Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart at Fulton – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 27, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen is off to Fulton High School, where the hometown Pirate girls will host the Irish girls from Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart in a game between two of the better schools in the Mid-State Activities Conference. Fulton is 10-5 in the MSAC and has a 13-7 overall record. Sacred Heart is undefeated this year with a 13-0 record in the MSAC and a 16-0 overall record.

As it’s a nice day today, I hope you will enjoy this original song from my You Tube Channel about a guy who is having Walter Mitty fantasies on a nice day! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

I’ve seen Fulton play a couple times this year and with help from Coach Brandon Trefil, I have learned a little bit about Fulton’s players.

Jaci Canfield is a quality athlete who slashes to the basket well. She is also a tough rebounder and defends well anywhere on the court. Her twin, Kaya Canfield is a versatile player. On offense, she can handle the ball, slash to the basket or hit the threeball. On defense, she is an athletic player who harasses opponents all over the court. Dayten Lambert drives to the basket well and is a good ball handler. Defensively, she is effective either on the perimeter or in the post.

Kalyn Duflo is a competetive player who defends her position well. She is a fine ball handler and runs the offense efficiently; she is also a quality three point shooter. Julia Bolina and Addison Warnke defend and rebound well in the post. Brooklyn Kanous is one of the most energetic perimeter defenders I have seen. She harasses opposing ball handlers relentlessly and causes a lot of turnovers.

Sacred Coach Andrew Doerr shared the following information about his Irish players. Karis Terwilliger is a huge scorer for the Irish. She excels at slashing to the basket and getting fast break layups off steals. She also handles the ball well and creates shots for a lot of her teammates. Sophie Hauck runs the point for the Irish. She is a fine perimeter defender who can help in the post when needed. She is a dependable ball handler who can hit midrange jump shots and three point shots.

Chelsea Lynch is a tough post defender who passes really well and is a threat from the three point line. Savannah Jones is an excellent leaper who is a strong rebounder and scorer in the post. Ava Sweet is a guard who can hit the three point shot, hit the midrange shot or slash to the basket. Kallie Smith is a tough defender and physical rebounder in the post.

Sierra Wohscheid provides tough, gritty and persistent defense on the perimeter and in the post for the Irish. Maddie Anderson is a fine three point shooter. Brooke Neff is a talented athlete who plays great defense. Kaya Rose is a gritty perimeter defender.

I was pleased to see that Dakota Malek, a Fulton senior, who announces games for Fulton and does an excellent job is announcing tonight! It was senior night and Dakota announced all the seniors and introduced the Fulton seniors along with their parents. The Fulton Athletic Director and staff surprised Dakota by honoring him. Then Dakota surprised me by announcing that I was there and saying some really nice things! Thanks to Dakota for doing that. (I had always hoped I wasn’t spending all this time typing for nothing! LOL)

I saw most of the JV game. The Irish got off to a 6-2 lead after one quarter and extended their lead to 16-7 at halftime. The Irish steadily increased their lead in the second half and won the JV game by the score of 45-18.

Addison Smolinski led the Fulton JVs with 7 points. Camryn Cunningham scored 3 points. Macie Akers, Ava Rahme, Skylar MacLennan and Shyanne Adams each tallied 2 points.

Allison Boge led the Irish JVs with 15 points. Alexis Sweet tossed in 11 points. Katherine Latham joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points. Sarah Predum added 5 points. Ava Baker and Taylor Wills each had 2 points.

The Pep Band led by Doug Nanzer entertained before the game and played the National Anthem. They did a nice job.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occaisionally open 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. It seems he was never able to understand that you need to be between your opponent and the basket when you are defending. After too many players scored layups when I tried to defend them from the other side, the playing time drastically decreased.

Sacred Heart wins the opening tap. The Irish miss a layup. Karis Terwilliger hits a putback to give Sacred Heart the first two points of the game. Ava Sweet steals the ball for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses and eight foot shot in the lane. Chelsea Lynch pulls down the offensive rebound for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses a layup. Chelsea Lynch knocks the ball away from Fulton and it leads to a tieup. The Possession Arrow is holding a cooking class and misses the play. The ball is awarded to Fulton.

Fulton misses a layup. Julia Bolina gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Sacred Heart reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Jaci Canfield passes to Kaya Canfield, who hits a three point shot from the wing that gives Fulton a 3-2 lead.

Sacred Heart misfires on a triple try from the corner. Chelsea Lynch grabs the offensive rebound for the Irish. Sacred Heart misses a three pointer from the wing. Karis Terwilliger hits a putback to give the Irish a one point lead. Karis Terwilliger steals the ball for the Irish. Jaci Canfield steals the ball for the Pirates. Chelsea Lynch knocks a Fulton pass out of bounds; the Pirates retain possession. Dayten Lambert hits a three point banked shot from the wing to give Fulton a 6-4 lead.

Brooklyn Kanous steals the ball for the Pirates. Kalyn Duflo inbounds the ball to Kaya Canfield, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to boost the Pirate lead to 8-4 with 4:25 remaining in the opening quarter.

Kaya Canfield gets a hand on a Sacred Heart pass and the Irish lose the ball out of bounds. Kallie Smith blocks a Pirate layup. Sacred Heart misses a layup. Fulton turns the ball over. Karis Terwilliger passes to Kallie Smith, who hits a layup for the Irish. Fulton misses a driving layup. Sacred Heart is whistled for a traveling violation. Fulton misses a driving layup. Sacred Heart misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Karis Terwilliger hits a putback for the Irish to tie the game at 8-8.

Fulton misfires on a threeball from the wing. Kaya Canfield plays tough defense in the post to force an Irish traveling violation. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Sacred Heart reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Fulton fouls on the rebound. The Irish miss a seventeen foot shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Addison Warnke gets her hand on the ball and forces an Irish traveling violation. Sophie Hauck steals the ball for the Irish just as the first quarter buzzer wakens and alerts us all to stop playing.

After one quarter, this game is tied at 8-8.

Sacred Heart has the ball to begin the second quarter. Ava Sweet passes to Savannah Jones, who hits a six foot shot from the baseline for the Irish. Kallie Smith steals the ball for the Irish. Sacred Heart is whistled for traveling. Fulton throws a pass out of bounds. Karis Terwilliger is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to give the Irish an 11-8 lead with 6:25 to play in the quarter.

Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Sacred Heart isses a driving layup. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Brooklyn Kanous, who may just be the shortest person on the floor, plays big and grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Karis Terwilliger steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give the Irish a 13-8 lead.

Fulton is whistled for an offensive foul. Sacred Heart misses a six foot banked shot from the side. Sophie Hauck Wohlscheid steals the ball for the Irish. Karis Terwilliger throws in a threeball from the top of the key for Sacred Heart. Fulton misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Sacred Heart misses a fifteen foot shot from the side of the lane. Karis Terwilliger is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to give the Irish an 18-8 lead with 3:37 remaining in the second quarter.

Fulton throws a pass through the lane and out of bounds. Dayten Lambert steals the ball from the Irish and is fouled as she does it. Karis Terwilliger knocks the ball away from Fulton, but the Pirates recover. Fulton misses a driving layup. Sacred Heart misses a three pointer from the corner. Fulton misses a driving layup. Sacred Heart misses a three pointer from the corner. The Bleacher Denizen misses seeing the ball go through the basket.

Fulton misses a driving layup. Sacred Heart reciprocates and misses a driving layup. Fulton misses a threeball from the side. Sacred Heart reciprocates and misses a threeball from the side. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. Sacred Heart misses a layup. Fulton loses a pass out of bounds. Sacred Heart is unable to shoot before the halftime buzzer announces its presence.

After two quarters, Sacred Heart has an 18-8 lead.

Kaya Canfield leads Fulton’s scoring with 5 points.

Karis Terwilliger has 14 points for Sacred Heart.

Fulton inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Karis Terwilliger steals a Pirate pass. Ava Sweet passes to Kara Terwilliger, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the wing for the Irish. Chelsea Lynch knocks the ball out of bounds. Fulton retains possession. Fulton misses a driving layup. Kaya Canfield pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a layup. Kaya Canfield gets her hand on an Irish pass, but Sacred Heart recovers. Kaya Canfield’s stern post defense forces Sacred Heart to miss a ten foot shot in the lane.

Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fulto gets another opportunity. Sacred Heart’s defense prevents Fulton from inbounding the ball in the required five seconds and forces a Pirate turnover. Savannah Jones passes to Karis Terwilliger, who hits a layup for the Irish. Brooklyn Kanous passes to Kaya Canfield, who hits a layup, is fouled and makes her free throw to trim the Irish lead to 22-11 with 4:47 remaining in quarter number three.

Kayla Duflo steals the ball for the Pirates. Ava Sweet forces a tieup. The Possession Arrow looks away from the souffle it is creating and awards the ball to the Irish. Fulton’s defense prevents Sacred Heart from getting the ball across the midcourt line in the required ten seconds and the Irish turn it over.

Savannah Jones plays tough post defense to stop prevent Fulton from shooting a layup. Kallie Smith knocks the ball out of bounds; Fulton retains possession. Fulton misses a three point shot from the wing. Chelsea Lynch passes to Savannah Jones, who hits a six foot shot from the side of the lane to boost the Irish lead to 24-11.

Ava Sweet gets her hand on a Pirate pass and the ball goes out of bounds; Fulton retains possession. Fulton is whistled for a traveling violation. Chelsea Lynch passes to Kallie Smith, who hits a layup for the Irish. Fulton misses a jump shot. Dayten Lambert is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to shave the Irish lead to 26-13 with 1:50 left in quarter number three.

Brooklyn Kanous and Jaci Canfield team up to steal the ball for Fulton. Dayten Lambert hits a fast break layup for the Pirates. Jaci Canfield nearly steals the ball for Fulton, but the Irish recover. Julia Bolina steals the ball for the Pirates. Fulton misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Jaci Canfield gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates.

Fulton watches as a threeball from the top of the key goes in and out of the basket. Sacred Heart misses a three pointer from the wing. Fulton fouls on the rebound. Brooklyn Kanous ties up the Irish inbound pass. The Possession Arrow interupts making some fine points on cake frosting to her students and awards the ball to Fulton. Karis Terwilliger knocks the ball away from Fulton and Savannah Jones picks it up for Sacred Heart. Kalyn Duflo draws a charging foul from the Irish. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. The buzzer ends quarter number three before anyone can rebound the ball.

With three quarters in the books, Sacred Heart has a 26-15 lead.

Sacred Heart inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Irish miss a threeball near the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton takes possesion. Sacred Heart misses a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane. Sophie Hauck passes to Chelsea Lynch, who hits a layup for the Irish. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Irish take possession. Sacred Heart misses a layup. Chelsea Lynch hits a putback to give the Irish a 30-15 lead.

Fulton misses a twelve footer off the dribble from the side of the lane. Savannah Jones passes to Karis Terwilliger, who hits a layup to give Sacred Heart a 32-15 lead.

Sophie Hauck gets a hand on the ball and forces a Fulton traveling violation. Sacred Heart misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Chelsea Lynch knocks the ball out of bounds; Fulton retains possession. Fulton misses a driving hook shot. Kaya Canfield gets a hand on the ball, but the Irish recover. Jaci Canfield steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to trim the Irish lead to 32-17.

Sacred Heart commits a traveling violation. Fulton misses a three pointer from the side. Sacred Heart misses a sixteen foot shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton gets the ball. A Fulton dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Jillian Davis blocks an Irish eight foot shot from the side. The loose ball goes out of bounds and the Irish get another opportunity.

Sacred Heart misses a driving layup. Sierra Wohlscheid blocks a Fulton threeball from the wing. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Sacred Heart gets the ball. The Irish dribble out the clock.

Sacred Heart finishes its undefeated regular season with a 32-17 win.

Kaya Canfield had 8 points to lead the Fulton scoring. Dayten Lambert added 7 points and Jaci Canfield tallied 2 points.

Karis Terwilliger led Sacred Heart’s scoring with 20 points. Chelsea Lynch, Kallie Smith and Savannah Jones each scored 4 points.