Saranac at Dansville – – CMAC Girls Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 6, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the BleacherDenizenMobile is aimed at Dansville, where the Aggies will host the Red Hawks from Saranac in the CMAC Girls’ Basketball Game of the Week! Saranac enters this game with a 3-1 record and Dansville has a 4-1 record.

While we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this video of “Four in the Morning” from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwKDbxp-uuE

I was able to see Saranac’s girls when they played Perry about four weeks ago. Coach Chance Wells provided me with the following information about the Red Hawk girls.

Maycee Reed is a strong athletic defender who is effective either in the lane or on the perimeter. On offense, she can score either on slashes to the basket or from effective post moves. Lydia Rasmus is an excellent three point shooter and on-ball defender. Winnie Harder defends well either in the post or on the perimeter.

Raeann Johnson is an active perimeter defender who can slash to the basket to score or hit shots from the three point line. Abby Ferguson is a tough perimeter defender who is also a good passer and leader. Mylee Reed defends the perimeter well and has an accurate three point shot.

Katie Whipple brings excellent shot blocking to the Red Hawk post defense and has a fine basketball IQ. Irelynn Pachulski defends and rebounds well in the post; she is also capable of good perimeter defense. Alexis Smus is an accurate three point shooter. Sadie Trahan is a tough defender and rebounder whose hustle stands out. Alyssa Ricket defends and rebounds well in the post.

Dansville Coach Jesse Skouby provided me with this information about his Aggie players.

Ryker Graf is an excellent all-around player in the post. She has fine moves and can finish her shots. She has great hands for catching passes in traffic. She is a strong rebounder and defender as well. Kaelee Forman is a competitive point guard who handles the ball well and defends ferociously. She can score on slashes to the basket as well.

Cassa Minnis is a hard worker who is quick enough to defend the perimeter and tall enough to help in the post. She has a solid three point shot, handles the ball well and is a strong rebounder. Brenna St. Amant is a good perimeter defender who has a good three point shot. Maggie vanHartesvelt is a post player who defends and rebounds well. She gets a lot of steals.

I got to the gym in time to see the JV game. Saranac got out to an 11-2 lead after one quarter and controlled the game the rest of the way. The Red Hawk JVs won the game by the final score of 41-18.

Katie Hamel and Addison Gorrell led the Dansville JVs with 5 points each. Lilly Quinn added 4 points. Taylor Skouby and Maggie Ream each had 2 points.

Alli Grose and Ryelee Daughtery each had 11 points to lead the Saranac scoring. Caylee Griffin contributed 8 points. Nit Carreras chipped in with 7 points. Alivia Elliott and Allison Wernet each tallied 2 points.

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the ancient days when he was considered to be “young.” He was showing some promise as a speedy, dynamic fast break scorer, but everything fell apart when the basketball powers that be refused to allow him to use his jet pack to improve his speed. When opponents started catching up with me and blocking my fast break layups, others on my team started playing more.

Dansville wins the opening tap. The Aggies miss a driving layup. Ryker Graf pulls down the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. Saranac misses a threeball from the corner. Lydia Rasmus and Maycee Reed tie up the ball. The Possession Arrow is at the bowling alley between turns. It loves Saranac’s hustle and awards the ball to the Red Hawks. Saranac fumbles a pass out of bounds.

Dansville misses a layup. Ryker Graf pulls down the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. Kaelee Forman gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Lydia Rasmus steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Brenna St. Ament goes to the floor for Dansville to tie up the ball. The Possession Arrow looked up from the alley and was impressed by her hustle. The ball is awarded to the Aggies. Cassa Minnis passes to Ryker Graf, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give Dansville a 2-0 lead with 6:14 to play in the opening quarter.

Ryker Graf knocks the ball away from Saranac and it is tied up. The Possession Arrow is upset that it has to try to convert a split and misses the play; the ball is given back to Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a three point shot from the wing. Rae Ann Johnson steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Saranac to tie the game at 2-2.

Maycee Reed blocks a Dansville shot. Saranac misses a sixteen foot shot off the dribble from the side. Kaelee Foreman banks in a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side to give Dansville the lead. Abby Ferguson passes to Winner Harder, who is fouled on a threeball from the wing and hits one of her three free throws to trim the Dansville lead to 4-3 with 4:47 to play in the first quarter.

Dansville throws a pass out of bounds. Abby Ferguson passes to Maycee Reed, who hits a layup and is fouled. She misses her free throw, but Saranac now has a 5-4 lead with 4:16 remaining in the first quarter.

Dansville is fouled on a fast break layup, but misses two free throws. Saranac throws a pass out of bounds. Mylee Reed steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac is assessed with a traveling violation. Dansville misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Saranac misfires on a threeball from the corner.

Winner Harder grabs the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac throws a pass out of bounds. Dansville misses a driving layup. Saranac throws a pass out of bounds. Dansville misses a driving layup. Saranac throws its outlet pass too long and out of bounds. Abby Ferguson knocks an Aggie pass out of bounds. Saranac retains possession.

Maycee Reed steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac commits a traveling violation. Dansville misfires on a triple try from the side. The Aggies are fouled on the rebound, but miss two free throws. Cassa Minnis knocks the ball away from Saranac and Ryker Graf picks it up for Dansville. The Aggies commit an offensive foul.

Caroline Seibert knocks the ball away from Saranac, but the Red Hawks recover. Saranac throws a pass out of bounds. Katie Whipple gets her hand on the ball and tips an Aggie pass out of bounds. Dansville retains possession. Irelynn Pachulski gets her hand on the Aggie inbound pass and knocks it out of bounds; the Aggies get another opportunity. Lydia Rasmus knocks the ball away from Dansville, but the Aggies recover.

Maycee Reed blocks a six foot shot from the side; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Dansville gets another opportunity. Dansville misses a threeball off the dribble from the wing. Kaelee Foreman draws a charging foul from the Red Hawks. The first quarter buzzer announces its presence before Dansville can shoot the ball.

After one quarter, Saranac holds a 5-4 lead.

Dansville inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Raeann Johnson knocks an Aggie pass out of bounds to prevent a layup. Dansville retains possession. Dansville misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Abby Ferguson passes to Maycee Reed, who hits a layup to give Saranac a 7-4 lead.

Maycee Reed steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac is fouled on a fast break layup, but misses two free throws. Abby Ferguson draws a charging foul from the Aggies. Cassa Minnis gets her hand on the ball. Saranac briefly recovers, but ends up turning the ball over. Alexis Smus knocks the ball away from Dansville and Raeann Johnson picks it up for Saranac. Mylee Reed drives from the side and hits a layup to give the Red Hawks a 9-4 lead.

Dansville misses a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Dansville gets another opportunity. Mylee Reed steals a Dansville pass. Saranac is called for traveling. Dansville misses a three pointer from the wing. Brenna St. Amant grabs the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Ryker Graf hits a ten foot banked shot from the side to trim the Red Hawk lead to 9-6.

Saranac misses a three pointer from the wing. Maycee Reed grabs the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Lydia Rasmus passes to Maycee Reed, who hits a layup to give Saranac an 11-6 lead.

Dansville misses a threeball from the wing. Saranac misses a threeball from the corner. Dansville’s outlet pass goes out of bounds. Saranac misses a driving layup. Raeann Johnson knocks the ball out of bounds; Saranac retains possession. Maycee Reed taps the ball away from Dansville and Raeann Johnson picks it up for Saranac. Maggie vanHartesvelt knocks a Saranac pass out of bounds; the Red Hawks retain possession. Kaelee Foreman passes to Ryker Graf, who hits a layup to trim the Saranac lead to 11-8.

Saranac is called for traveling. Cassa Minnis is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws with 3:00 remaining in the second quarter to cut the Saranac lead to 11-9.

The Aggies get the offensive rebound, but miss a layup. Ryker Graf hustles to grab the long offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a ten foot shot from the side. Cassa Minnis gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. Saranac misses a driving layup. Lydia Rasmus pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup.

Winnie Harder knocks the ball away from Dansville and Mylee Reed picks it up for Saranac. The Red Hawks are called for traveling. Brenna St. Amant passes to Ryker Graf, who hits a layup for Dansville to tie the game at 11-11.

Kaelee Foreman knocks the ball away from Saranac and Brenna St. Amant picks it up for Dansville. The Aggies misfire on a triple try from the side. Saranac reciprocates and misfires on a triple try from the side. Dansville misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Saranac misses a three pointer from the side. Winnie Harder grabs the offensive rebound for Saranac, but the halftime buzzer blares right after that.

The teams go into halftime tied at 11-11.

Ryker Graf leads the Dansville scoring with 8 points.

Maycee Reed leads Saranac with 6 points.

Dansville’s fifth grade girls play during halftime. As the readers cannot see what is happening at halftime, I hope you will enjoy these two cover videos from my You Tube Channel!

“Blues Stay Away from Me” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TtsKUnqw7g

“We Gotta Get Out of This Place” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICFXX8cI-nk

Saranac inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Red Hawks misfire on a threeball from the corner. Abby Ferguson grabs the offensive rebound for Saranac. Raeann Johnson throws in a threeball from the wing to give Saranac a three point lead. Cassa Minnis is fouled on a spinning post move and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Saranac lead to 14-12 with 7:27 to play in the quarter.

Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Dansville takes possession. Maycee Reed gets her hand on an Aggie pass and Dansville loses the ball out of bounds. Saranac misses a driving layup. Dansville misses a ten foot banked shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Saranac takes possession. Saranac misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Cassa Minnis drives and dishes the ball to Ryker Graf, who hits a layup for Dansville to tie the game at 14-14.

Lydia Rasmus passes to Maycee Reed, who hits a layup for Saranac to retake the lead. Cassa Minnis gets into the lane and hits an eight foot shot. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to ige Dansville a 17-16 lead with 5:26 left to play in quarter number three.

Kaelee Foreman steals the ball for Dansville. The Aggies miss a threeball from the wing. Lydia Rasmus passes to Maycee Johnson, who hits a reverse layup for Saranac to give her Red Hawks a one point lead. Kaelee Foreman is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Dansville a 19-18 lead with 4:27 left on the clock for quarter number three.

Raeann Johnson passes to Lydia Rasmus, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Saranac a two point lead. Dansville is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Saranac misses a three point attempt from the side. Maycee Reed gets the offensive layup for the Red Hawks. Maggie vanHartesvelt hits a layup for Dansville to tie the game. Lydia Rasmus throws in a threeball from the side to give Saranac a 24-21 lead.

Kaelee Foreman hits a fourteen foot shot off the dribble in the lane for Dansville. Ryker Graf gets her hand on the ball and Saranac loses it out of bounds. Cassa Minnis alertly reacts to save a loose ball and prevent an Aggie turnover. Abby Ferguson knocks the ball away from Dansville. Lydia Rasmus picks the ball up, streaks up the court and hits a fast break layup to give Saranac a 26-23 lead.

Maycee Reed harasses a Dansville ball handler and the Aggies throw a pass out of bounds. Abby Ferguson passes the ball to Lydia Rasmus, who hits her third threeball in about two minutes for Saranac. Kaelee Foreman passes to Ryker Graf, who its a layup for Dansville to shave the Aggie lead down to 29-25.

Saranac misses a three pointer from the wing. Abby Ferguson gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac turns the ball over. Irelynn Pachulski draws a charging foul from Dansville. Sarranac misses a driving layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Dansivlle gets the ball. The Aggies throw a pass out of bounds. Saranac misses a threeball from the side. Dansville misses a long heave as the buzzer declares it is time for quarter number three to end.

After three quarters, Saranac has a 29-25 lead.

Dansville inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter started. Kaelee Foreman passes to Cassa Minnis, who is fouled on a six foot shot from the baseline and hits two free throws for Dansville. Saranac misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Abby Ferguson gets her hand on the ball, but Dansville recovers. The Aggies throw a pass out of bounds. Maycee Reed passes to Katie Whipple, who hits a layup to give Saranac a 31-27 lead.

Dansville misses a driving layup. Abby Ferguson passes to Raeann Johnson, who is cutting to the basket; she hits a layup for Saranac. Dansville commits an offensive foul. Maycee Reed is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost Saranac to a 36-27 lead with 5:26 left in the game.

Cassa Minnis hits a three point shot off the dribble from the top of the key for Dansville. Saranac misses a three pointer from the side. Abby Ferguson pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a threeball from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Red Hawks get another opportunity. Saranac misses a layup. Abby Ferguson grabs the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac throws a pass out of bounds.

Raeann Jonson ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is in a great mood after throwing its fourth strike in a row and decides to reward her aggression by giving the ball to Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Dansville misses a three point shot from the side. Lydia Rasmus is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws to give Saranac a 38-30 with 3:53 left on the clock.

Dansville misses a driving layup. Saranac reciprocates and misses a driving layup. Mylee Reed grabs the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Ryker Graf steals a Saranac pass. Dansville misses a layup. Kaelee Foreman gets the offensive rebound for Dansville. The Aggies miss a layup. Raeann Johnson hits a fast break reverse layup and Saranac has a 40-30 lead.

Dansville misses a layup. Kaelee Foreman gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. Kaelee Foreman gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. The Aggies miss a layup. Dasville blocks a Saranac shot; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Dansville gets the ball. Cassa Minnis passes to Ryker Graf, who hits a layup and is fouled. She misses her free throw. With 2:19 remaining, Saranac’s lead is at 40-32.

Kaelee Foreman grabs the offensive rebound from the missed free throw for Dansville. Winnie Harder steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Raeann Johnson drives and hits a reverse layup for Saranac. Mylee Reed deflects the ball and Dansville loses it. Saranac c is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 1:17 to play, Saranac has a 42-32 lead.

Cassa Minnis passes to Ryker Graf, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Dansville. Ryker Graf harasses Saranac into throwing a pass out of bounds. Dansville misses an eight foot banked shot from the side. Caroline Seibert is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to cut the Saranac lead to 42-36 with 29.6 seconds to go.

Maycee Reed is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Saranac. Cassa Minnis is fouled and hits two free throws for Dansville with 3.2 seconds to play. Saranac runs out the clock.

Saranac wins this game by the final score of 43-38.

Dansville’s Ryker Graf led all scorers with 16 points. Cassa Minnis joined her teammate in double figures with 12 points. Kaelee Foreman contributed 6 points. Caroline Seibert and Maggie vanHartesvelt each added 2 points.

Raeann Johnson and Lydia Rasmus each had 13 points to lead the Saranac scoring. Maycee Reed chipped in with 12 points. Katie Whipple and Mylee Reed each had 2 points. Winnie Harder tallied 1 point.