Baraga vs. Fowler – – Girls Basketball – – MHSAA Division 4 State Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 16, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, in the first of the two Division 4 semifinals, the Eagles from Fowler will face the Vikings from Baraga.

Baraga brings a 22-5 record into the state and they are ranked #14. Corina Jahfetson is the leading scorer. She averages 18 points per game to go along with 3.2 assists and 4.2 steals. She is a fine three point shooter who has already made 90 of them this year. (This is averaging more than three per game!) Kylie Michaelson averages 12.5 points. Makenna Hendrickson averages 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 steals. Baraga played in last year’s semifinals. Autumn Tembreull is a returning starter from that game.

Fowler enters the game with a 20-7 record and are ranked #8. Fowler has won the last two Division 4 State Championships. Their seven losses are a bit misleading because they came to larger schools and several happened while All-State Guard Emma Riley was out with an ankle injury she suffered during volleyball.

Emma Riley averages 15.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per year. She is also clearly the team’s leader and an excellent ball handler. Taylor Weber averages 8.4 points and has hit 55 three point shots this year. Avery Koenigsknecht averages 7.3 points and 3.0 assists. Avery Koenigsknecht has also started on both state championships; Taylor Weber was the first player off the bench for last year’s team.

It is now time to review the events of this game from the somewhat alert eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore. Many people criticized the Bleacher Denizen’s lateral quickness on defense. In my defense, I’ll point out that many people had difficulty with lateral movement in the Roman sandals that were part of our ancient uniforms.

Baraga wins the opening tap. The Vikings miss a driving layup. Autumn Tembreull gets the offensive rebound for Baraga. The Vikings miss a layup. Makenna Hendrickson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Grace Epkey steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a six foot shot in the lane. Grace Epkey’s tough defense causes a Baraga traveling violation. Baraga’s defense forces a turnover when Fowler fails to get the ball over midcourt in the required ten seconds.

A Baraga bad pass leads to an over and back violation. Fowler misfires on a triple try from the wing. Baraga misses a driving layup. Autumn Tembreull pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Grace Epkey hits the floor to tie the ball up for the Eagles. The Possession Arrow and its Golf Committee like Ms. Epkey’s hustle and award the ball to Fowler.

Corina Jahfetson steals the ball for Baraga. Grace O’Hare steals the ball for Fowler. Corina Jahfetson knocks the ball away from an Eagle dribbler and out of bounds. Fowler retains possession. Grace Epkey drives and hits a layup to give Fowler the first two points of the game.

Grace Epkey blocks a Viking twelve foot shot from the side. Emma Riley drives and hooks in a layup for the Eagles. Emma Riley blocks a Viking layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Baraga gets another opportunity. Baraga misses a six foot banked shot in the lane. Makenna Hendrickson steals a Fowler pass. Baraga misses a driving, scooping layup. Emma Riley passes to Avery Koenigsknecht, who hits a layup to give Fowler a 6-0 lead.

Baraga turns the ball over against the Fowler press. Emma Riley inbounds the ball to Grace Epkey, who hits a layup to give the Eagles an 8-0 lead.

Kylie Michaelson drives and hits a layup to give Baraga its first two points. Corina Jahfetson knocks the ball away from Fowler and Kylie Michaelson ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow declares that the ball belongs to Baraga. Grace Epkey’s defense forces a Baraga double dribble violation. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Grace Epkey steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Grace O’Hare gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a driving layup. Corina Jahfetson passes to Kensei Jahfetson, who hits a sixteen foot shot from the wing to trim the Fowler lead to 8-4.

Makayla Smith steals the ball for Baraga. Makenna Hendrickson hits a driving layup for Baraga. Avery Koenigsknecht passes to Grace Epkey, who hits a layup to give Fowler a 10-6 lead.

Baraga misses a layup. A Baraga foul before the shot negates a layup by Emma Riley with 2.2 seconds left. Makenna Hendrickson knocks the ball out of bounds leaving Fowler only .3 of a second to try to score. Fowler misses a rushed shot at the buzzer.

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

Fowler inbounds the ball to begin the second quarter. The Eagles misfire on a threeball from the side. Emma Riley steals the ball and passes to Avery Koenigsknecht, who hits a layup to give Fowler a 12-6 lead.

Baraga misses a driving layup. Kensei Jahfetson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Baraga misses an eighteen foot shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Vikings get another opportunity. Baraga misfires on a triple try from the wing. Emma Riley drives and hits a layup to give Fowler a 14-6 lead.

Baraga misses a three point shot from the wing. Kensei Jahfetson hits a putback for the Vikings. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Grace Epkey gets the offensive rebound. Makenna Hendrickson ties up the ball for the Vikings. The Possession Arrow and its management committee love her hustle and award the ball to Baraga. Jaycee Larson drives and scoops in an underhand eight foot shot from the baseline to cut the Fowler lead to 14-10.

Fowler misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Grace O’Hare gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Makenna Hendrickson ties up the ball for the Vikings. The Possession Arrow and its decorating committee were reviewing wallpaper patterns and missed the play. The ball is awarded to Fowler. Taylor Weber inbounds the ball to Emma Riley, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give the Eagles a 15-10 lead with 5:10 remaining in the half.

Baraga misses a three point shot from the corner. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow and its legal committee decree that the ball shall go to Baraga. Baraga passes the ball too high and out of bounds. Maija Rogers steals the ball for the Vikings. Corina Jahfetson is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 15-11 with 3:15 to go in the half.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Baraga misses a jumper from the free throw line. Makenna Hendrickson grabs the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Baraga misses a three point shot from the side. Fowler misses a driving layup. Kylie Michaelson drives and is fouled on a ten foot jump shot. She hits two free throws to cut the Fowler lead to 15-13 with 2:25 left in the half.

Fowler passes the ball through the lane and out of bounds. Baraga misses a ten footer off the dribble from the side of the lane. Makenna Hendrickson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Kaci Coronado is fouled and hits both free throws in a one and one opportunity for Baraga to tie the game at 15-15 with 1:19 to play in the half.

Makenna Hendrickson gets her hand on the ball and a Fowler dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Makenna Hendrickson hits a driving layup to give Baraga a two point lead. Fowler misses a three point attempt from the side. Avery Koenigsknecht steals the ball for the Eagles. Makenna Hendrickson and Jaycee Larson clamp a double team on a Fowler passer and the ball is thrown out of bounds.

Baraga misses a driving layup. Makenna Hendrickson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Baraga misses a three point shot from the side. Fowler misses a driving layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Baraga gets the ball with just .3 of a second left. Baraga inbounds the ball and the second quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

At halftime, Baraga has a 17-15 lead.

As we wait for the second half to start, why don’t we listen to this cover of the Tijuana Brass “The Lonely Bull” from my You Tube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmJmDiyf3ps

Fowler has the ball to open the third quarter. Grace Epkey passes to Emma Riley, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key to give Fowler a one point lead. Baraga misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane and ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow and its beautification committee decide to award the ball to Baraga. Quinn Watts makes a great pass to an Eagle teammate who misses her layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball back.

Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. Makenna Hendrickson drives the baseline and is fouled on a layup. Makenna Hendrickson hits two free throws to give Baraga a 19-18 lead with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter.

Kylie Michaelson dives and steals the ball for Baraga. The Vikings miss a three point shot from the side. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the wing. Taylor Weber grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Quinn Watts is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to tie the game at 19-19 with 5:25 to go in quarter number three.

Emma Riley gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Baraga ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow decides to give Baraga the ball. Baraga misses a layup. Kensei Jahfetson gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Baraga misses a layup and Fowler fouls on the rebound. Taylor Weber steals a Baraga pass. Fowler misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. A Baraga dribbler steps on the sideline. Makenna Anderson nearly steals the ball for Baraga, but Fowler is able to recover. Fowler misses a layup. Rebecca Smith hits a putback to give Fowler a 21-19 lead.

Baraga misses a three point shot from the wing. Fowler misses a layup. Rebecca Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Grace O’Hare fires a pass to Emma Riley, who hits a three point shot near the top of the key to give the Eagles a 24-19 lead.

Baraga misses a threeball from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Avery Koenigsknecht steals a Baraga pass. Fowler misses a ten footer off the dribble from the sideband fouls on the rebound. Baraga misses an eight foot hook shot. Emma Riley is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Fowler a 25-19 lead with 1:15 remaining in the quarter.

Kensei Jahfetson drives the baseline and hits a layup for Baraga. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Avery Koenigsknecht gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Corina Jahfetson drives and hits a layup for Baraga. Kylie Michaelson steals the ball for the Vikings. Makenna Hendrickson drives and hits a layup for Baraga. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw with two seconds left to give Baraga a 26-25 lead.

Fowler does not have a chance to shoot before the third quarter buzzer sounds.

After three quarters, Baraga has a 26-25 lead.

Fowler inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter underway. Emma Riley hits an eighteen foot shot from the top of the key for Fowler. Makenna Hendrickson drives and hits a layup for Baraga. Emma Riley hits an eighteen foot shot off the dribble for Fowler to give the Eagles a 29-28 lead.

Rebecca Smith partially blocks a Baraga shot. The loose ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow and its encounter group take time away from their navel gazing to award the ball to Baraga. Baraga misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Fowler misses a sixteen footer off the dribble from the wing. Grace Epkey gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Makenna Hendrickson passes to Kylie Michaelson, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give Baraga a 31-29 lead.

Kensei Jahfetson knocks the ball away from Fowler and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow and its voting committee award the ball to Fowler. Avery Koenigsknecht passes to Taylor Weber, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Fowler a 32-31 lead.

Grace O’Hare knocks the ball away from Baraga and Avery Koenigsknecht picks it up for Fowler. Corina Jahfetson steals the ball for Baraga. The Vikings miss a three point attempt from the wing. Makenna Hendrickson pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Makenna Hendrickson is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Baraga a 33-32 lead with 5:26 left in the game.

Grace Epkey drives and hits a layup for Fowler to retake the lead by one point. Makenna Hendrickson is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to put Baraga back on top by one point at 35-34 with 4:48 remaining in the contest.

Fowler misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Grace O’Hare is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler to tie the game at 35-35 with 4:42 left on the clock.

Baraga misses a seventeen foot shot from the side. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Kylie Michaelson drives and hits a layup to give Baraga a two point lead. Emma Riley spins into the lane and hits a ten foot shot for Fowler to tie the game. Baraga misses a three point shot from the wing. Corina Jahfetson is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Baraga a 39-37 lead with 2:43 remaining in the game.

Fowler misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Kylie Michaelson is fouled on the rebound and hits one of two free throws in a one and one opportunity to give Baraga a threes point lead. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Corina Jahfetson is fouled on the rebound and hits one of her two free throws to give Baraga a 41-37 lead with 1:50 to go.

Makenna Hendrickson gets her hand on the Fowler inbound pass and Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Baraga is fouled, but misses two free throws. Fowler misfires on a triple try from the wing. The rebound is tied up; the Possession Arrow awards the ball to Baraga. Corina Jahfetson is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to give Baraga a 42-37 lead with 1:31 to play in the game.

Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. Avery Koenigsknecht gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. She is fouled and sinks both free throws in a one and one situation to cut the Baraga lead to 42-39 with 1:07 remaining.

Ella Hufnagel taps the ball away from Baraga, but the Vikings are able to recover. Rebecca Smith steals the ball for Fowler. Makenna Hendrickson steals the ball for Baraga and is fouled. She hits one of her two free throws to give Baraga a 43-39 lead with 50.5 seconds remaining in the game.

Emma Riley drives and hits a six foot hook shot for Fowler. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to pull Fowler to within one point with 41.9 seconds to play. Makenna Hendrickson is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Baraga. Emma Riley passes to Taylor Weber, who hits a layup for Fowler to tie the game at 44-44 with 28 seconds left.

Baraga is called for an illegal screen and turns the ball over with 9.9 seconds left. Fowler is called for an offensive foul on the inbound pass. For some reason that your Bleacher Denizen does not understand, free throws are awarded to Baraga on an apparent offensive foul. (The foul itself was probably a 50-50 call anyway.) Corina Jahfetson hits two free throws to give Baraga a 46-44 lead with 9 seconds left.

Makenna Hendrickson knocks the ball out of bounds and Fowler has to inbound it with just 2.9 seconds left to tie the game. Fowler misses a long three point shot from the top of the key.

Baraga wins 46-44 and will play Maple City Glen Lake in Saturday’s state final.

Fowler’s Emma Riley had 21 points to lead all scorers. Grace Epkey put in 8 points. Avery Koenigsknecht scored 6 points. Taylor Weber added 5 points. Rebecca Smith put in 2 points. Grace O’Hare and Quinn Watts each tallied 1 point.

Makenna Hendrickson had 17 points to lead Baraga. Kylie Michaelson joined her teammate in double figures with 10 points. Corina Jahfetson had 9 points including the two crucial free throws at the end of the game. Kinsei Jahfetson added 6 points. Jaycee Larson and Kaci Coronado each scored 2 points.