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

Last night was the opening night of your Bleacher Denizen’s brief trip to the Upper Peninsula. Last night, the St. Ignace Saints hosted Engadine in both girls and boys’ basketball game. One game was a romp and the other was a competitive overtime game that featured record-setting scoring!!

Boys https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/02/07/engadine-at-st-ignace-boys-basketball-the-bleacher-denizen-february-6-2023-by-chuck-krafft/

Girls https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/02/07/engadine-at-st-ignace-girls-basketball-the-bleacher-denizen-february-7-2023-by-chuck-krafft/

In this tune from my You Tube Channel, I let the listeners know that you never know where the Red River Valley will lead you. It does not lead to Brimley, but fortunately, M-28 does lead there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8

The Saint Ignace Saints come into tonight’s game with an 11-6 record,

Tabby Shepard is a versatile defender who can play on the perimeter or in the post. She also handles the ball well and is capable of scoring outbursts like the seventeen point second half she had against Engadine. Jillian Fraser shoots well either from the three point line or near the basket. She also handles the ball quite a bit.

Addison Cullen is strong in the post, where she defends, scores and rebounds well. She gets a lot of putbacks for the Saints. Cadence Cullen is a fine three point shooter. Riley O’Rourke is a quality rebounder and defender in the post. Allison Cece is tough, tough, tough, especially on defense in the post. She is very willing to take charging fouls.

Heidi Dorenbecker is a persistent perimeter defender. Avery Visnaw runs the point well; she is a good ball handler and perimeter defender.

At game time, unfortunately, I learned that neither Tabby Shepard nor Heidi Dorenbecker will be able to play in tonight’s game because of injuries sustained in yesterday’s game. Addison Cullen will play, but be limited with her mobility.

The Brimley Bays start the night with a 7-10 record. Brimley Coach Matt Bathey told me that he has a crew of players who press, play hard, are aggressive on offense and shoot three point shots pretty well.

Let’s take a look at the events of this game through the hazy eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. The coach felt that the many bricks heaved by the Bleacher Denizen at the peach baskets we shot at back in the day ruined too many baskets. For budgetary reasons, the Bleacher Denizen was not permitted at the higher levels.

St. Ignace wins the opening tap. The Saints lose a pass out of bounds. Allison Cece dives and ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow’s butler has not served its morning coffee yet and the arrow is groggy. It misses the play and the ball is awarded to Brimley. The Bays miss a layup. Liz Johnson gets the offensive rebound for Brimley. The Bays miss a layup. Allison Cece passes to Cadence Cullen, who is fouled on a layup. Cadence Cullen hits one of her two free throws to give St. Ignace a 1-0 lead with 7:22 remaining in the first quarter.

Jillian Fraser knocks the ball out of bounds; the Bays retain possession. Autumn Tremblay takes the ball coast to coast for a Brimley layup. Ceara LeBlanc steals the ball for the Bays. Lindsey Hill retrieves a loose ball to save Brimley’s possession. The Bays miss a threeball from the wing. Vivian Carrick grabs the offensive rebound for Brimley. Lindsey Hill gets a layup to give the Bays a 4-1 lead.

St. Ignace misses a shot; Jillian Fraser hits a putback for the Saints. Brimley misses a ten foot shot from the side. Lindsey Hill hits a putback for the Bays. St. Ignace loses the ball out of bounds. Brimley misses a driving layup. St. Ignace misses a layup. Allison Cece draws a charging foul from the Bays. The ferocious Brimley press forces St. Ignace to lose the ball out of bounds. Autumn Tremblay passes the ball to Ceara LeBlanc, who hits a layup for the Bays to give them an 8-3 lead.

Brimley’s press prevents the Saints from getting the ball across midcourt and they turn it over. Brimley misses a jump shot. Addison Winberg passes to Allison Cece, who hits a layup for the Saints. A Brimley layup is negated when St. Ignace fouls before the shot. Addison Cullen gets her hand on a Bay pass and the ball goes out of bounds; Brimley retains possession. Avery Visnaw steals the ball for St. Ignace. The Saints lose the ball out of bounds on a too fast break. Autumn Tremblay is fouled on a driving layup and hits her two free throws to give the Bays a 10-5 lead with 4:00 remaining in the first quarter.

St. Ignace misses a layup. Avery Visnaw gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Brimley takes possession. Lindsey Hill hits a layup for the Bays. Brimley steals the ball. Lindsey Hill passes to Autumn Tremblay, who hits a three point shot from the side for Brimley. St. Ignace throws a pass out of bounds. Lindsey Hill hits a sixteen foot shot from the side to boost the Bays to a 17-5 lead.

St. Ignace misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Saints get the ball back. Vivian Carrick steals the Saint inbound pass. Brimley misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Lindsey Hill knocks the ball away from the Saints and Vivian Carrick picks it up for the Bays. Vivian Carrick inbounds the ball to Autumn Tremblay, who hits a layup. Brimley has a 19-5 lead.

St. Ignace misses a fifteen foot shot from the side of the lane. Brimley misfires on a triple try from the side. Lindsey Hill steals the ball for the Bays. Brimley misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Autumn Tremblay gets the offensive rebound for the Bays. Brimley misses a layup. Lindsey Hills hits a putback for Brimley. Avery Visnaw passes to Jillian Fraser, who hits a three point shot from the wing at the buzzer for St. Ignace.

After one quarter, Brimley has a 21-8 lead.

Brimley inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. Ceara LeBlanc hits a three point shot from the wing for the Bays. St. Ignace misses a six foot shot in the lane. Brimley misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Grace Hills grabs the offensive rebound for Brimley. Brimley misses a three point shot from the corner. Vivian Carrick gets the offensive rebound for the Bays. Ceara LeBlanc drives and dishes the ball to Liz Johnson, who hits a layup to give Brimley a 26-8 lead.

Liz Johnson ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow’s coffee maker malfunctioned and the Arrow is running on fumes. It misses the play and awards the ball to the Saints. Gabby Adams hits a layup for the Saints. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to trim the Brimley lead to 26-11 with 6:43 to play in the second quarter.

Brimley misses a three point shot from the wing. Ceara LeBlanc gets the offensive rebound for the Bays. Brimley turns the ball over. Addison Cullen passes to Gabby Adams, who hits another layup for the Saints. Liz Johnson is fouled on a shot and makes two free throws to push the Brimley lead to 28-13 with 5:59 to play in the half.

Vivian Carrick steals the ball for the Bays. Brimley misses a layup. Autumn Tremblay gets the offensive rebound for the Bays. Brimley misses a layup. Liz Johnson steals the ball for the Bays. St. Ignace steals the ball back and Jillian Fraser hits a layup for the Saints. Allison Cece steals the ball for the Saints.

Liz Johnson ties the ball up; the Possession Arrow finally got some coffee from Starbucks, sees the play and readily rewards Liz Johnson’s defense and gives the ball to Brimley. Brimley misses a threeball from the corner. Liz Johnson steals the ball for the Bays. Autumn Tremblay is fouled on a six foot shot in the lane. She hits one of her two free throws and Brimley has a 29-15 lead with 3:59 to go in the first half.

St. Ignace misses a layup. Autumn Tremblay passes to Ceara LeBlanc, who throws in a threeball from the wing for the Bays. Lindsey Hill blocks a St. Ignace shot. St. Ignace recovers the ball. Allison Cece inbounds the ball to Cadence Cullen, who hits a layup for the Saints. Brimley misses a layup. Vivian Carrick hits a putback to give her Bays a 34-17 lead.

St. Ignace misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Saints get another opportunity. The Saints miss a jumper from the free throw line. Autumn Tremblay hits a fast break layup for the Bays. St. Ignace misses a six foot hook from the baseline. Cadence Cullen knocks the ball away from Brimley and Allison Cece picks it up for the Saints. St. Ignace is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. With 1:42 remaining in the half, Brimley holds a 36-17 lead.

Cadence Cullen knocks a Brimley pass out of bounds. Lindsey Hill hits a layup for Brimley. Coralee Seppala ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow appreciates her fine defense and awards the ball to Brimley. Vivian Carrick drives and hits a layup for the Bays. Ceara LeBlanc knocks the ball away from St. Ignace and Vivian Carrick picks it up for Brimley. The Bays miss a fifteen foot shot from the side and two putbacks. Ceara LeBlanc drives and hits a layup for Brimley. St. Ignace misses a layup. Allison Cece draws a charging foul from the Bays. St. Ignace only has 3.2 seconds and can’t get a shot up.

At halftime, Brimley holds a 42-17 lead.

As there is no halftime entertainment, maybe you’d like to hear this original tune from my You Tube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol3R-ZL9568

Now that we have (hopefully) been sufficiently entertained, let’s start the second half!!

St. Ignace inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. Lindsey Hill steals the ball for the Bays. Brimley misses a three point shot from the wing. Ceara LeBlanc picks up a loose ball for the bays. Brimley is whistled for carrying the ball. Ceara LeBlanc knocks the ball away from St. Ignace and Lindsey Hill picks it up for Brimley. Vivan Carrick throws in a threeball from the wing for Brimley. St. Ignace misses a layup. Ceara LeBlanc passes the ball to Liz Johnson, who hits a layup for Brimley to give the Bays a 47-17 lead.

St. Ignace misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Brimley shoots a layup and the ball is wedged between the backboard and the rim. Your aging Bleacher Denizen is more than willing to jump into the sky to heroically dislodge the ball, but NO – – – . Someone from Brimley grabs another ball to knock the game ball loose. They never ask me! They NEVER ask MEEEE!!!!

The Possession Arrow ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s disappointment and gives the ball back to Brimley. Autumn Tremblay also ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s disappointment and hits a layup for the Bays. St. Ignace is whistled for carrying the ball. A Brimley dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Liz Johnson and Ceara LeBlanc fiercely double team a St. Ignace ball handler and the Saints turn the ball over. Autumn Tremblay drives and hits a layup to give Brimley a 53-17 lead.

St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Allison Cece steals the ball for the Saints and passes to Avery Visnaw, who hits a layup for St. Ignace. Lindsey Hill hits a three point shot from the side for Brimley. Vivian Carrick knocks the ball away from St. Ignace and Lindsey Hill grabs it for Brimley. Autumn Tremblay hits a fast break layup for Brimley to give the Bays a 58-19 lead.

Liz Johnson knocks the ball away from St. Ignace and Ceara LeBlanc picks it up for Brimley. Allison Cece steals the ball for the Saints. Addison Cullen makes a short drive and is fouled on a hook shot. She hits one of her two free throws to trim the Brimley lead to 58-20 with 3:03 remaining in the quarter.

Coralee Seppala drives and makes a layup for Brimley. St. Ignace misses a ten foot shot. Addison Winberg pulls down the offensive rebound for the Saints. Cadence Cullen hits a three point shot from the wing for St. Ignace. Liz Johnson steals the ball for the Bays. Brimley misses a layup. Coralee Seppala gets the offensive rebound for the Bays. Brimley misses a layup. Addison Cullen hits a layup to shave the Brimley lead to 60-25.

Liz Johnson is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Brimley. Liz Johnson steals the ball for Brimley. Kat Karzon knocks the ball away from the Bays. St. Ignace picks up the ball, but misses a layup at the buzzer.

After three quarters, the Brimley lead is at 62-25.

Brimley inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. Liz Johnson passes to Ceara LeBlanc, who hits a three point shot for Brimley. St. Ignace misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Liz Johnson hits a three point shot from the side for Brimley. Addison Cullen hits a putback for St. Ignace. Vivian Carrick drives the baseline and hits a layup to give Brimley a 70-27 lead.

Vivian Carrick knocks the ball away from St. Ignace and Lindsey Hill picks it up for Brimley. The Bays miss a ten foot shot from the side. Lindsey Hill grabs the offensive rebound for the Bays. Brimley misses a layup. Addison Cullen hits a short jump shot for St. Ignace. Avery Visnaw steals the ball for the Saints and hits a layup to trim the Bay lead to 70-31.

Brimley turns the ball over. Addison Cullen hits a layup for the Saints. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. Brimley misfires on a triple try from the wing. Jillian Fraser passes to Cadence Cullen, who hits a three point shot from the wing for St. Ignace. The Brimley lead is at 70-36.

Brimley travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. Somehow, I doubt that traveling without the ball would be all that noteworthy.) St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Jillian Fraser hits a putback for the Saints. Jillian Fraser steals the ball for St. Ignace. The Saints miss a three pointer from the wing. Allison Cece steals the ball for St. Ignace. Autumn Tremblay gets her hand on the ball and St. Ignace turns it over.

Brimley throws a pass out of bounds. St. Ignace misses a three point shot from the wing. Brimley reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the wing. St. Ignace misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Jillian Fraser picks off the offensive rebound for St. Ignace. St. Ignace misses a layup. Addison Cullen gets the offensive rebound for the Saints. St. Ignace misses a layup. Jillian Fraser steals the ball for the Saints. Autumn Tremblay steals the ball for the Bays. Brimley misfires on a threeball from the wing. Autumn Tremblay hits a putback to give Brimley a 72-38 lead.

St. Ignace misses a ten foot shot from the side. The Saints are assessed with a technical foul at the buzzer. Vivian Carrick hits one of her two free throws for Brimley and the game is over.

Brimley wins by the score of 73-38.

Jillian Fraser led the St. Ignace scoring with 11 points. Cadence Cullen contributed 9 points and Addison Cullen scored 7. Gabby Adams put in 5 points. Allison Cece added 4 points and Avery Visnaw tallied 2 points.

Autumn Tremblay had 22 points to lead the Brimley scoring. Lindsey Hill and Ceara LeBlanc each chipped in with 13 points. Vivian Carrick tossed in 12 points. Liz Johnson contributed 11 points. Coralee Seppala added 2 points.