Perry at Potterville – – CMAC Girls Basketball Co-Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 9, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, your Bleacher Denizen is heading out to Potterville to write up the CMAC Girls Co-Game of the Week. (Your Bleacher Denizen also covered Lansing Christian at St. Patrick this week. I have requested a ruling from the Internet Commission that regulates the naming of blog articles, but they have not decided yet, so I will continue with the “Co-Game” thing.)

The Potterville Vikings enter this game with a 0-5 record in the CMAC, but their schedule has run them through five of the best teams in the league. (They are also 0-5 overall.) Perry’s Ramblers are 1-4 in the CMAC and 3-4 overall.

Abigail Cochrane is a high energy defender who gets a lot of steals and turns them into layups. She can also score on slashes to the basket and make shots from the three point line. Ruby Simon scores well on drives to the basket and can also hit the three point shot. Addyson Lampron is a solid point guard who runs the offense well and is a tough perimeter defender.

Teagan Hallock brings a strong basketball IQ to the Ramblers. She is a good passer and shooter. Sara Austin is long and athletic; she uses this to be a formidable defensive player. Maddie Koeckner is a good shooter. Ava O’Connor is quick and tough on her perimeter defense; she also shoots well. Hannah Kelly is able to defend either in the post or on the perimeter.

Potterville Coach Al Adams provided me with this information about his Viking players.

Emily Cates is a fine ball handler who can score on slashes to the basket or from the three point line. Aubrey Gasch has an excellent three point shot. Kyra Marciniak is a fine post rebounder and defender who gets a lot of points on putbacks. Autumn Reynolds is a fierce perimeter defender. Kayla Blake and Gracie Gurd are long athletic, versatile players who provide solid defense at any position. T.J. Uhl defends and rebounds well in the post. Emalee Scott is an active perimeter defender.

I got to the JV game just before halftime. Potterville had a 7-4 halftime lead. The teams each scored 4 points in the third quarter, so Potterville had an 11-8 lead entering the final quarter.

Stella Robers hit a layup with about 4:15 to go to bring Perry within one point at 14-13. Shortly after that, Madison Jenkins hit a putback to give Perry a 15-14 lead. Ava O’Connor was fouled and hit two free throws to boost the Rambler JVs to a 17-14 lead with 3:14 to go.

Potterville pulled within one point when Ines Muller stole the ball and hit a layup with about two minutes left. Peyton Leykauf hit a layup with 30 seconds left to give Perry a three point margin that held up the rest of the way. Perry won the JV game 19-16.

Ines Muller led the Potterville scoring with 6 points. Khloe Bustillos and Kendall Lienerth each added 4 points. Alexa Rogers and Crystal Weaver each tallied 1 point.

Ava O’Connor led the victorious Perry JVs with 6 points. Madison Jenkins, Ryleigh Allen and Ava Positano each added 3 points. Peyton Leykauf and Stella Roberts each scored 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally clear 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. He was never able to understand why his boss at the bakery loved it when he made turnovers, but his basketball coach was upset when he did the same thing. Alas, the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time steadily decreased.

Potterville wins the opening tap and Emily Cates hits a fast break layup for the Vikings just seconds after the tip off. Abigail Cochrane responds with a three point field goal from the side for Perry. Potterville misse a three point shot from the side. Emily Cates grabs the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. There would not be much of an event if she didn’t have the ball while traveling.)

Perry misses a jump shot. Abigail Cochrane knocks the ball out of bounds; Potterville retains possession. Potterville misses a threeball from the side. The offensive rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets another opportunity. Abigail Cochrane steals the ball for Perry. The Ramblers misfire on a triple try from the corner, but get the offensive rebound. Autumn Reynolds steals the ball for Potterville and Kyra Marciniak hits a fast break layup to give the Vikings a 4-3 lead.

Autumn Reynolds dives and ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is tending to its huge ball of string and misses the play; it ignores Ms. Reynolds’ fine defense and awards the ball to Perry. Perry quickly travels. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Sara Austin is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give Perry a 5-4 lead with 4:48 to play in the opening quarter.

Potterville misses a driving reverse layup. Kyra Marciniak snares the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. Abigail Cochrane passes to Sara Austin, who hits a layup for the Ramblers. Aubrey Gasch throws in a threeball from the top of the key for Potterville to tie the game at 7-7.

Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville is assessed with a traveling violation. Kyra Marciniak gets her hand on the ball and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow stops dealing with a broken piece of string long enough to award the ball to Potterville. The Vikings misfire on a threeball from the side. Kyra Marciniak hits a putback to give Potterville a 9-7 lead.

Aubrey Gasch steals the ball for Potterville. Potterville commits a traveling violation. Perry misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Ramblers get another possession. Perry misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets the ball. Emily Cates passes to T.J. Uhl, who hits a layup to give Potterville an 11-7 lead.

Aubrey Gasch steals a Rambler pass. Potterville misses an eight foot shot from the sideline. Perry misfires on a triple try from the side. Potterville reciprocates and misfires on a triple try from the side. Kyra Marciniak is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost the Viking lead to 12-7 with 29.4 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

Kyra Marciniak gets the offensive rebound for Potterville. Sara Austin blocks a Potterville shot. Abigail Cochrane picks up the loose ball for Perry. The Ramblers miss a fast break layup. Potterville commits a three second (in the lane) violation. Perry misses a twelve footer from the side as the Buzzer of First Quarter Present decides it is time to end the quarter.

Perry inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville misses a fast break layup. Emily Cates pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Emily Cates blocks a Perry ten foot shot from the side and takes the ball coast to coast for a layup that gives Potterville a 14-7 lead.

Perry misses a three pointer from the wing. Hannah Kelly steals the ball for the Ramblers. Kyra Marciniak blocks a Perry eight foot shot in the lane. Potterville misfires on a threeball from the corner. Perry misses a threeball from the wing. Potterville misses a threeball from the side. Kayla Blake’s hustling defense causes Perry to lose the ball out of bounds. Emily Cates passes to Kyra Marciniak, who is fouled as she shoots a layup. Kyra Marciniak hits two free throws to boost the Potterville lead to 16-7 with 5:45 to play in the second quarter.

Kayla Blake knocks the ball away from Perry, but the Ramblers are able to recover. Perry misses a layup. Potterville drives the baseline and misses a layup. Perry missers a three point shot from the side. Potterville misses a fourteen foot shot from the side. Kyra Marciniak is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws. With 4:37 to go in the opening half, Potterville has a 17-7 lead.

Perry misses an eight foot shot from the baseline. Addyson Lampron knocks the ball away from Potterville and Madison Kloeckner picks it up for Perry. Ruby Simon is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws for Perry. Potterville throws a pass out of bounds. Emily Cates ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is fixing dinner after a long day of working with her ball of string; it does manage to see the play and awards the ball to Potterville to reward Ms. Cates for her hustling defense. Emily Cates drives and dishes the ball to Aubrey Gasch, who hits a layup to boost the Potterville lead to 19-9.

Perry misses a driving reverse layup. Aubrey Gasch passes to Emily Cates, who hits a three pointer from the corner to give Potterville a 22-9 lead.

Perry misses a jump shot. Hannah Kelly gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a layup. Abigail Cochrane knocks the ball away from Potterville and out of bounds; Perry gets the ball. Abigail Cochrane throws in a threeball from the side for Perry. Potterville msises a three point shot from the side. Kyra Marciniak gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. Addyson Lampron is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to trim the Potterville lead to 22-14 with 1:28 remaining in the second quarter.

Kyra Marciniak passes to T.J. Uhl, who hits a layup for the Vikings. Aubrey Gasch knocks the ball away from Perry. Emily Cates picks it up for Potterville and hits a layup to give the Vikings a 26-14 lead.

Perry misses a three point shot from the corner. Abigail Cochrane is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws for Perry. Ruby Simon steals the ball for the Ramblers. Perry misses a fast break layup. Abigail Cochrane pulls down the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a layup. Addyson Lampron grabs the offensive rebound for the Ramblers and passes the ball out to Abigail Cochran, who hits a threeball from the side to cut the Potterville lead to 26-18.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the wing. T.J. Uhl gets the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. Ruby Simon passes to Hannah Kelly, who hits a jump shot from the free throw line for Perry as the second quarter buzzer announces that it is time to take a break.

At halftime, Potterville has a 26-20 lead.

Abigail Cochrane has 10 points for Perry and Sara Austin has 4.

Emily Cates leads the Potterville halftime scoring with 9 points. Kyra Marciniak has 8 points and Aubrey Gasch has 5 points.

Perry inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Ramblers miss a threeball from the wing. The Vikings reciprocate and miss a threeball from the wing. Abigail Cochrane drives and hits a six foot shot from the side for Perry. Abigail Cochran steals the ball for the Ramblers. Addyson Lampron passes to Abigail Cochran, who hits a fast break layup to chop the Viking lead to 26-24.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry gets the ball. Emily Cates steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Potterville. Kayla Blake knocks the ball away from Perry and Emily Cates picks it up for Potterville. Potterville misses a layup. Aubrey Gasch steals the ball for Perry. Potterville misses a six foot banked shot from the baseline. Kayla Blake’s tight defense forces Perry to throw a bad pass that leads to an over and back violation.

Abigail Cochrane returns the favor by playing tough defense that causes a Viking traveling violation. Gracie Gurd steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville loses the ball out of bounds on a too fast break. Gracie Gurd blocks a Perry layup. Abigail Cochrane steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Perry to cut the Potterville lead to 28-26.

Potterville misfires on a three point attempt from the side. Autumn Reynolds snares the offensive rebound for the Vikings as she is fouled. Potterville misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Kyra Marciniak pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. Autumn Reynolds’ tight defense forces a Perry traveling violation. Ruby Simon steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Perry. The game is now tied at 28-28.

Potterville misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Perry misses a reverse layup. Potterville misses a fast break layup. Aubrey Gasch gets the offensive rebound for Potterville. Perry knocks a Potterville pass out of bounds; but the Vikings get the ball back. Potterville misses a jump shot. Kyra Marciniak pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry gets the ball.

Perry misses a three point shot from the side. Potterville misses a driving layup. Perry misses a layup. Potterville misses a three point shot from the corner. Gracie Gurd runs down the long offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a three pointer from the corner. Kyra Marciniak grabs the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. T.J. Uhl steals the ball for Potterville. Aubrey Gasch hits a fast break layup to return the lead to the Vikings at 30-28.

Perry misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Kyra Marciniak passes to Aubrey Gasch, who hits a three point shot form the corner for Potterville just before the third quarter buzzer provides its input.

With three quarters in the books, Potterville has a 33-28 lead.

Potterville has the ball to start out the fourth quarter. The Vikings miss a three point shot from the wing. Sara Austin blocks a Potterville putback. Perry misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Emily Cates passes to Aubrey Gasch, who sinks a threeball from the corner to boost the Potterville lead to 36-28.

Ruby Simon drives and banks in an eight foot shot from the side for Perry. Sara Austin knocks a pass out of bounds to prevent a Potterville layup. Potterville retains possession. Aubrey Gasch drives and is fouled on a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane. She hits her two free throws to give her Vikings a 38-30 lead with 6:33 remaining in the contest.

Teagan Hallock drives and is fouled. The ref said she wasn’t shooting, so there are no free throws. (To be fair, I can’t say I see everything from the stands and the ref IS much closer to the situation than I am.) Kyra Marciniak blocks a Rambler layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Perry gets another opportunity. The Ramblers misfire on a threeball from the corner. Potterville misses a triple try from the wing.

Perry misses a fast break layup. The Potterville rebounder is standing on the baseline and Perry gets another opportunity. Perry loses a pass out of bounds. Potterville misses a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Abigail Cochran drives and hits an eight foot shot from the side of the lane for Perry to trim the Potterville lead to 38-32.

Potterville misses a three point shot from the side. Emily Cates steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Vikings. Perry bounces a pass out of bounds. Abigail Cochrane steals a tipped pass for Perry. Ruby Simon passes to Addyson Lampron, who hits a sixteen foot shot from the side for Perry to shave the Potterville lead to 40-34.

Potterville misses a long threeball from the wing. Kayla Blake ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow is putting its string ball back in its specially climate controlled closet and does not see Kayla Blake’s hustle; it awards the ball to Perry. Aubrey Gasch steals the ball and throws it off a Perry player to get possession for Potterville. Potterville is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 2:24 left on the clock, the Viking lead remains at 40-34.

Perry misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Sara Austin grabs the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a layup. Sara Austin gets another offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Sara Austin gets another offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry missers another layup. Potterville finally rebounds the ball and is fouled. The Vikings miss two free throws. With 1:48 left in the game, Potterville’s lead is still at 40-34.

Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Potterville loses the ball out of bounds. Perry misses a three pointer from the wing. Potterville misses a driving layup. Perry misses a fast break layup. Sara Austin pulls down the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a shot; Addyson Lampron gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. After another Perry miss, Sara Austin gets another offensive rebound for the Ramblers.

Perry misses a shot. Teegan Hallock steals the ball for Perry. Ruby Simon passes to Addyson Lampron, who hits a ten foot banked shot from the side for Perry. Emily Cates is fouled and hits two free throws for Potterville to give her Vikings a 42-36 lead with 21.3 seconds to go.

Kyra Marciniak blocks a Perry ten foot shot from the baseline. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Perry gets it back. The Ramblers miss a three point shot from the top of the key. Potterville dribbles out the final few seconds left in the contest.

Potterville wins by the final score of 42-36 to earn its first win of the season.

Perry’s Abigail Cochrane led all scorers with 18 points. Ruby Simon and Addyson Lampron each pitched in with 6 points. Sara Austin scored 4 points. Hannah Kelly tallied 2 points.

Emily Cates and Aubrey Gasch each had 15 points to lead the Potterville scoring. Kyra Marciniak contributed 8 points and T.J. Uhl added 4 points.