Frankfort vs. Kingston – – MHSAA Division 4 Girls Basketball Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 21, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

In Thursday’s last game of the night, the Frankfort Panthers will square off against the Kingston Cardinals. Kingston enters the game with a 26-1 record while Frankfort is at 22-5.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association has provided some statistical and other background information about these teams.

Frankfort is rated Number 23 in the state. Evelyn VanTol is a 5-11 senior post player who averages 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Savina Anhalt is also 5-11 and averages 11.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.8 steals and 2.9 blocks per game. Addison Jarosz is 5-10 and scores 10.1 points per game to go along with 3.4 steals. Kylee Harris scores 7.5 points per game.

Kingston is rated Number 4 in the state; its only loss is to Division 2 Quarterfinalist Goodrich.

Kingston is led by 1000 point scorer Delaney St. Goerge, who averages 16.2 points per game to go along with 3.0 assists. She has hit 84 three point shots this year. Molly Walker scores 13 points per game as well as 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.3 steals. Gracy Walker averages 7.8 points and 5.7 assists. Abby Walker averages 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Gracy and Abby Walker are senior twins; sophomore Molly is their sister.

I have seen Kingston play a couple times this year, so I also know that Zoe van Rijn and Keira McGarvie split time in the post where they are extremely effective defenders and rebounders. Chesaney Wenzlaff is usually the first player off the bench on the perimeter.

It is now time to report the events of this game through the hopefully accurate 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! Alas, he destroyed way too many peach baskets with the bricks he heaved at them in the ancient days when your Bleacher Denizen was considered to be “young.” The team simply could not afford to carry him on the roster.

Kingston wins the opening tap as Abby Walker wrests the ball away from a Panther opponent. The Cardinals miss a threeball from the wing. Frankfort reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Evelyn Van Tol steals the ball for the Panthers. Abby Walker steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston misfires on a triple try from the top of the key.

Zoe van Rijn dives and ties up the ball in the lane. The Possession Arrow is watching “the Price is Right” and misses the play; the ball is awarded to Frankfort. Savina Anhalt passes to Evelyn Van Tol, who hits a layup to give the Panthers the first two points of the game.

Kingston misses a layup. Zoe van Rijn pulls down the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Savina Anhalt draws an offensive foul from the Cardinals. Kylee Harris drives and hits a layup to give Frankfort a 4-0 lead.

Kingston misses a layup. Zoe van Rijn gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Gracy Walker gets the offensive rebound for Kingston. Kingston misses a layup. Savina Anhalt hits a short jump shot in the lane to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead.

Evelyn Van Tol gets her hand on a Kingston pass into the lane and Kylee Harris picks it up for Frankfort. Gracy Walker knocks the ball away from the Panthers and Delaney St. George picks it up for the Cardinals. Willa Roth chases down a Cardinal dribbler from behind and knocks the ball out of bounds to prevent a fast break layup; Kingston retains possession. Molly Walker drives and hits a layup for Kingston. Kylee Harris drives and hits a layup for Frankfort. Gracy Walker passes to her twin sister Abby Walker, who hits a layup to cut the Frankfort lead to 8-4.

Abby Walker steals the ball for Kingston. The Cardinals miss a layup. Molly Walker snags the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a fifteen footer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Frankfort gets the ball. Gracy Walker knocks a Frankfort pass out of bounds to prevent a layup; the Panthers retain possession. Frankfort misses a threeball from the side. Keira McGarvie passes to Molly Walker, who throws in a threeball from the side to trim the Panther lead down to 8-7.

Frankfort misses a threeball from the top of the key. Kingston misses a driving layup. The rebound is tied up. The “Price is Right is in a commercial, so the Possession Arrow sees the play and awards the ball to Kingston. The Cardinals misfire on a threeball from the corner. Abby Walker hits a putback to give the Cardinals a 9-8 lead.

Kylee Harris passes to Addison Jarosz, who hits a layup for the Panthers to retake the lead. Savina Anhalt blocks a Kingston layup and takes the ball coast to coast. She hits a layup to boost Frankfort to a 12-9 lead.

Abby Walker is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Kingston with just 48 seconds to play in the first quarter. Abby Walker knocks the ball away from Frankfort, but the Panthers are able to recover. Frankfort misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Panthers get another opportunity. Frankfort misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Addison Jarosz steals the ball for the Panthers. Frankfort misses a fast break layup as the first quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After one quarter, Frankfort has a 12-11 lead.

Kingston inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Cardinals are assessed with a traveling violation. Frankfort misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Gracy Walker drives and hits a layup to give Kingston a one point lead. Molly Walker steals the ball and hits a layup for the Cardinals. As the three Walker sisters have scored all of Kingston’s points thus far, the score is now Walkers 15 Frankfort 12.

Frankfort misses a driving layup. A Kingston dribbler loses her balance and travels. Molly Walker knocks the ball away from Frankfort and the Panthers loses the ball out of bounds. Kingston misses a driving layup. Molly Walker is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to make the score Walkers 17 Frankfort 12 with 5:39 remaining in the quarter.

Frankfort misses a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker steals the ball and passes to Molly Walker, who hits a fast break layup for the Cardinals. Frankfort misses an eight foot shot from the side. Molly Walker passes to Abby Walker, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to make the score Walkers 21 Frankfort 12 with 4:18 to play in the first half.

Gracy Walker steals a Frankfort pass and takes the ball coast to coast for a Kingston layup. Delaney St. George steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give Kingston is first “non-Walker” points. The Cardinals lead 25-12.

Abby Walker ties up the Frankfort inbound pass. The Possession Arrow is in the middle of changing channels; it misses the play and awards the ball to the Panthers. Kylee Harris spins and drives in for a layup that breaks a fourteen point Kingston scoring run and trims the Cardinal lead to 25-14.

Evelyn Van Tol steals the ball for the Panthers. Frankfort misses a twelve foot banked hook shot. Molly Walker is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to extend the Kingston lead to 27-14 with 2:12 left on the first half clock.

Abby Walker steals a Frankfort pass. Gracy Walker passes the ball to Delaney St. George, who throws in a threeball from the wing for Kingston. Molly Walker steals Frankfort’s inbound pass. Kingston loses the ball out of bounds. Frankfort misses a layup. Delaney St. George is fouled and sinks two free throws to push Kingston to a 32-14 lead with 58.2 seconds to go in the quarter.

Frankfort throws a pass out of bounds. Delaney St. George passes to Zoe van Rijn, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. She is fouled on the shot and hits her free throw to give her Cardinals a 35-14 lead with 10.4 seconds to play in the period.

Kylee Harris drives and dishes the ball to Ella Sweeney, who hits a layup for Frankfort just before the second quarter buzzer puts an end to things.

Kingston will take a 35-16 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Bleacher Denizen makes a silent wager that Kingston will also have this lead as the third quarter begins.

Kylee Harris has 6 points and Savina Anhalt 4 points to lead the Frankfort scoring at halftime.

Molly Walker has 13 points for Kingston; her sister Abby Walker has 8 points and Delaney St. George has 7 points. (When you add in 4 points for Gracy Walker, the Walker sisters have 25 of Kingston’s 35 points.)

The Bleacher Denizen glances at the scoreboard at the start of the third quarter and notes that the score is still indeed 35-16. It amazes me how basketball officials and scoring desk personnel accomplish this so consistently!!

Kingston has the ball to open the third quarter. Gracy Walker ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s wide-eyed amazement at the score and passes to Delaney St. George, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. Frankfort misses a layup. Kingston misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Frankfort takes possession. Savina Anhalt passes to Evelyn Van Tol, who is fouled on a layup and makes two free throws to shave the Cardinal lead to 37-18 with 7:01 to play in the third quarter.

Abby Walker passes to Molly Walker, who throws in a threeball from the side for the Cardinals. Kylee Harris drives and is fouled on an eight foot shot in the lane. She hits two free throws for Frankfort to cut the Cardinal lead to 40-20 with 6:23 to go in the third quarter.

Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misfires on a triple try from the wing. Zoe van Rijn pulls down the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Molly Walker drives and hits a layup for Kingston. Willa Roth passes to Evelyn Van Tol, who hits a layup for the Panthers. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 3:36 remaining in quarter number three, the Kingston lead is at 42-22.

Savina Anhalt knocks the ball out of bounds; Kingston retains possession. Kingston is whistled for a traveling violation. Kylee Harris passes to Savina Anhalt, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Frankfort. Kingston misses a layup. Keira McGarvie gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 3:55 left in the third quarter, Kingston has a 42-25 lead.

Keira McGarvie gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Savina Anhalt blocks a Cardinal driving hook/layup. Molly Walker steals the ball for Kingston. The Cardinals miss a fast break layup. Frankfort throws a pass out of bounds. Molly Walker is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to boost the Cardinal lead to 44-25 with 2:36 to play in the quarter.

Frankfort misses a driving six foot runner. Delaney St. George passes to Abby Walker, who hits a fast break layup for Kingston. Frankfort misses a driving eight foot banked hook shot and fouls on the rebound. Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Frankfort takes possession.

The Panthers miss a layup. Addison Jarosz steals the ball for Frankfort. The Panthers misfire on a threeball from the side. Delaney St. George passes to Keira McGarvie, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. Frankfort misses a driving six footer from the side of the lane. Kingston misses a long heave as the third quarter comes to a close.

With three quarters in the books, Kingston holds a 48-25 lead.

Kingston inbounds the ball to get the final quarter started. The Cardinals miss a layup. Zoe van Rijn gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Zoe van Rijn saves the ball to prevent a Kingston turnover. The Cardinals miss a layup. Kylee Harris passes to Addison Jarosz, who hits a layup to trim the Kingston lead to 48-27.

Savina Anhalt blocks a Kingston layup, but the Cardinals recover the loose ball. Gracy Walker drives and hits a five foot hook shot for Kingston. Delaney St. George harasses a Panther ball handler into losing the ball out of bounds. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. Frankfort is assessed with a traveling violation. Zoe van Rijn passes to Molly Walker, who hits a layup to give her Cardinals a 52-27 lead.

Molly Walker gets her hand on the ball, but Frankfort is able to recover. The Panthers miss a three point shot from the top of the key. Kingston misses a layup. Molly Walker gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Savina Anhalt passes to Evelyn Van Tol, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for the Panthers. With 4:22 left on the clock, Kingston has a 52-29 lead.

Evelyn Van Tol forces Kingston to lose the ball out of bounds. Frankfort misses a layup. Kylee Harris gets the offensive rebound for the Panthers. Frankfort misses a ten footer in the lane. The rebound goes out of bounds and Kingston takes possession. Gracy Walker drives and scoops in a layup to push the Cardinals to a 54-29 lead.

Abby Walker knocks the ball away from Frankfort, but the Panthers are able to recover. Gracy Walker taps the ball away from the Panthers and Molly Walker picks it up for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker knocks the ball out of bounds; Frankfort retains possession. Willa Roth drives and hits a layup for Frankfort to shave the Cardinal lead to 54-31.

Kingston misses a layup. Kylee Harris passes to Savina Anholt, who hits a layup for the Panthers. Abby Walker passes to Delaney St. Goerge, who hits a layup to give Kingston a 56-33 lead.

Both teams bring in their substitutes. Frankfort turns the ball over. Kingston runs out the clock.

Kingston wins the game by the final score of 56-33 and will play Ishpeming in Saturday morning’s Division 4 Final.

Savina Anhalt scored 9 points to lead the Frankfort scoring. Evelyn Van Tol and Kylee Harris each put in 8 points. Addison Jarosz contributed 4 points. Willa Roth and Ella Sweeney each tallied 2 points.

Molly Walker led the Kingston scoring with 22 points. Delaney St. George supported her teammate with 11 points. Abby Walker joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points. Gracy Walker chipped in with 8 points. Zoe van Rijn scored 3 points and Keira McGarvie notched 2 points.

Ishpeming won the first semifinal game of the evening. Here is a play by play of that game for those of you who are interested! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/03/22/ishpeming-vs-fowler-mhsaa-division-4-girls-basketball-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-21-2024-by-chuck-krafft/