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

Tonight, the Fowler Eagles will compete with the Ishpeming Hematites to see who will advance to Saturday’s State Final game. Ishpeming enters this game with a 26-1 record while Fowler is at 24-3.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association provided statistics for these teams.

Fowler is in the state semifinals for the fifth year in a row. They won state titles in 2021 and 2022. The Eagles are rated Number 5 in the State. Katie Spicer averages 11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Eagles. Grace O’Hare averages 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds. Brooke Weber averages 7.6 points and has hit 50 three point baskets for the Eagles. Rebecca Smith averages 4.8 rebounds per game. Izzy Halfmann averages 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.

As I have covered many Eagle games, I also know that Fowler is very deep and has nine or ten people who can come in and defend well. Paige Thelen comes in to play in the post where she is an effective defender and rebounder. Ella Hufnagel is a ball of energy on defense and creates chaos for opposing offenses when she is in the game. The Eagles also have Selena Stump and Kelcie Pung, who can get hot from the three point line.

Ishpeming’s only loss this season is to Division 2 semifinalist Negaunee. (And Negaunee’s only loss is to Ishpeming.)

The Hematites are led by Sophomore Janessa Eagle, who scores 16 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.8 steals. She has hit 63 three point baskets this year. Jenna Maaki averages 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.5 steals. Mya Hemmer averages 10.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.1 steals as well as 1.4 blocked shots per game. Addie Morton averages 5.8 points and 4.6 rebounds.

The Hematites have a lot of height as Mya Hemmer is 6-1; Jenna Maki and Addie Morton are both 5-10.

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the hopefully clear glasses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the ancient times. While many people criticized the Bleacher Denizen’s jumping ability, in my defense, I’ll point out that few people were able to leap well (much less dunk) in the armor that was part of our basketball uniforms in those days.

Ishpeming wins the opening tap. The Hematites misfire on a threeball from the wing. Jenna Maki gets the offensive rebound for Ishpeming. The Hematites miss a layup. A Fowler dribbler steps on the sideline. Jenna Maki passes to Jenessa Eagle, who hits a three point shot from the side to give the Hematites a 3-0 lead.

Fowler misfires on a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Ishpeming takes possession. The Hematites fumble a pass out of bounds. Kadie Kaukola knocks the Eagle inbound pass out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. The Eagles miss a three pointer from the corner. Jenna Maki goes goes coast to coast to make a layup for Ishpeming. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to give the Hematites a 6-0 lead with 6:30 left in the opening quarter.

Katie Spicer is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws to give Fowler its first two points. Grace O’Hare knocks the ball away from Ishpeming and Ella Hufnagel dives to secure the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Jenessa Eagle hits a fast break layup to give Ishpeming an 8-2 lead.

Kadie Kaukola and Mya Hemmer team up to knock the ball away from Fowler and out of bounds. The Hematites take possession. Ishpeming takes more than the required five seconds to inbound the ball and turns it over. Grace O’Hare alertly reacts to save a loose ball and prevent an Eagle turnover. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Rebecca Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles and passes to Grace O’Hare, who hits an eight foot shot from the side to trim the Hematite lead to 8-4.

Jenna Maki hits a layup for Ishpeming. Fowler turns the ball over against the suffocating Hematite press. Jenessa Eagle hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side for Ishpeming. Jenna Maki steals the ball for the Hematites. Ishpeming misses a fast break layup. Ishpeming is fouled on a putback, but misses two free throws. Lilly Swanson pulls down the offensive rebound for Ishpeming. Jenessa Eagle inbounds to Jenna Maki, who is cutting to the basket and hits a layup to push Ishpeming to a 14-4 lead.

Fowler commits a traveling violation. Ishpeming misses a three point shot from the wing. Lilly Swanson gets the offensive rebound for the Hematites. Ishpeming misses a layup. Lilly Swanson gets another offensive rebound for the Hematites. Addison Morton passes to Jenna Maki, ho hits an eight foot shot from the side to give Ishpeming a 16-4 lead.

Katie Spicer drives and hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side for Fowler. Addison Morton makes a twelve footer from the side of the lane for Ishpeming. Kadie Kaukola steals the ball for the Hematites. Katie Spicer blocks an Ishpeming fast break layup. The loose ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow looks up from its soap opera and awards the ball to Fowler.

Kadie Kaukola gets her hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds; Ishpeming takes possession. Lilly Swanson passes to Mya Hemmer, who hits a layup for the Hematites. Fowler misses a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the side. Rebecca Smith pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Brooke Weber gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles.

Mya Hemmer knocks the ball away from Fowler, but the Eagles recover. Mya Hemmer steals the ball for the Hematites. Jenna Maki passes to Jenessa Eagle, who hits a three point shot from the side for Ishpeming. Fowler is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 1:24 left in the opening quarter, Ishpeming has a 23-6 lead.

Ishpeming misses a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane. Mya Hemmer grabs the offensive rebound for the Hematites. Ishpeming misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Hematites get another opportunity. Ishpeming misses an eight foot turnaround shot from the side of the lane. Peyton Kakkuri steals the ball for the Hematites.

Ishpeming is whistled for a traveling violation. Mya Hemmer steals the ball for Ishpeming. Selena Stump steals the ball for Fowler. Mya Hemmer knocks the ball away from Fowler and Lilly Swanson picks it up for Ishpeming. Ishpeming misfires on a threeball from the wing as the first quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After one quarter, Ishpeming has a 23-6 lead.

Ishpeming inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. The Hematites are whistled for carrying the ball. Fowler fumbles a ball out of bounds to foil a fast break. Grace O’Hare and Izzy Halfmann team up to knock the ball out of bounds; Ishpeming gets the ball back. Mya Hemmer drives and hits a layup to push the Hematite lead to 25-6.

Grace O’Hare passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fowler. Ishpeming misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Jenna Maki steals the ball for the Hematites and hits a fast break layup. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Rebecca Smith ties the ball up for the Eagles; the Possession Arrow looks up from its Kardashian reality episode and awards the ball to the Eagles. Grace O’Hare passes to Selena Stump, who hits a layup to trim the Ishpeming lead to 27-11.

Ishpeming misses a jump shot. Mya Hemmer hits a putback for the Hematites. Jenessa Eagle knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler fails to inbound the ball in the required five seconds and turns it over.

Ishpeming misses a driving layup. Fowler reciprocates and misses a driving layup. Ishpeming misses a threeball from the corner. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Katie Spicer steals the Hematite outlet pass. She passes to Ella Hufnagel, who hits a fast break layup for Fowler and is fouled on the play. She makes her free throw to shave the Ishpeming lead to 29-14 with 4:31 remaining in the second period.

Jenna Maki is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for Ishpeming. Izzy Halfmann passes to Ella Hufnagel, who hits a three point shot from the wing to cut the Hematite lead to 29-17.

Izzy Halfmann gets her hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds. Ishpeming retains possession. Ishpeming misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the side. Ishpeming misses a ten foot jumper off the dribble from the side. Fowler loses a pass out of bounds. Ishpeming misses a sixteen foot shot off the dribble from the corner.

Payton Manninen steals the ball for Ishpeming. The Hematites misfire on a threeball from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and Ishpeming gets another opportunity. Jenessa Eagle passes to Jenna Maki, who hits a layup for Ishpeming. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to give her Hematites a 33-17 lead with 2:47 remaining in the first half.

Lilly Swanson blocks a Fowler layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Jenna Maki steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits her two free throws and with 2:05 to play in the opening half, Ishpeming has a 35-17 lead.

Fowler misses a driving six foot shot in the lane. Payton Manninen passes to Jenna Maki, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Ishpeming. Fowler is assessed with a traveling violation. Jenna Maki drives and hits a layup for Ishpeming. Payton Manninen knocks the ball away from Fowler and Mya Hemmer grabs it for Ishpeming. Mya Hemmer hits a fast break layup to give Ishpeming a 42-17 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Katie Spicer gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Ella Hufnagel gets her hand on the ball and Ishpeming calls timeout to avoid a turnover. The Hematites commit an offensive foul. Fowler misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Izzy Halfmann hits a putback for the Eagles. Ishpeming misses a forty foot heave at the buzzer.

(OK, actually she was throwing the ball at the basket when the buzzer sounded. Basketball cliches can be interesting in the hands of a mere Bleacher Denizen.)

Ishpeming has a 42-19 lead at halftime.

Ella Hufnagel has 6 points and Selena Stump has 5 points to lead the Fowler scoring at halftime.

Jenna Maki has 22 points for Ishpeming. Jenessa Eagle has 10 points and Mya Hemmer has 8 points.

Ishpeming inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Katie Spicer knocks the ball out of bounds; the Hematites retain possession. Grace O’Hare’s tight defense causes Ishpeming to lose the ball out of bounds. Jenna Maki knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler misses an eight footer from the side of the lane. The rebound is tied up and the Possession Arrow looks up from the commercial. It is impressed with Fowler’s hustle and awards the ball to the Eagles.

Jenna Maki gets her hand on the ball; Fowler is able to recover. The Eagles miss a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Ishpeming misfires on a threeball from the side. Kadie Kaukola steals the ball for the Hematites. Ishpeming throws a pass out of bounds. Jenessa Eagle steals the ball for Ishpeming and hits a fast break layup to give her team a 44-19 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Izzy Halfmann snares the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the corner. Ishpeming fouls on the rebound. Fowler misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Ishpeming misses a driving layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Addison Morton knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Izzy Halfmann passes to Ella Hufnagel, who is fouled on an eight foot shot in the lane and hits two free throws to trim the Hematite lead to 44-21 with 4:57 to play in quarter number three.

Jenessa Eagle passes to Jenna Maki, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for the Hematites. Ella Hufnagel passes to Paige Thelen, who hits a layup for Fowler. Ishpeming misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball. Mya Hemmer knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler gets another opportunity. The ball gets away from Fowler and hits the Bleacher Denizen’s laptop. Unfortunately, neither I nor the laptop are in bounds, but fortunately, the referee rules the Ishpeming touched the ball last and Fowler gets it back.

Mya Hemmer ties the ball up. The Possession Arrow and its TV crew look up from their Three Stooges rerun; they are impressed with Ms. Hemmer’s aggressive defense and award the ball to Ishpeming. Jenna Maki hits a layup for ishpeming. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 4:19 to play in the third quarter, Ishpeming has a 47-23 lead.

Katie Spicer dives and saves the ball to prevent a Fowler turnover. Fowler is assessed with a traveling violation. Ishpeming misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Kadie Kaukola forces and Eagle dribbler to step out of bounds. Ishpeming misses a three pointer from the corner. Mya Hemmer blocks a Fowler six foot shot in the lane. Jenessa Eagle picks up the loose ball and hits a layup on the other end for the Hematites to give her team a 49-23 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Ella Hufnagel gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. She passes to Paige Thelen, who is fouled on a layup. Paige Thelen hits one of her two free throws to shave the Hematite lead to 49-24 with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter.

Rebecca Smith gets her hand on the ball to prevent and Ishpeming layup and knocks it out of bounds. Ishpeming gets another possession. Jenna Maki hits a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane for Ishpeming. Jenessa Eagle steals the ball and passes to Lilly Swanson, who hits a fast break layup for Ishpeming. Jenessa Eagle steals the ball for the Hematites. Ishpeming misses a fast break layup. Payton Manninen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Hematites. Jenna Maki drives and hits a layup to give Ishpeming a 55-24 lead.

Fowler turns the ball over. Lilly Swanson drives into the lane and hits a ten foot turnaround jump shot for Ishpeming. Brooke Weber passes to Grace O’Hare, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Fowler. Lilly Swanson passes to Payton Manninen, who hits a three point shot near the top of the key for Ishpeming. Fowler misses a driving layup. Ishpeming misses a long heave as the third quarter buzzer announces its presence.

After three quarters, Ishpeming has a 60-27 lead.

Fowler has the ball to open the fourth quarter. Izzy Halfmann passes to Kelcie Pung, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Eagles. Ishpeming misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the side. Kelcie Pung grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses an eight foot shot from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and Ishpeming takes possession.

Grace O’Hare dives and steals the ball for the Eagles. Payton Manninen knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Izzy Halfmann is fouled on a driving layup. She hits one of her two free throws. With 6:22 left on the clock, the Ishpeming lead is at 60-31.

Izzy Halfmann and Grace O’Hare team up to force an Ishpeming traveling violation. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Katie Spicer gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Jenna Maki drives and dishes the ball to Kaitlyn Van Deuren, who hits a layup for Ishpeming. Katie Spicer drives from the side and scoops in an eight foot shot for Fowler. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 5:31 to go, Ishpeming has a 62-33 lead.

Grace O’Hare rebounds the missed free throw for the Eagles. Jenna Maki steals the ball for Ishpeming and is fouled on a fast break layup. she hits one of her two free throws. Kaitlyn Van Deuren ties up the rebound for Ishpeming. The Possession Arrow is watching a Hallmark tearjerker, but has one eye on the game. She is impressed with the hustle and awards the ball to Ishpeming. Paige Thelen nearly steals the ball for Fowler, but Laynie Korpi hustles into the back court to save the ball for Ishpeming. Paige Thelen steals the ball for Fowler. The Eagles are fouled on a fast break layup, but miss two free throws. With 4:53 left in the game, Ishpeming has a 63-33 lead.

Paige Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Ishpeming loses a pass out of bounds. Katie Spicer drives and scoops in a six foot banked shot for Fowler. Ella Hufnagel steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler throws its outlet pass to far and it goes out of bounds. Ishpeming misses a three pointer from the side. Katie Spicer passes to Kelcie Pung, who hits a three point shot from the corner to trim the Fowler lead to 63-38.

Ishpeming misses a three point shot from the side. Kaitlyn Van Deuren steals a Fowler pass to foil an Eagle fast break. Laynie Korpi passes to Peyton Kakkuri, who hits a three point shot from the side for Ishpeming. Fowler is fouled, but misses two free throws. With 2:28 remaining, Ishpeming has a 66-38 lead.

Ishpeming misses a threeball from the side. Fowler throws its outlet pass too far and out of bounds. Laynie Korpi passes to Journey Comment, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Escanaba. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Journey Comment passes to Payton Manninen, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give Ishpeming a 72-38 lead.

Fowler misfires on a three pointer near the top of the key. Saige Miller hits a putback for the Eagles. Payton Manninen passes to Journey Comment, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Ishpeming. Fowler misses a layup. Ishpeming runs out the clock.

Ishpeming wins this semifinal game by the score of 75-40. They will play Kingston in the state final Saturday morning at 9 AM.

Katie Spicer and Ella Hufnagel each had 8 points to lead Fowler’s scoring. Kelcie Pung supported her teammates with 6 points. Grace O’Hare and Selena Stump each added 5 points. Izzy Halfmann and Paige Thelen each put in 3 points. Saige Miller tallied 2 points.

Jenna Maki was on fire and scored 30 points for Ishpeming. Jenessa Eagle joined her teammate in double figures with 14 points. Mya Hemmer chipped in with 8 points. Payton Manninen and Journey Comment each tossed in 6 points. Lilly Swanson contributed 4 points. Payton Kakkuri added 3 points. Addison Morton and Kaitlyn Van Deuren each notched 2 points.

Kingston and Frankfort played in the evening’s second semifinal game. Here is the play by play of that game for those who are interested!! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/03/22/frankfort-vs-kingston-mhsaa-division-4-girls-basketball-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-21-2024-by-chuck-krafft/