Caro at Kingston – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 20, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

In my You Tube Video of “Red River Valley”, I let everyone know that you never know where the Red River Valley will lead you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8

Unfortunately, one place the Red River Valley does not lead to is Kingston. Fortunately, however, M-46 does lead to Kingston, so the Bleacher Denizen will be able to complete his day’s blogging mission!

Today, the Bleacher Denizen’s basketball journey takes him to Kingston High School where the Cardinals’ Girls Basketball team will host the Tigers from Caro. (Some day, your Bleacher Denizen hopes to meet the requirements to refer to his travels as an “odyssey”, but unfortunately, I don’t think he’s there yet.)

After a weekend in Frankenmuth (where I grew up) to celebrate my brother’s birthday, I made my way over to Kingston. All the roads were in great shape unlike last week, and I got to the Cardinals’ gym in plenty of time. It’s President’s day; Kingston and Caro High Schools are observing it by playing a quadruple-header at Kingston tonight. Girls and Boys JV teams play in the afternoon. The Girls and Boys Varsity teams will play in the evening.

Your Bleacher Denizen is here to cover the girls’ varsity game. Both these teams are having great seasons.

The Caro Tigers enter this contest with a 17-2 record. Tiger Coach Jay Riley shared some information about his players. Adelyn Moore is one of the top players in the state this year. She’s an extremely complete player who can defend the post and perimeter well. She rebounds well on both offense and defense. She handles the ball well and is a fine passer. When it comes to scoring, she is able to hit from the three point line, or score in the lane either on drives to the basket or by overpowering opponents for putbacks.

Maddelyn Ball is a fine perimeter defender who does a lot of the screening and ball movement that good teams need. She is also a threat from the three point line. Jacqueline Peters is an excellent rebounder and defender in the post. Kaileigh Garza has a fine mid-range shot and is an excellent perimeter defender. Alexa Long is also a big part of the Tigers’ perimeter defense. Gwenyth Geiger is the first player off the bench for the Tigers. She is an extremely energetic player who defends well either in the post or on the perimeter.

The Kingston Cardinals are at 18-1 this year. Coach Jay Green was also able to share some information about his Cardinal players. Delaney St. George is an excellent leader with an accurate three point shot. She, like all the Cardinals is a tough defender, especially on the perimeter. Keira McGarvie is a tough defender, rebounder and scorer in the post.

Three of the Cardinal Starters are the Walker sisters. Juniors Abby and Gracy are twins. Abby is an excellent post defender who is really tough in Kingston’s press. She rebounds well and scores well in the lane. Gracy Walker is a fine perimeter defender who passes really well and has great court vision. Freshman Molly is a fine perimeter defender who can shoot from the three point line or slash to the basket.

Zoe Van Rijn is generally the Cardinals’ first player off the bench. She’s a solid ball handler who brings energy to the Cardinal defense. Chesaney Wenzlaff, Sophia Schipinski and Lauren Krug give the Cardinals defensive depth on the perimeter and Daisy Barnes contributes to the post defense.

It is now time to look at this game through the somewhat cloudy lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore. Your Bleacher Denizen never completely understood that “matador defense” was not a good thing until it’s too late.

(“Matador Defense” comes right up if you google. It refers to waving your hand as the defender bursts by you instead of playing proper defense with your feet. Think of the matador at a bullfight waving his cape.) The coach never, ever found it amusing when the Bleacher Denizen yelled “Ole” as the ball handler burst to the basket. Sigh. The mind boggles – – –

Kingston wins the opening tap. Delaney St. George passes to Molly Walker, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key to give Kingston an early lead. Caro travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting; I doubt that traveling without the ball would be all that newsworthy.)

Kaileigh Garcia ignores your Bleacher Denizen’s angst about verbiage and steals the ball for Caro. Gracy Walker steals the ball for Kingston. Kingston throws a pass out of bounds. Gracy Walker steals the ball for the Cardinals. Keira McGarvie passes to Delaney St. George, who throws in a threeball from the top of the key to give Kingston a 6-0 lead.

Caro misses a driving layup. Delaney St. George passes to Molly Walker, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. Caro misses a three point shot from the side. Adelyn Moore hits a putback to trim the Kingston lead to 8-2.

Jacqueline Peters taps the ball away from Kingston and Maddelyn Ball picks it up for Caro. Caro misfires on a threeball from the wing. Kingston misses a three point attempt near the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Caro takes possession. The Tigers miss a three pointer from the side. Kingston loses a pass out of bounds.

Caro misses a layup. Adelyn Moore ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow and its Garden Club are impressed by her aggressive effort; the ball is awarded to the Tigers. Delaney St. George’s spirited defense causes a Caro traveling violation. Abby Walker passes to Gracy Walker, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to push Kingston to a 10-2 lead with 3:18 to play in the first quarter.

Kaileigh Garza passes to Alexa Long, who hits a fast break layup for the Tigers. Kingston throws a pass out of bounds. Gracy Walker steals the ball for the Cardinals and passes to Abby Walker for a Kingston layup. Kaileigh Garza drives and hits a layup for Caro. Kingston throws a pass out of bounds. Adelyn Moore passes to Kaileigh Garza, who hits a ten foot shot from the baseline to chop the Kingston lead down to 12-8.

Jacqueline Peters steals the ball for the Tigers. Caro misses a driving layup and fouls on the rebound. Adelyn Moore taps the ball away from Kingston and Alexa Long picks it up for Caro. Gracy Walker steals the ball for Kingston. Jacqueline Peters blocks a Cardinal layup. Kingston recovers the loose ball. Kingston misses a six foot shot from the side and fouls on the rebound. A Caro dribbler steps on the baseline. Gracy Walker drives and hits a layup for Kingston as the first quarter buzzer calls out.

After one quarter, Kingston has a 14-8 lead.

Kingston has the ball to open the second quarter. Molly Walker passes to Delaney St. George, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Kingston. Caro misses a driving banked runner. Adelyn Moore gets the offensive rebound for the Tigers. Caro throws a pass out of bounds. Molly Walker passes to Delaney St. George, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key to boost the Cardinal lead to 20-8.

Caro misfires on a triple try from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Tigers get the ball back. Caro misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Abby Walker passes to Keira McGarvie, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. Delaney St. George steals the ball and passes to Molly Walker, who hits a fast break layup for Kingston. Kaileigh Garza passes to Alexa Long, who hits a three point shot from the side for Caro to trim the Kingston lead to 24-11.

Kingston misses a threeball from the side. Keira McGarvie hits a putback for the Cardinals. Abby Walker steals the ball for Kingston. Gracy Walker hits a fast break layup for the Cardinals to push the Kingston lead to 28-11.

Caro misses a threeball from the wing. Alexa Long gets the offensive rebound for the Tigers. Keira McGarvie knocks the ball away from Caro and Abby Walker picks it up for Kingston. Kingston misses a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Keira McGarvie gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker knocks a Tiger pass out of bounds; Kingston gets the ball back. Kaileigh Garza hits a three point shot from the corner for Caro to shave the Cardinal lead to 28-14.

Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker pulls down the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Delaney St. George passes to Abby Walker, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give her Cardinals a 30-14 lead with 1:49 remaining in the half.

Caro misses a ten foot shot from the side. Alexa Long makes an excellent hustle play to jump over the end line and knock the rebound to a Tiger teammate. Delaney St. George steals the ball for Kingston. The Cardinals miss a fast break layup. Molly Walker steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow checks with its Sewing Circle and they decide to give the ball to Caro.

Adelyn Moore hits a three point shot off the dribble from the wing for Caro. Kingston misses a threeball from the wing. Caro reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Kingston misses a fast break layup. Keira McGarvie gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Caro misses a seventy foot heave as the halftime buzzer introduces itself to the crowd.

At halftime Kingston holds a 30-17 lead. There is an excellent chance that this will also be true at the start of the third quarter.

However, I noticed at the start of the third quarter that the score was changed to 30-16. (That’s the first time in ten years of using that joke that this has actually happened.) I learned at the end of the game that Kaileigh Garza’s three pointer (to make it 28-14) was actually only a two pointer; I took my notes to agree with the scoreboard at the time.

Kaileigh Garza has 6 points to lead Caro’s scoring at halftime. Adelyn Moore and Alexa Long each have 5 points.

Delaney St. George has 9 points to lead the Kingston scoring. Molly Walker has 7 points and Gracy Walker has 6 points.

While we wait for halftime to run its course, we can listen to this Boogie Woogie tune from my You Tube Channel! I hope you enjoy it. John Rickert is the trumpeter in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MxOus8t44

The third quarter begins and the scoreboard has been adjusted to reflect the correct 30-16 score.

Kingston inbounds the ball. The Cardinals miss a ten foot shot in the lane. Keira McGarvie hits a putback for the Cardinals. Abby Walker steals a Tiger pass. Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker pulls down the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a threeball near the top of the key. Abby Walker grabs another offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston throws a pass out of bounds.

Caro misses a three point shot from the wing. A Kingston pass catcher shuffles her feet for a traveling violation. Caro misses a three point shot from the side. Gracy Walker drives and hits a layup to give Kingston a 34-16 lead.

Caro misses an eight foot turnaround jumper from the side of the lane. Maddelyn Ball draws a charging foul from Kingston. Gracy Walker’s aggressive defense forces a Caro double dribble violation. Abby Walker passes to Keira McGarvie, who hits a layup to give the Cardinals a 36-16 lead.

Caro misses a fourteen foot shot in the lane. Kingston fouls on the rebound. Caro misfires on a threeball from the corner. Adelyn Moore pulls down the offensive rebound for the Tigers. Caro misses a layup. Molly Walker hits a layup for Kingston. Caro misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Kingston is assessed with a traveling violation. Alexa Long goes coast to coast for a Caro layup. She is fouled on the shot and makes her free throw to cut the Kingston lead to 38-19 with 3:56 remaining in quarter number three.

Kingston misses a three point shot from the side. Zoe Van Rijn steals the ball for the Cardinals, but steps on the baseline. Abby Walker steals the Caro inbound pass. Kaileigh Garza blocks a Kingston shot. There is a scrum for the ball; Caro briefly gets the ball but their player falls and is called for traveling. Kingston misses a three point shot from the corner. Sophia Schipinski hits a putback to give Kingston a 40-19 lead.

Maddelyn Ball banks in a sixteen foot from the side and is fouled on the play. She hits her free throw to trim the Kingston lead to 40-22 with 2:50 to go in the third quarter.

Gracy Walker passes to Molly Walker, who throws in a threeball from the side for Kingston. Keira McGarvie steals the ball for the Cardinals. Jacqueline Peters blocks a Kingston layup. Keira McGarvie draws a charging foul from the Tigers. Kingston misses a layup. Adelyn Moore goes coast to coast to hit a layup for Caro to shave the Kingston lead to 43-24.

Jacqueline Peters steals the ball for Caro. Caro misfires on a triple try from the corner and fouls on the rebound. Gracy Walker whips a cross court pass to Lauren Krug, who hits a three point shot for the Cardinals. Gwenyth Geiger hits a layup for Caro. Kingston does not have time to shoot before the third quarter ends.

After three quarters, Kingston has a 46-26 lead.

Caro inbounds the ball to get quarter number four underway. Jacqueline Peters passes to Adelyn Moore, who hits a ten foot shot from the baseline for the Tigers. Maddelyn Ball knocks a Kingston pass out of bounds; the Cardinals retain possession. Molly Walker passes to Delaney St. George, who hits a three point shot from the side for Kingston to give the Cardinals a 49-28 lead.

Gracy Walker taps the ball away from Caro and Delaney St. George picks it up for Kingston. Maddelyn Ball knocks the ball away from Kingston and causes a scrum. The ball is tied up and the Possession Arrow consults its Advisory Committee. The ball is awarded to Kingston. Molly Walker passes to Delaney St. George, who hits another three point shot for the Cardinals to push their lead to 52-28.

Caro misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Jacqueline Peters blocks a Kingston layup. Molly Walker grabs the loose ball for Kingston. Kingston turns the ball over. Caro misses a three point shot from the side. Adelyn Moore hits a putback for Caro. Kingston misses a three point attempt from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Caro takes possession. Zoe Van Rijn knocks the ball out of bounds; Caro retains possession. Caro misses a three pointer from the wing. Molly Walker passes to Abby Walker for a layup that gives Kingston a 54-30 lead.

Abby Walker steals the ball for Kingston. Gwenyth Geiger steals the ball for Caro. Gracy Walker knocks the ball away from the Tigers and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow decrees that Kingston shall get the ball. Abby Walker passes to Molly Walker, who hits a layup to extend the Kingston lead to 56-30.

Caro misses a three point shot from the wing. Adelyn Moore hits a putback for the Tigers. Kingston misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Molly Walker draws a charging foul from Caro. A Kingston traveling violation negates a Cardinal layup. Caro misses a driving layup. Abby Walker passes to Delaney St. George, who hits a layup to extend the Kingston lead to 58-32.

Caro throws a pass out of bounds. Gracy Walker passes to Abby Walker for a Cardinal layup. Gracy Walker steals the ball, is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Kingston. Caro throws a pass out of bounds. Lauren Krug passes to Sophia Schipinski, who hits a layup for Kingston. Gracy Walker steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give Kingston a 65-32 lead.

Zoe Van Rijn steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston runs out the clock.

Kingston wins this contest between two of the top teams in Michigan’s thumb by the score of 65-32.

Adelyn Moore had 13 points to lead the Caro scoring. Alexa Long supported her teammate with 8 points. Kaileigh Garza scored 6 points. Maddelyn Ball added 3 points and Gwenyth Geiger tallied 2 points.

Delaney St. George had 17 points to lead Kingston. Molly Walker chipped in with 14 points and Gracy Walker contributed 11 points. Abby Walker and Keira McGarvie each helped out with 8 points. Sophia Schipinski added 4 points and Lauren Krug scored 3 points.