand on a Saint pass; St. Ignace is able to recover. Jillian Fraser passes to Riley O’Rourke, who hits a six foot shot from the baseline for St. Ignace. The Saints steal the ball and Tabby Shepard passes to Jillian Fraser, who hits a layup for the Saints. Jillian Fraser steals the ball for St. Ignace. Addison Cullen is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Engadine lead to 13-11 with 8.7 seconds to play in the first quarter.

Engadine misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Ignace takes possession. The Saints miss a long heave at the buzzer. (Basketball cliches can be interesting; the ball was technically shot at the basket and not at the buzzer.)

After one quarter, Engadine has a 13-11 lead.

Engadine has the ball to open the second quarter. Cadence Cullen steals the ball for the Saints and hits a fast break layup to tie the game. Engadine misses a threeball from the top of the key. Jillian Fraser passes to Allison Cece, who hits a fast break layup to give St. Ignace a 15-13 lead.

Avery Visnaw steals the ball for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a fast break layup. There is a scramble for the rebound, but the ball finally goes out of bounds and St. Ignace gets another opportunity. St. Ignace misfires on a threeball from the corner. Addison Cullen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Saints. Jillian Fraser hits a ten foot shot from the side of the lane to give the Saints a 17-13 lead.

Leah French hits a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane for Engadine. St. Ignace misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Addison Cullen is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for St. Ignace. Leah French is fouled on a six foot shot in the lane and hits two free throws for Engadine to cut the Saint lead to 19-17 with 5:05 remaining in the first half.

St. Ignace misses a layup. Engadine throws a pass too high and out of bounds. Claire Oven steals the ball for the Eagles. Engadine is fouled on a fast break layup, but misses two free throws. St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the side. Engadine misses a three point shot from the wing. Makayla Avery gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Engadine is whistled for a traveling violation. Makayla Avery steals a Saint pass. Jillian Fraser steals the ball from Engadine. Addison Cullen hits a fast break layup for St. Ignace. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to give the Saints a 22-17 lead with 3:22 to go in the second quarter.

Hali Butkovich passes to Leah French, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Eagles. St. Ignace misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Leah French uses some excellent footwork to free herself and hits a six foot banked shot for Engadine. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw. Engadine has a 23-22 lead with 2:33 to play in the first half.

Tabby Shepard drives the lane and dishes the ball to Addison Cullen for a layup to retake the lead for the Saints. Leah French is fouled and hits both ends of a one and one free throw opportunity for the Eagles. Jillian Fraser passes to Tabby Shepard, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give St. Ignace a 27-25 lead.

Engadine misses a layup. St. Ignace is fouled on the rebound, but misses the first shot of a one and one opportunity. Elisa Carfora passes to Leah French, who hits a three pointer from the top of the key to give Engadine a one point lead. Elisa Carfora ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow and its legal team agree that she played fine defense; the ball is awarded to Engadine. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the side. St. Ignace misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. An Engadine dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. St. Ignace misfires on a triple try from the corner as the halftime buzzer sounds.

Engadine has a 28-27 lead at halftime.

Addison Cullen leads the St. Ignace scoring with 12 points at halftime.

Leah French has 24 points for Engadine.

The St. Ignace band entertains at halftime and does a nice job. For those of us who are reading and cannot hear the band, I hope you will enjoy this Boogie Woogie tune from my You Tube Channel as a present!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MxOus8t44

St. Ignace inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. The Saints misfire on a three pointer from the corner. Leah French drives the lane and passes to an Eagle teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both of her free throws. Elisa Carfora seals a Saint pass. The Eagles miss a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. St. Ignace throws a pass out of bounds.

Engadine misfires on a triple try from the side. St. Ignace reciprocates and misfires on a triple try from the side. Allison Cece steals the ball for the Saints. Jillian Fraser drives and hits an eight foot shot form the side of the lane to give St. Ignace a 29-28 lead.

Engadine misses a layup. Heidi Dorenbecker passes to Tabby Shepard, who hits a layup for St. Igance. Engadine misses an eight foot shot from the baseline. St. Ignace commits a double dribble violation. Leah French banks in a jumper off the dribble from the free throw elbow for Engadine. St. Ignace misses a threeball from the wing. Avery Visnaw pulls down the offensive rebound, drives and hits a layup to give the Saints a 33-30 lead.

Leah French inbounds the ball to Elisa Carfora, who banks in a hook shot for Engadine. Riley O’Roarke passes to Cadence Cullen, who hits a three point shot for St. Ignace. Engadine misfires on a threeball from the corner. Tabby Shepard hits a layup for the Saints. Heidi Dorenbecker steals the ball and passes to Tabby Shepard, who hits a layup to give St. Ignace a 40-32 lead.

Leah French hits a three point shot from the wing for Engadine. St. Ignace loses a pass out of bounds. Cadence Cullen steals the ball for the Saints. Elisa Carfora blocks a St. Ignace layup. Tabby Shepard knocks an Eagle pass out of bounds; Engadine retains possession. Claire Oven passes to Leah French, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Engadine. Leah French steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits two free throws for Engadine to tie the game at 40-40 with 2:28 to play in the third quarter.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the corner. Tabby Shepard snares the offensive rebound for the Saints. Jillian Fraser drives and dishes the ball to Tabby Shepard, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for St. Ignace. Allison Cece hustles, gets her hand on an Engadine pass and knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Ignace gets the ball. The Saints miss an eight foot shot from the side. Leah French hits a three point shot from the wing to give Engadine a 43-41 lead.

Leah French forces a St. Ignace dribbler to step on the baseline. Allison Cece steals the ball for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a driving eight foot shot from the side. Leah French steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Engadine. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 54 seconds to play in the third quarter, Engadine has a 47-41 lead.

Claire Oven steals the ball for the Eagles and passes to Leah French, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Engadine. St. Ignace throws a pass out of bounds. Tabby Shepard knocks the Eagle inbound pass out of bounds; Engadine gets the ball back. Allison Cece steals the ball for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing at the buzzer.

After three quarters, Engadine has a 50-41 lead.

Engadine has the ball to begin the quarter number four. The Eagles miss a threeball from the top of the key. Elisa Carfora is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to give Engadine a 52-41 lead with 7:43 left in the game.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the corner. Cadence Cullen hits a putback for the Saints. Elisa Carfora passes to Claire Oven, who banks in a six foot shot for Engadine. St. Ignace misses a layup. Tabby Shepard is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to trim the Eagle lead to 54-45 with 6:55 to be played.

Avery Visnaw’s tight defense causes an Engadine violation for carrying the ball. Cadence Cullen passes to Tabby Shepard, who hits a reverse layup for St. Ignace. Allison Cece steals the ball and hits a layup for St. Ignace. Engadine is whistled for an offensive foul. Tabby Shepard inbounds the ball to Addison Cullen, who hits a layup. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 6:26 remaining in the game, Engadine holds a 54-51 lead.

Allison Cece knocks the offensive rebound to Addison Cullen. The Saints miss a three point shot from the corner. Addison Cullen secures the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a layup. Allison Cece is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws for St. Ignace. Leah French is fouled and hits both ends of a one and one opportunity to give Engadine a 56-52 lead with 6:04 remaining in the contest.

Jillian Fraser passes to Cadence Cullen, who hits a threeball from the side to cut the Engadine lead to one point. Engadine misses a driving layup. Leah French steals the ball for the Saints. Engadine misses a threeball near the top of the key. St. Ignace misses a layup and two putbacks. Leah French is fouled, hits both ends of a one and one opportunity and gives Engadine a 58-55 lead with 5:06 to play.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Engadine if fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. St. Ignace misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Allison Cece draws a charging foul for St. Ignace. Cadence Cullen is fouled on a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Eagle lead to 58-56 with 4:10 remaining in the game.

Engadine misses a layup. Hali Butkovich gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Engadine misses a layup, but gets the offensive rebound. Vee Kingsbury’s aggressive defense nearly forces an Eagle turnover and Engadine calls time out to preserve its possession. Engadine is fouled, but misses two free throws. Cadence Cullen is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to close the Eagle lead to 58-57 with 3:24 left on the clock.

Each team now has ten second half fouls and all fouls will be two shots for the rest of the game.

Engadine throws a pass too high and out of bounds. Leah French knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Ignace retains possession. The Saints miss a threeball from the wing. Allison Cece pulls down the offensive rebound for the Saints. Leah French steals the ball for the Eagles. Leah French is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to give the Eagles a 59-57 lead with 2:34 to play. (The second free throw was actually not missed, but negated by a lane violation.)

Tabby Shepard alertly saves a loose ball to prevent a Saint turnover. St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the corner. Addison Cullen gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Saints get another opportunity. St. Ignace misses a layup. Tabby Shepard hits a putback for the Saints. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 2:00 to go, the game is tied at 59-59.

Tabby Shepard steals the ball for St. Ignace. Bryce Zdebski ties up the ball for Engadine. The Possession Arrow and its legal staff miss the play because they are discussing a merger. The ball is awarded to St. Ignace. The Saints miss a driving layup. Tabby Shepard hits a putback for the Saints to give them the lead. Hali Butkovich hits a jump shot from the free throw elbow for Engadine to tie the game at 61-61.

Tabby Shepard hits a hook/layup to give the lead back to St. Ignace. Leah French is fouled on an eight foot shot in the lane and hits one of her two free throws with 56.1 seconds left to pull Engadine to within one point. St. Ignace misses a driving eight foot banked shot from the side of the lane. The rebound goes out of bounds and Engadine takes possession. Claire Oven drives the baseline and is fouled on a layup. She hits one of her two free throws to tie the game at 63-63 with 28.2 seconds remaining.

St. Ignace misses a layup. Engadine calls time out with 1.2 seconds to set up a final play. Engadine inbounds the ball and there is a scrum that goes on until the final buzzer.

With the game tied at 63-63, we are going into overtime!!

St. Ignace wins the overtime opening tap. The Saints lose a pass out of bounds. Claire Oven alertly saves a loose ball to prevent an Eagle turnover. Claire Oven is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to give the Eagles a one point lead. Leah French gets the offensive rebound for Engadine. The Eagles miss a layup. St. Ignace misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Leah French is fouled and hits two more free throws for Engadine to give her Eagles a 66-63 lead with 3:02 to go in overtime.

St. Ignace is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Engadine misses a three point attempt from the corner. St. Ignace is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Avery Visnaw snares the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a layup. Addison Cullen gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a layup. Engadine misses a layup; Leah French is fouled on the rebound and hits two free throws to push Engadine to a 68-63 lead with 2:03 remaining.

Allison Cece passes to Addison Cullen, who hits a five foot banked hook for St. Ignace. Engadine misses a layup. Allison Cece is fouled on the rebound and hits one of her two free throws to cut the Engadine lead to 68-66 with 1:09 to go.

Jillian Fraser gets the offensive rebound for St. Ignace. The Saints are whistled for traveling. Hali Butkovich is fouled and hits two free throws with 52.5 seconds to go to give the Eagles a four point lead. St. Ignace misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Leah French is fouled and hits two free throws for Engadine to give the Eagles a 72-66 lead with 30.1 seconds left.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the side. Engadine dribbles out the last few seconds.

Engadine wins this overtime battle by a 72-66 score.

Tabby Shepard had 20 points to lead the St. Ignace scoring. Addison Cullen chipped in with 16 points and Cadence Cullen contributed 14 points. Jillian Fraser scored 8 points. Allison Cece added 4 points. Avery Visnaw and Riley O’Rourke each added 2 points.

Leah French scored 54 points to lead Engadine’s scoring. Hali Butkovich added 10 points. Claire Oven and Elisa Carfora each scored 4 points.

First of all, kudos to Leah French! In nearly thirteen years of doing this blog, the previous high point total that I have blogged has been 40 points by East Lansing’s Brandon Johns!

Also, this is only the sixth time the St. Ignace girls have lost a home game since 2009!!