Laingsburg at Fowler – – CMAC Girls Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 30, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the BleacherDenizenMobile is headed to Fowler where the hometown Eagles will host the Wolfpack from Laingsburg in the CMAC Girls Basketball Game of the Week! Laingsburg enters the game with a 7-2 record in the league and is 10-2 overall. Fowler is 3-6 in the league and 3-9 overall.

Well, your Bleacher Denizen got to the game and left his roster on the scoring table on his way home. Fortunately, because he took a picture of the varsity score book, the play by play can be done, but I am missing a lot of the coaches’ information about the players and all the scoring and other information about the JV game.

I do remember that Fowler took a lead in the first quarter; Laingsburg came back and had the lead at halftime. It stayed close until the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Laingsburg started to dominate. The Wolfpack won the JV game by the final score of 52-31. Thanks to the Laingsburg coach for sending that score.

This is the first time I have seen these teams each year. Each coach was really gracious with his time and gave me a lot of information about their players which your Bleacher Denizen managed to leave in the gym. Here is what they gave me the best I remember it.

Coach Daniel Morrill of Laingsburg gave me more information than this, but I will type what I remember.

Brooklyn Holm is a complete basketball player. She is intelligent enough and athletic enough to defend the perimeter; she is strong enough to defend and rebound in the post as well. On offense, she is an excellent ball handler, passer and three point shooter who can also attack the basket and score inside on post moves.

Mallory Woodbury is a tough post defender with a strong basketball IQ. Lilli Morrill defends, rebounds and scores well in the post. She is also skilled at finding lanes to the basket and driving in for layups. Harper Strouse is a long, athletic leaper who defends and scores well in the post where she is also a solid rebounder. Payge Woodworth is a skilled point guard who handles the ball well, defends the perimeter well, passes well and can shoot the three point shot. Leah Mills is a solid perimeter defender who helps with the ball handling.

This is what I remember from Coach Nathan Goerge from Fowler.

Izzy Halfmann is the only returning starter from last year’s State Champion team. She is a complete player who can defend and play offense at any position if the team needs her to. She is a fine perimeter defender who is also tall enough to rebound and defend in the post. She is a strong ball handler and a good passer who can drive to the basket or hit the three point shot.

Selena Stump played a lot on last year’s team. She can get hot, hot, hot from the three point line; she can put up points in a hurry. Leah Thelen is a solid defender and rebounder in the post. Sophia Thelen is a good perimeter defender who can slash to the basket. My apologies to the other Eagles who contribute. Coach Goerge told me about you, but I misplaced the notes.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally clear lenses of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. It seems that he was never able to learn that the coach was happiest when he only shot as his own basket.

Darci Schulze sang the national anthem before the game and her Sign Language class signed the song to the audience. She sang well and it was great to see the Fowler students showing what they learned!

Your Bleacher Denizen felt that this stifled his creativity. He loved the cheers he would get from opposing fans whenever he branched out and scored on their basket. It was amazing at how easy the opposing team made it to score on that basket. It was much easier to shoot that way than when they were aggressively trying to keep me from scoring on the basket my coach liked. The coach eventually found someone who approached basketball scoring more traditionally and gave him the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time.

Laingsburg wins the opening tap. The Wolfpack misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds; the Eagles get another opportunity. Payton Rademacher passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Fowler a 3-0 lead.

Laingsburg misfires on a threeball from the side. Fowler reciprocates and misfires on a threeball from the side. Brooklyn Holm drives and dishes the ball to Harper Strouse, who hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Fowler misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Mallory Woodbury drives and hits a layup to give the Wolfpack a 4-3 lead.

Lilli Morrill knocks an Eagle pass out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Laingsburg bounces a pass out of bounds. Izzy Halfmann drives and scoops in a layup for Fowler to retake the lead. Mallory Woodbury bounces a pass to Brooklyn Holm, who hits a layup, is fouled and sinks her free throw to give Laingsburg a 7-5 lead with 3:29 remaining in the opening quarter.

Mallory Woodbury knocks the ball away from Fowler and Paige Woodworth picks it up for Laingsburg. Payge Woodworth drives and dishes the ball to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both her free throws. Fowler throws a pass out of bounds. Laingsburg is assessed with a traveling violation. ayah Rademacher passes to Leah Thelen, who hits a layup for Fowler to tie the game at 7-7.

Laingsburg misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Lilli Morrill pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Myah Rademacher passes to Sophia Thelen, who hits a layup to give Fowler the lead. Brooklyn Holm passes to Mallory Woodbury, who takes a hard dribble and sinks a fifteen foot shot from the side for Laingsburg to tie the game at 9-9.

Selena Stump throws in a threeball from the top of the key to retake the lead for Fowler. Selena Stump steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Sophia Thelen hits a putback for the Eagles. Laingsburg misses a jump shot and fouls on the rebound. Leah Thelen is fouled and hits two free throws to give the Eagles a 16-9 lead with 29 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

Leah Thelen steals the ball just before the first quarter buzzer decides to seek attention by blaring and ending the quarter.

After one quarter, Fowler has a 16-9 lead.

Fowler has the ball to start the second quarter. The Eagles miss a twelve foot shot from the baseline, but get the offensive rebound. Sophia Thelen drives and banks in a six foot shot for the Eagles. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the corner. Selena Stump throws in a three point shot from the wing to boost the Eagle lead to 21-9.

Izzy Halfmann steals a Laingsburg pass and passes to Selena Stump, who hits a layup for Fowler. Laingsburg is called for being in the lane for three seconds. Fowler misses an eight foot shot from the baseline. Laingsburg misses a layup. Lilly Morrill hits a putback for the Wolfpack. Fowler misers a layup. Brooklyn Holm passes to Payge Woodworth, who hits a three point shot from the side to shave the Fowler lead to 23-14.

Fowler misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Laingsburg misfires on a threeball from the wing. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for Fowler. Payge Woodworth knocks the ball away from Fowler and Harper Strouse picks it up for Laingsburg. Izzy Halfmann gets her hand on the ball, but Laingsburg recovers.

Ayana Canfield gets a hand on the Laingsburg inbound pass and the Wolfpack loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses a layup. Izzy Halfmann gets the offensive rebound, takes one dribble and scoops in a layup for Fowler. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 3:10 remaining in the first half, Fowler has a 25-14 lead.

Laingsburg misses a driving layup. Lilli Morrill hits a putback for the Wolfpack. Myah Rademacher scoops in a six foot banked shot for Fowler. Laingsburg is called for traveling. Fowler misses a layup. Laingsburg misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane and a putback. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Laingsburg misses a threeball near the top of the key. Myah Rademacher passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the wing to boost Fowler to a 30-16 lead.

Izzy Halfmann tips the ball away from Laingsburg and Brooklyn Holm darts into the backcourt to rescue the ball for the Wolfpack. Payge Woodworth drives and hits a layup for Laingsburg. Sophia Thelen drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Laingsburg hits a layup that is disallowed because the second quarter buzzer beat the layup to the punch!

Fowler has a 32-18 lead going into halftime.

Payge Woodworth has 5 points to lead the Laingsburg scoring at halftime.

Selena Stump has 14 points to lead Fowler at halftime and Sophia Thelen has 8 points.

Fowler held a fundraiser at halftime while the Fowler Pep Band did a fine job entertaining with “In A Gadda Da Vida” and several other tunes. Kudos to the Eagle musicians!!

Laingsburg inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Payge Woodworth passes to Lilli Morrill, who hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Laingsburg reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the wing. Lilli Morrill hits a putback for the Wolfpack. Leah Thelen passes to Izzy Halfmann, who hits a three point shot from the wing to boost the Fowler lead to 35-22.

Brooklyn Holm responds by hitting a three point shot from the wing for Laingsburg. Leah Thelen hits a layup for Fowler. Lilly Morrill passes to Harper Strouse, who hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Fowler turns the ball over. Laingsburg misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Fowler misses a three pointer from the corner. Izzy Halfmann hits a putback to give Fowler a 39-27 lead.

Izzy Halfmann knocks a Wolfpack pass out of bounds; Laingsburg retains possession. Payge Woodworth inbounds the ball to Mallory Woodbury, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 39-28 with 4:43 remaining in quarter number three.

Lilli Merrill steals the ball for the Wolfpack and a Fowler player makes a great open field tackle. Because she was taken down before the shot, there was no free throw, but Laingsburg gets a first down. Ayana Canfield knocks the Wolfpack inbound pass out of bounds; Laingsburg retains possession. Laingsburg throws its inbound pass out of bounds. Brooklyn Holm knocks a Fowler pass out of bounds; the Eagles retain possession.

Lilli Morrill steals the ball for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a fast break layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Sophia Thelen drives and dishes the ball to Myah Rademacher, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fowler. Lilli Morrill hits a layup to trim the Fowler lead to 42-30.

Fowler bounces a pass out of bounds. Lilli Morrill drives and hits a reverse layup for Laingsburg. Fowler misses a driving reverse layup. Brooklyn Holm is fouled on a six foot banked shot off the dribble and hits two free throws to cut the Fowler lead to 42-34 with 2:10 remaining in quarter number three.

Fowler misses a threeball from the corner. Selena Stump grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Brooklyn Holm gets her hand on a Fowler inbound pass, but the Eagles regain control. Fowler fumbles a pass out of bounds. Laingsburg misfires on a triple try from the side. Fowler misses a driving layup. Payge Woodworth passes to Lilli Morrill, who hits a layup for Laingsburg; she is fouled on the play but misses her free throw. With 1:05 to play in quarter number three, the Fowler lead is at 42-36.

Fowler misses a threeball from the corner. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the wing. Fowler misses a driving layup. Laingsburg reciprocates and misses a driving layup. Harper Strouse hits a putback for the Wolfpack just before the buzzer visits and calls an end to quarter number three.

After three quarters, Fowler has a 42-38 lead.

Fowler inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. Mallory Woodbury steals th ball for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a fast break layup. Lilli Morrill grabs the offensive rebound for Laingsburg. The Wolfpack misses a layup. Lilli Morrill gets another offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Laingsburg gets another possession. Payge Woodworth inbounds the ball to Brooklyn Holm, who hits a layup to cut the Fowler lead to 42-40.

Fowler miss a fifteen foot shot. Sophia Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Selena Stump gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Brooklyn Holm steals the ball for Laingsburg. Brooklyn Holm hits a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line for Laingsburg to tie the game at 42-42.

Fowler misses a driving layup. Leah Thelen knocks the ball away from Laingsburg and Myah Rademacher picks it up for Fowler. Fowler misses a three pointer near the top of the key. Laingsburg misses a three point attempt from the side. Mallory Woodbury is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to give Laingsburg a 43-42 lead with 5:24 to play in the game.

Lilli Morrill gets the offensive rebound of the missed free throw and hits a putback for Laingsburg. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Izzy Halfmann hits a putback for Fowler. Brooklyn Holm passes to Lilli Morrill, who hits a layup for Laingsburg. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 4:43 left on the clock, Laingsburg has a 47-44 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Payge Woodworth steals the ball for Laingsburg and hits a fast break layup. Izzy Halfmann gets into the lane and is fouled on a ten foot shot. She hits two free throws to trim the Wolfpack lead to 49-24 with 4:02 left in the fourth quarter.

Laingsburg misses a driving layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Brooklyn Holm blocks a Fowler layup. Laingsburg misses a driving layup. Izzy Halfmann is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws for Fowler to cut the Laingsburg lead to 49-48 with 3:18 to go.

Payge Woodworth passes to Brooklyn Holm, who quickly relays the ball to Lilli Morrill, who hits a layup for the Wolfpack. Harper Strouse steals the ball and hits a layup for Laingsburg. Sophia Thelen inbounds the ball to Izzy Halfman, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fowler to cut the Wolfpack lead back to two points. Laingsburg is fouled, but misses two free throws. With 56.3 minutes left in regulation time, Laingsburg has a 53-51 lead.

Harper Strouse pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for Fowler. The Eagles miss a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Sophia Thelen steals the ball for the Eagles and is fouled; because it is only the fourth Laingsburg foul of the quarter, she does not shoot free throws. Izzy Halfmann is fouled on an eight foot scoop shot off the dribble and hits two free throws for Fowler to tie the game at 53-53 with 20.2 seconds to go.

Laingsburg runs their offense and misses a layup. With one second, the ball goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. The Eagles inbound the ball and Mallory Woodbury deflects the ball as the buzzer ends the quarter.

The game is tied at 53-53 and we have OVERTIME at the Fowler Athletic Center!

Laingsburg wins the overtime opening tap. Brooklyn Holm is fouled and hits two free throws for the Wolfpack. Izzy Halfmann drives and hits a layup to tie the game for the Eagles. Izzy Halfmann gets her hand on the ball, but Laingsburg recovers. The Wolfpack misses a threeball from the wing. Harper Strouse pulls down the offensive rebound and passes to Payge Woodworth, who throws in a threeball from the side for Laingsburg. Izzy Halfmann is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Wolfpack lead to 58-56 with 2:51 remaining in overtime.

Sophia Thelen grabs the offensive rebound from the missed free throw for Fowler. Izzy Halfmann is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Sophia Thelen knocks the ball away from Laingsburg and Izzy Halfmann picks it up for Fowler. Izzy Halfmann is fouled on a drive to the basket and hits two free throws to boost her Eagles to a 59-58 lead with 2:15 to play in overtime.

Lilly Morrill drives and hits a layup for Laingsburg to retake the lead for the Wolfpack. Sophia Thelen drives and hits a six foot hook shot for Fowler to give her Eagles a one point lead. Fowler misses a six foot shot from the baseline. An Eagle dribbler steps out of bounds. Brooklyn Holm passes to Mallory Woodbury, who hits a layup to give Laingsburg a one point lead. Selena Stump is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to tie the game at 62-62 with 49.9 seconds remaining in the extra period.

Izzy Halfmann gets her hand on the ball and Laingsburg calls time to save its possession. Izzy Halfmann dives and gets her hand on the ball; Laingsburg loses it out of bounds. Fowler misses a jumper from the free throw line. Laingsburg rebounds the ball and the buzzer decides it is time to end the first overtime.

The first overtime ends tied at 62-62 and there will be DOUBLE OVERTIME at the Fowler Athletic Center.

Laingsburg wins the opening tap and gets the first possession of the second overtime. The Wolfpack misfires on a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Fowler misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Laingsburg misses on a threeball from the wing.

Brooklyn Holm gets the offensive rebound and passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Harper Strouse is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to boost her Wolfpack team to a 64-62 lead with 3:00 remaining in the second overtime.

Mallory Woodbury steals the ball for Laingsburg. Brooklyn Holm drives and hits a six foot banked shot from the side of the lane to give Laingsburg a four point lead. Izzy Halfmann drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Leah Mills is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to give Laingsburg a 67-64 lead with 1:24 left in the second overtime.

The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball. Fowler misses a driving layup. Sophia Thelen steals the ball and is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to cut the Laingsburg lead to 67-65 with 1:12 to play.

Leah Thelen gets her hand on a Wolfpack pass and knocks it out of bounds. Laingsburg retains possession. Leah Mills is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Laingsburg. Harper Strouse grabs the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Brooklyn Holm is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to push the Wolfpack to a 69-65 lead with 38.6 seconds left.

I’m not sure whether it was Leah Mills or Brooklyn Holm, but someone from Laingsburg knocks the ball out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball back. Fowler misses a three pointer from the side. The Laingsburg rebounder is called for traveling. Izzy Halfmann is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to cut the Laingsburg lead to 69-66 with 7.0 seconds left on the second overtime clock.

Laingsburg is fouled and misses two free throws. LIlly Morrill gets the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Brooklyn Holm is fouled and hits two free throws with 1.7 seconds to go to give Laingsburg a 71-66 lead.

Fowler inbounds the ball, but is not able to shoot.

Laingsburg wins this exciting double overtime game by the final score of 71-66. Congratulations to the Wolfpack, who won this exciting game and to the Eagles, who looked a lot better than what their season record would indicate!!

Izzy Halfmann led the Fowler scoring with 29 points. Selena Stump supported her teammate with 15 points. Sophia Thelen joined her teammates in double figures with 11 points. Leah Thelen added 6 points and Myah Rademacher had 5 points.

Lilli Morrill had 22 points to lead the Laingsburg scoring. Brooklyn Holm contributed 19 points. Harper Strouse and Payge Woodworth each scored 10 points. Mallory Woodbury added 8 points. Leah Mills tallied two points, but they were both important free throws in the second overtime.