Fowler at Bath – – CMAC Girls Basketball Co-Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 26, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, Bath and Fowler will meet in a game that has a lot of significance in the CMAC Girls’ Basketball Standings. Bath and Fowler each have one league loss; both of these losses happened just two days ago when Fowler lost to Dansville in double overtime and Bath lost to Portland St. Patrick in a single overtime. The Fowler Eagles enter the game at 7-1 in the CMAC and 9-2 overall while the Bath Bees are 6-1 in the CMAC and 8-1 overall.

While we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this vintage Blues song that I performed for my You Tube Channel, “Blues Stay Away from Me.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TtsKUnqw7g

For the Fowler Eagles, Grace O’Hare is a strong perimeter defender who handles the ball well and can score in the midrange. Izzy Halfmann is a freshman who has the poise and basketball knowledge more like a junior or senior. She is a strong, versatile player who can bring defense to the perimeter or in the post. She is a fine three point shooter as well. Selena Stump is a sophomore who shot her way from the JV team in the early part of the year to the varsity team with her excellent accuracy from the three point line.

Katie Spicer is a fine ball handler who is really creative when she attacks the basket. She is also a big threat from the three point line. Rebecca Smith is a tough defender who brings a lot of energy to her play in the post. Brooke Weber has a high basketball IQ and can defend well either on the perimeter or in the post.

Kassi Buck is a four year varsity player who runs the point for the Bees. She is a solid ball handler who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes; she is a fierce perimeter defender as well. Aubrey Schaibly is a fine defender who rebounds well and can score on slashes to the basket or from the three point line. Anna Schaibly is a good perimeter defender and ball handler who is a strong three point shooter. Aubri Torok is a high IQ player who defends the perimeter well and gets a lot of steals. On offense she makes a lot of good decisions and is good slashing to the basket or shooting from the three point line.

Abby Smith is a fine defender, rebounder and scorer in the post. Anna Poppema is a solid perimeter defender who is also a threat from the three point line. Kaitlyn Dickey is a solid outside shooter who gives Bath another good defender and rebounder in the post.

I got to the gym just before halftime of the JV game. Fowler had a 22-16 lead at halftime. The teams each scored 5 points in the third quarter, but Fowler pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 37-24.

Faith Hughes led the Bath JVs with 6 points. Mackenzie Hills added 5 points. Riley Hart scored 4 points and Braelynn Barber had 3 points. Aubrey Dunckel, Maci McCrimmon and Olivia Brimley each tallied 2 points.

Kerigan Pung led the victorious Fowler JVs with 11 points. Payton Rademacher chipped in with 8 points. Selena Stump scored 7 points. Neelah O’Rourke added 6 points. Saige Miller had 3 points and Karstyn Lackscheide tossed in 2 points.

It is now time to look through the events of this game through the hopefully accurate eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. Your Bleacher Denizen was starting to develop as a leaper and interior defender when the Basketball Powers that Be ruled that he could no longer use his pogo stick in games. Alas, when my defense fell off, my playing time suffered.

Bath wins the opening tap. The Bees miss a driving layup. Fowler misses a fifteen footer from the wing. Grace O’Hare grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Rebecca Smith knocks a Bee pass out of bounds; Bath retains possession. Brooke Weber steals the ball for the Eagles. Aubri Torok knocks the ball away from Fowler and Abby Smith picks it up for Bath. Aubri Torok hits a fast break layup for Bath. Brooke Weber throws in a threeball from the wing to give her Eagles a 3-2 lead.

A Fowler foul before the shot negates a Bath layup. Bath misses a driving layup. Aubrie Schaibly pulls down the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Grace O’Hare steals a Bath pass. Izzy Halfmann hits a fast break layup to give Fowler a 5-2 lead.

Bath misses a three pointer from the corner. Aubri Torok gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds on a too fast break. Elizabeth Hufnagel ties up a Bath pass. The Possession Arrow interrupts its meeting with its Interior Decoration Committee long enough to award the ball to Fowler.

Anna Poppema steals the ball for Bath. Fowler executes a beautiful open court tackle to stop Bath’s fast break. Alas, the Basketball Powers that Be will only say that the great tackle is a “foul” and award the ball to Bath. Katie Spicer knocks the ball away from Bath and Elizabeth Hufnagel picks it up for Fowler. Izzy Halfmann hits a fast break layup, is fouled and hits her free throw to give Fowler an 8-2 lead with 3:55 to play in the opening quarter.

Bath is cited for a traveling violation. Fowler misfires on a triple try from the wing. Bath reciprocates and misfires on a triple try from the wing. Aubri Torok knocks the ball away from Fowler and Kassi Buck picks it up for Bath. Bath misses a threeball from the wing. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Paige Thelen hits a putback to give Fowler a 10-2 lead.

Katie Spicer steals the ball for Fowler. The Eagles miss a fast break layup. Fowler gets the offensive rebound, but misses a layup. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles and is fouled on a layup. She hits one of her two free throws to boost her Eagles to an 11-2 lead with 2:19 remaining in the quarter.

Anna Schaibly passes to Abby Smith, who hits a layup for Bath. Aubrie Schaibly steals a Fowler pass in the lane. Izzy Halfmann knocks the ball out of bounds; Bath retains possession. Aubri Torok is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 11-5 with 1:08 to go in the first quarter.

Aubri Torok steals the ball for the Bees. Bath loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses a layup. Bath misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Aubri Torok passes to Abby Smith, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Bath with just 4.3 seconds to play in the quarter. Fowler misses a thirty foot shot past the top of the key as the first quarter buzzer sounds.

After one quarter, Fowler has an 11-7 lead.

Bath inbounds the ball to start out the second quarter. The Bees miss a three point shot from the side. Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Bath gets the ball. Aubri Torok drives the lane and hits a layup for Bath. Fowler misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Brooke Weber grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler drives the baseline, but misses a layup. Paige Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for Fowler. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the wing.

Kassi Buck knocks the ball away from Fowler and Abby Smith picks it up for Bath. Paige Thelen nearly steals the ball for Fowler, but can’t keep the ball in bounds. Bath misses a layup. Aubrie Schaibly fights for the rebound and forces Fowler to lose it out of bounds. Aubrie Schaibly passes to Kassi Buck, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Bath. With 5:31 remaining in the first half, the game is tied at 11-11.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Grace O’Hare gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. Bath reciprocates and misfires on a threeball from the wing. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Bath misses a layup. Kaitlyn Dickey gets the offensive rebound for the Bees and hits a putback to put the Bees on top. Selena Stump hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for Fowler to tie the game at 13-13.

Katie Spicer ties up a Bath pass into the lane. The Possession Arrow polls its Ground Maintenance crew and decides to give the ball to Fowler. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. Bath misfires on a threeball from the side. Anna Poppema grabs the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup. Abby Smith hits a putback to give Bath a two point lead. Brooke Weber hits a three point shot from the wing to give Fowler a 16-15 lead.

Katie Spicer knocks the ball away from Bath, but the Bees recover. Elizabeth Hufnagel steals the ball for Fowler. The Eagles miss a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Bath gets the ball. Paige Thelen steals the ball for Fowler. Paige Thelen passes to Selena Stump, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for Fowler. Bath misses a three point shot from the wing. Kaitlyn Dickey gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Fowler has no time to shoot before the halftime buzzer makes its presence known.

Fowler has an 18-15 lead at halftime.

At halftime, Abby Smith has 6 points for Bath and Aubri Torok has 5 points.

Brooke Weber and Izzy Halfmann each have 6 points to lead Fowler.

As there is no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy these videos from my You Tube Channel.

“It’s Peaceful Here” is an original song where my friend, Mark Wilcox sings the lead vocal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=147XD8IvqA4

Trumpeter Extraordinaire John Rickert and I do an instrumental jam of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MxOus8t44

Bath inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. The Bees miss a three point shot from the side. Izzy Halfmann passes to Rebecca Smith, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws. Aubrie Schaibly goes coast to coast to hit a layup for Bath. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Bath misses a driving layup. Abby Smith ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is playing a game with its Croquet Committee, misses the play and awards the ball to Fowler. Abby Smith steals a Fowler pass. Aubri Torok hits a three point shot from the side to give Bath a 20-19 lead.

Aubrie Schaibly’s tough defense leads to a Fowler traveling violation. Elizabeth Hufnagel knocks a Bath pass out of bounds to stop a fast break; Bath retains possession. A foul before the shot negates a Bath layup. Bath gets another possession. The Bees miss a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Katie Spicer goes coast to coast with the rebound and hits a layup to give Fowler a 21-20 lead.

Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for Fowler. Aubri Torok steals the ball for Bath and hits a fast break layup to give Bath a one point lead. Kaitlyn Dickey blocks a Fowler triple try from the side. Bath misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Bath throws an outlet pass too far and it goes out of bounds after Katie Spicer successfully screens a Bath player away from the ball. Paige Thelen passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Fowler a 24-22 lead.

Selena Stump steals the ball for Fowler. Izzy Halfmann is fouled on a reverse layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost Fowler to a 25-22 lead with 2:43 left in quarter number three.

Fowler fouls on the rebound. Bath loses a pass out of bounds. Fowler misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw elbow; the rebound goes out of bounds and Bath takes possession. Aubrie Schaibly steals the ball for Bath. Rebecca Smith ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is frosting a cake for its Home Economics Committee, but takes the time to look up. It is impressed with Ms. Smith’s hustle and awards the ball to Fowler. Fowler misses a six footer off the dribble in the lane.

Izzy Halfmann gets the offensive rebound for Fowler. Fowler misses a three pointer near the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Bath misses a three point shot near the top of the key. Katie Spicer drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Aubri Torok is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Bath to trim the Fowler lead to 27-23 with 29.1 seconds to play in the quarter.

Fowler commits a traveling violation. Kassi Buck passes to Aubri Torok, who hits a three point shot just before the buzzer for Bath. Fowler only has time to inbound the ball before the buzzer goes off.

After three quarters, Fowler has a 27-26 lead.

Bath inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Bees miss a driving layup. Grace O’Hare passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Eagles. Anna Schaibly passes to Abby Smith, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for the Bees. With 6:56 to play in the game, Fowler’s lead is at 30-28.

Abby Smith blocks a Fowler layup. Bath misfires on a threeball from the side and fouls on the rebound. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Izzy Halfmann gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. Aubrie Schaibly drives and hits a layup for Bath to tie the game at 30-30.

Abby Smith steals the ball for Bath. Paige Thelen blocks a Bee fast break layup. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Aubri Torok is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Bath a 32-30 lead with 4:37 remaining in the game.

Kaitlyn Dickey knocks an Eagle pass out of bounds to prevent a layup. Fowler gets the ball back. Katie Spicer passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Fowler a one point lead. Bath misses a driving layup. Anna Poppema gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Aubri Torok is fouled on a shot and hits two free throws to give Bath a 34-33 lead with 3:47 left in the game.

Katie Spicer passes to Isabella Halfmann, who hits a reverse layup to put Fowler back on top by one point. Bath throws a pass out of bounds. Kassi Buck knocks the ball away from Fowler and Anna Schaibly grabs it for Bath. Izzy Halfmann stands tall in the lane and forces Bath to travel on a driving layup attempt.

Anna Schaibly gets her hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds; Fowler gets another possession. Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball back. Katie Spicer is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to give Fowler a 36-34 lead with 47.6 seconds left on the clock.

Grace O’Hare blocks a Bath layup; the ball goes out of bounds and Bath gets another chance. Bath misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Grace O’Hare is fouled on the rebound and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler to give the Eagles a 37-34 lead with just 20.8 seconds to go.

Bath misses a three point shot from the side. Kaitlyn Dickey gets the offensive rebound and passes to Anna Schaibly, who hits a three point shot from the side to tie the game with just a couple seconds left in regulation time. Fowler inbounds the ball and the buzzer sounds.

The game is tied at 37-37 and these teams will continue their battle for first place in the CMAC in overtime!!!

Fowler wins the opening tap. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the top of the key. Rebecca Smith pulls down the offensive rebound for Fowler. The Eagles miss a driving layup. Katie Spicer grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Izzy Halfmann drives and scoops in an eight foot shot in the lane to give Fowler a 39-37 lead.

Bath misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a layup. Rebecca Smith gets the offensive rebound for Fowler. Fowler misses a three point attempts from the side. Izzy Halfmann gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler runs some time off the clock. Grace O’Hare is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Grace O’Hare darts into the lane to pull down the offensive rebound for the Eagles as she is fouled. Grace O’Hare hits one of her two free throws to boost Fowler to a 41-37 lead with 1:01 remaining in overtime.

Aubri Torok drives and hits a layup for Bath. Katie Spicer is fouled and hits two free throws for Fowler. Aubrey Torok drives and hits another layup for Bath to trim the Fowler lead to two points. Bath plays ferocious defense on the inbound pass and forces Fowler to call time out to avoid losing the ball. Katie Spicer is fouled and hits two more free throws to give Fowler a 45-41 lead with 21.6 seconds left on the clock.

Bath misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Katie Spicer is fouled and hits one of her two free throws with twelve seconds left to push Fowler to a five point lead. Bath misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Time expires before either team can secure the rebound.

Fowler wins this CMAC game to determine who is in first place by a 46-41 score in overtime.

Bath’s Aubri Torok led all scorers with 22 points. Abby Smith supported her teammate with 8 points. Aubrie Schiably scored 4 points. Anna Schaibly had 3 points; she hit the big shot at the end of regulation time to tie the game. Kassi Buck and Kaitlyn Dickey each tallied 2 points.

Selena Stump had 13 points to lead Fowler’s scoring. Izzy Halfmann pitched in with 11 points. Katie Spicer joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points; these included five big free throws in overtime! Brooke Webber contributed 6 points. Grace O’Hare scored 3 points. Paige Thelen had 2 points and Rebecca Smith put in 1 point.