Pewamo-Westphalia at Fowler – – CMAC Girls’ Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 5, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen is visiting Fowler, where the hometown Eagles will compete with the Pirates from Pewamo-Westphalia in a game that will probably decide the CMAC Championship. The undefeated Pirates are 11-0 in the CMAC and 14-0 overall. Fowler has lost only one game this year; they lost to Pewamo-Westphalia on the road earlier this season. The Eagles are 10-1 in the CMAC and 12-1 overall.

Both teams have some outstanding players.

Elly Bengel is a junior in her third year of starting on the varsity. She has a sweet three point shot and also handles the ball a lot from her point guard position. Logan Drake patrols the middle where she is a strong defender and rebounder. Alonna Thelen is a versatile defender who can effectively guard any position. On offense, she is a solid ball handler who can score when her team needs it.

Adrianna Eklund is tall enough to play and defend in the post, but she is also quick enough to defend on the perimeter where her combination of height, quickness and skill can make it really difficult for opposing offenses. She has a strong three point shot; in the Fowler game earlier this year, she contributed nineteen points to the Pirate cause. Peyton Eklund has an accurate three point shot. Renell Eklund defends and rebounds well in the post.

For Fowler, Katie Spicer is a returning all-State guard; she is speedy and will be attending college on a track scholarship. She is a relentless defender as well as being extremely creative when she drives to the basket. She can seemingly launch a shot that has a chance of going in from any angle when she attacks the hoop. She is also an accurate three point shooter and can hit midrange shots off the dribble. (There is a reason that she is all-State – – -)

Ella Hufnagel is a terror in the Fowler press and on perimeter defense in general. She has some of the quickest hands and feet I have ever seen in girls’ basketball and she is not afraid to use them aggressively. She generates a lot of turnovers. On offense, she is a solid three point shooter who can slash to the basket. Brooke Weber is a strong post defender and rebounder who gives the Eagles another accurate three point shooter.

Paige Thelen and Neelah O’Rourke are tough post defenders and rebounders who score near the basket. Selena Stump can get incredibly hot from the three point line and is also able to slash to the basket to score. Saige Miller and Paisley Hansen are great softball players who use their athletic ability to help the Eagles defend the perimeter.

Unfortunately, Izzy Halfmann, a sophomore in her second year of starting is injured and will not be able to help her Eagles tonight. She is a fine athlete who understands the game really well. Sometimes she seems to know what the other team plans to do before they do it. She is a strong defender anywhere on the floor who can slash to the basket and gets her share of putbacks. Her skills will probably be missed tonight.

I got to the gym in time and was able to watch the JV game. The defense prevailed in the first quarter as Pewamo-Westphalia scored only three points, but managed to have a 3-1 lead after one quarter. In the second quarter, P-W outscored Fowler 19-7 to take a 22-8 halftime lead. P-W dominated in the second half and won by the final score of 58-17.

Noelle Krepps led the Eagle JVs with 5 points. Myah Rademacher put in 4 points. Payton Rademacher and Kerigan Pung each had 3 points. Sophia Thelen tallied 2 points.

Elyse Thelen led the victorious Pirate JVs with 14 points. Whitney Platte supported her teammate with 12 points. Adelyn Thelen contributed 10 points. Sidney Thelen tossed in 6 points. Delaney Smith added 5 points. Shelby Anthony and Julia Paxton each scored 3 points. Joslyn Smith and Alivia Miller each had 2 points. Reylee Thelen tallied 1 point.

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the aging 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. It seems that he and the coach had a disagreement about passing. Your Bleacher Denizen thought his creativity was being stifled when he was only permitted to pass to players wearing the same color shirt as him.

However, the Basketball Coach kept pushing on this negative concept called “turnovers” and insisted that the Bleacher Denizen conform to his plan. The Coach won out and the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time quickly disappeared. Life is just not fair sometimes – – –

Fowler wins the opening tap. Elly Bengel steals the ball for P-W. Peyton Eklund passes to Adrianna Eklund, who swishes a threeball from the wing to give P-W the first three points of the game. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. P-W fouls on the rebound. Peyton Eklund knocks the ball out of bounds; the Eagles retain possession. Peyton Eklund blocks a Fowler layup; the ball goes out and Fowler gets it back. Paige Thelen passes to Saige Miller, who banks in a threeball near the top of the key for Fowler to tie the game at 3-3.

Peyton Eklund passes to Elly Bengel, who hits a three point shot from the side to give the lead back to P-W. Ella Hufnagel drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Elly Bengel drives and hits a reverse layup for P-W. Saige Miller hits a fast break layup for Fowler. Alonna Thelen passes to Peyton Eklund, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give the Pirates an 11-7 lead.

Fowler misses a jump shot. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pirates take possession. Saige Miller plays fierce defense in the post and forces P-W to lose the ball out of bounds. Alonna Thelen steals the ball; she passes to Ally Bengel, who hits a fast break layup for P-W. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. Brenna Thelen drives and hits a layup to give P-W a 15-7 lead.

Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. Saige Miller knocks the ball away from P-W and Katie Spicer picks it up for Fowler. The Eagles miss a layup. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Brenna Thelen knocks the ball away from Fowler, but the Eagles recover. Ella Hufnagel banks in a threeball from the wing for Fowler. (I’m sure I heard her yell “BANK”!!!) Saige Miller steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Ella Hufnagel gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Adrianna Eklund hits a layup to give P-W a 17-10 lead.

Fowler misses a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and P-W takes possession. Elly Bengel drives and hits a layup for P-W. Fowler misses a three pointer from the side. Paige Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. P-W misses a layup. Logan Drake hits a putback to boost her Pirates to a 21-10 lead.

Fowler misses a six foot hook shot. Paige Thelen hits a putback for the Eagles. She is fouled on the play, but misses a free throw. P-E misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Elly Bengel gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a ten foot shot from the side as the first quarter buzzer announces that it is on the job.

After one quarter, Pewamo-Westphalia has a 21-12 lead.

P-W inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Pirates miss a fifteen foot shot from the side of the lane. Brooke Weber hits a three point shot for the Eagles. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Renell Eklund blocks a Fowler eight foot shot in the lane. The loose ball goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another possession. Saige Miller inbounds the ball to Paige Thelen, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the P-W lead to 21-16 with 6:49 to play in the quarter.

Peyton Eklund hits a long three point shot from the side for P-W. Fowler misses a six foot banked hook shot. P-W misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Ella Hufnagel passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for Fowler. Elly Bengel passes to Renell Eklund, who hits a layup for P-W. Saige Miller drives and dishes the ball to Paige Thelen, who hits a layup to trim the P-W lead to 26-20.

P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Fowler misses a twelve footer from the side of the lane. P-W misfires on a threeball from the side. Fowler misses a driving hook shot. Neelah O’Rourke grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a jump shot. P-W misses a layup. Logan Drake grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. P-W misses a three pointer from the corner. Ella Hufnagel hits a fast break layup for Fowler. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to chop the Pirate lead to 26-23 with 3:14 left in the half.

Katie Spicer gets her hand on the ball, but P-W recovers. Payton Rademacher knocks the ball out of bounds; P-W retains possession. Paige Thelen knocks the ball out of bounds; P-W gets the ball back again. Selena Stump steals the Pirate inbound pass. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. P-W misses a driving layup. Brenna Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates.

P-W misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pirates get another opportunity. Adrianna Eklund inbounds the ball to Alonna Thelen, who hits a layup for the Pirates. Adrianna Eklund steals the ball for P-W and passes to Elly Bengel, who is fouled as she shoots a layup. Elly Bengel hits one of her two free throws to give P-W a 29-23 lead with 1:49 remaining in the half.

Fowler misses a three pointer from the side. P-W misses a layup. Ella Hufnagel is fouled driving for a reverse layup and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Alonna Thelen is fouled on a driving reverse layup and hits two free throws for P-W with 41.6 seconds left in the quarter. Fowler misses a layup. P-W misses a threeball from the wing. The second quarter buzzer announces its presence before anyone can rebound the ball.

Pewamo-Westphalia holds a 31-24 halftime lead.

The Fowler Pep Band entertained at halftime and did a fine job. The played “Freeze Frame” by J. Geils among other great tunes from the past!

Fowler inbounds the ball to open quarter number three. Alonna Thelen gets her hand on the ball, but Fowler is able to recover. Ella Hufnagel passes to Brooke Weber, who hits a threeball from the corner for Fowler. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Logan Drake ties up the offensive rebound. The Possession Arrow looks up from the pot of split pea soup that is starting to simmer on its stove and awards the ball to P-W. Elly Bengel passes to Peyton Eklund, who hits a three pointer from the side to give the Pirates a 34-27 lead.

Adrianna Eklund steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W misses a fast break layup. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Logan Drake hits a layup for P-W. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Ella Hufnagel chases down the long rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a driving layup. Elly Bengel drives and hits a layup to give her Pirates a 38-27 lead.

Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Paige Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Brooke Weber passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Fowler. Alonna Thelen passes to Logan Drake, who hits a layup for P-W. Fowler misses a layup. P-W misses a three point shot from the corner. Alonna Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Elly Bengel passes to Alonna Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the side to boost P-W to a 43-30 lead.

Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Saige Miller picks up a loose ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Neelah O’Rourke gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 4:07 left in quarter number three, P-W holds a 43-30 lead.

P-W misses an eighteen foot shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pirates get another opportunity. P-W misses a three pointer from the side. Fowler misses a layup. Katie Spicer ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow is chopping onions for its pot of split pea soup, but sees the play and awards the ball to Fowler. Peyton Eklund steals the Fowler inbound pass. Fowler’s defends fiercely and prevents P-W from inbounding the ball in the required five seconds causing a Pirate turnover.

Fowler misses a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw elbow. Saige Miller and Ella Hufnagel tie up the ball; the Possession Arrows eyes are watering from the chopped onions; it misses the play and awards the ball to P-W. Peyton Eklund is fouled on a driving six foot scooped shot and hits one of her two free throws to push the P-W lead to 44-30 with 1:54 to go in quarter number three.

Ella Hufnagel passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot near the top of the key for Fowler. Paige Thelen and Ella Hufnagel crash to the floor to tie up the ball. The Possession Arrow is searching for a cloth to rinse out its eyes from the onions, but looks up in time to see the play and reward Ms. Thelen and Ms. Hufnagel for their hustle. The ball is awarded to Fowler.

Fowler misses a driving layup. P-W misses a six foot shot from the baseline. Peyton Eklund grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. The Pirates miss a three point shot from the corner. Fowler misses a driving reverse layup. Katie Spicer knocks the ball away from P-W; Ella Hufnagel grabs the loose ball and streaks in for a Fowler fast break layup to trim the P-W lead to 44-35.

P-W misses a layup. Brenna Thelen gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup. Katie Spicer hits a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline for Fowler. She is fouled on the play and hits a free throw to cut the Pirate lead to 44-38 with 42 seconds left in quarter number three.

P-W holds the ball for the last shot. The Pirates miss a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane as the quarter comes to a close.

With three quarters in the books, Pewamo-Westphalia holds a 44-38 lead. However, Fowler has scored the last eight points of the quarter.

P-W inbounds the ball to start out the fourth quarter. Adrianna Eklund passes to Peyton Eklund, who hits a two point shot from the wing for P-W. (Her foot was on the three point line.) Fowler misses a driving reverse layup. Paige Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Katie Spicer steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Paige Thelen hits a putback for Fowler. Elly Bengel drives and hits a reverse layup to give P-W a 48-40 lead.

Fowler misses a driving layup. Alonna Thelen is fouled driving for a layup and hits one of her two free throws for the Pirates. Alonna Thelen steals a Fowler pass in the lane. Saige Miller knocks the ball to Ella Hufnagel, who zooms up the court for a fast break layup, but is fouled. Ella Hufnagel hits two free throws to shave the P-W lead to 49-42 with 5:24 left on the clock.

P-W misses an eighteen foot shot from the baseline. Katie Spicer drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Neelah O’Rourke gets her hand on the ball and P-W loses it out of bounds. Saige Miller passes to Brooke Weber, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Fowler. P-W misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a three pointer from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and P-W gets possession. Fowler’s fierce defense forces P-W to call timeout to avoid turning the ball over for failing to inbound it in five seconds.

Paige Thelen knocks’ the Pirate inbound pass out of bounds; P-W retains possession. Ella Hufnagel knocks the P-W inbound pass out of bounds; the Pirates retain possession. P-W misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and P-W gets the ball. Ella Hufnagel steals a pass to break up a Pirate fast break. Katie Spicer drives and hits a layup for Fowler. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw tie the game at 49-49 with 2:00 remaining.

Fowler has scored the last nine points in a row.

P-W responds as Adrianna Eklund tosses a pass to Peyton Eklund, who swishes a clutch threeball from the wing for P-W as she is fouled. She makes her free throw to give her Pirates a 53-49 lead with 1:47 left.

Elizabeth Hufnagel is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Alonna Thelen is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for P-W. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and P-W gets the ball. Elly Bengel is fouled and hits two free throws to push the Pirate lead to 56-50 with 34.1 seconds to play.

Fowler misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Katie Spicer steals the ball and hits a layup for Fowler. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to cut the Pirate lead to 56-53 with 19.4 seconds left.

Elly Bengel catches the inbound pass for the Pirates and is immediately fouled. She hits two free throws for P-W. Fowler misses a driving layup. The rebound is tied up and the Possession Arrow awards the ball to Fowler. Brenna Thelen knocks the ball away from Fowler and Adrianna Eklund picks it up for P-W. Adrianna Eklund is fouled and hits one of her two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to give her Pirates a 59-53 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot and the game comes to an end.

P-W wins this game by the final score of 59-53 to take a two game lead in the CMAC; unless something unexpected happens, they will win the CMAC Girls’ Basketball Championship.

Fowler’s Katie Spicer led all scorers with 19 points. Ella Hufnagel joined her teammate in double figures with 14 points. Brooke Weber contributed 8 points. Paige Thelen scored 7 points and Saige Miller added 5 points.

Elly Bengel led Pewamo-Westphalia’s scoring with 18 points. Peyton Eklund supported her teammate with 16 points. Alonna Thelen chipped in with 9 points. Adrianna Eklund and Logan Drake each contributed 6 points. Renell Eklund and Brenna Thelen each tossed in 2 points.