Pewamo-Westphalia vs. Roscommon – – MHSAA Division 3 Girls Basketball Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 19, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

This afternoon, your Bleacher Denizen is at the Breslin Center where the Pirates from Pewamo-Westphalia will meet the Bucks from Roscommon in the Girls State Basketball Semifinal.

While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of “Down South in New Orleans” which has a calypso type beat that was way ahead of its time in the country music of 1955, when it was first released!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QUZ5FrpeFA

Roscommon finished third in the Highland Conference and enters the game with a 21-3 record. All three losses were to teams who finished above them in the conference.

The Bucks Girls have some fine individual players in addition to their team success. Zoey Kauffman averages 14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game. She has hit 30 three point baskets so far this year. Alexis Carper averages 11.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. Mara Williams averages 7.2 points and 3.5 assists per game. Nemiah Carper scores 6.0 points per game and averages just under 7.0 rebounds. Kylie Traver scores 8.5 points per game.

Pewamo-Westphalia won the Central Michigan Athletic Conference with an undefeated league record and finished 25-2 overall. The Pirates’ losses included one to Division 1 Saginaw Heritage, who won their district and one to Division 2 semifinalist Flint Powers Catholic.. They have also won two games against Division 4 semifinalist Portland St. Patrick, who is also in their conference.

Adrianna Eklund leads the Pirate scoring with 12.8 points per game; she also averages 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. She has hit 33 three point baskets so far this year. Elly Bengel, an All-State first team player from last year averages 12 points per game and has hit 40 three point shots. Alonna Thelen averages 10.2 pointer per game and has hit 36 three pointers. Peyton Eklund has also contributed 34 three point baskets this yera.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the somewhat clear lenses of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league in the days of yore when he attempted to hoop. His coach did not appreciate the Bleacher Denizen’s creative approach to scoring.

The coach insisted that the Bleacher Denizen only shoot at the basket the rest of his team shot at. The Bleacher Denizen felt this unnecessarily impeded his creativity as sometimes, he was moved to shoot at the other basket. He loved the fact that the “defense” did not disrupt him when he aimed at this other basket and he also loved the cheers from the opposing crowd when he made baskets. His coach whined about points being added to the other team’s score before he finally gave the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time to teammates who were less creative about their approach to shooting. Alas.

Roscommon wins the opening tap. Alexis Carper drives and hits a layup for the Bucks to give them the first two points of the game. P-W misses a threeball from the wing. Adrianna Eklund dives and nearly steals the ball for the Pirates, but Roscommon recovers. Kylie Traver is fouled on a driving layup and hits her free throw to give her Bucks a 4-0 lead with 6:42 remaining in the opening quarter.

Nemiah Carper blocks a Pirate layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and P-W gets another opportunity. Elly Bengel passes to Adrianna Eklund, who makes a short drive to the basket and hits a layup for P-W’s first two points. Roscommon misfires on a triple try from the side. Mara Williams grabs the offensive rebound and hits a reverse layup to give the Bucks a 6-2 lead.

P-W misses a three pointer from the corner. Elly Bengel forces a Roscommon traveling violation. P-W misses a threeball from the corner and fouls on the rebound. Elly Bengel steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Pirates. Peyton Eklund’s fierce defense forces a Roscommon traveling violation. Elly Bengel passes to Elyse Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give the Pirates a 7-6 lead.

Roscommon misfires on a threeball from the corner. Renell Eklund passes to Alonna Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Pirates. Alonna Thelen forces a Buck dribbler to step out of bounds on the baseline. Peyton Eklund saves a bad pass to prevent a Pirate turnover. Elyse Thelen drives and hits a layup to give P-W a 12-6 lead.

Peyton Eklund knocks the ball away from Roscommon and Elyse Thelen picks it up for P-W. Elly Bengel is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws. With 1:23 remaining in the opening period, the Pirates have a 13-6 lead.

Roscommon is assessed with a traveling violation. Zoey Kauffman steals a Pirate pass into the lane. Elyse Thelen harasses Roscommon into camping in the lane for three seconds; the Bucks turn the ball over. Elly Bengel chases down a bad pass to prevent a Pirate turnover. Mara Williams steals the ball and passes to Zoey Kauffman, who hits a layup just as the first quarter buzzer comes out of hibernation to trim the P-W lead to five points.

After one quarter, Pewamo-Westphalia has a 13-8 lead.

Pewamo-Westphalia inbounds the ball to open the second period. The Pirates miss a threeball from the wing. Zoey Kauffman drives and hits a six foot banked shot from the side for the Bucks to trim the P-W lead to 13-10.

P-W misses a driving layup. Renell Eklund draws an offensive foul from the Bucks. Elly Bengel passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Alonna Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates and hits a putback. Alonna Thelen steals a Buck pass and passes to Adrianna Eklund, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Pirates. Roscommon turns the ball over against the Pirate press. Alonna Thelen passes to Elly Bengel, who throws in a threeball from the wing to give the Pirates a 21-10 lead.

Alonna Thelen steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W commits an offensive foul. Mara Williams is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws to trim the Pirate lead to 21-12 with 4:26 to play in the second quarter.

P-W is assessed with a traveling violation. Roscommon misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Elyse Thelen drives and hits a layup for the Pirates. Alonna Thelen steals a Roscommon pass. Adrianna Eklund tosses the ball to Elly Bengel, who throws in a threeball from the corner to give her Pirates a 26-12 lead.

Roscommon misses a layup. P-W misses a three pointer from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Alonna Thelen knocks the Buck inbound pass out of bounds; Roscommon retains possession. Trinity Pohl and Adrianna Eklund fiercely double team a Buck ball handler and force a traveling violation. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Zoey Kauffman is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the P-W lead to 26-13 with 1:26 left on the second quarter clock.

Zoey Kauffman knocks the ball away from P-W, but a Buck teammate fouls while trying to retrieve the ball. P-W misses a driving layup. Adrianna Eklund blocks a Buck layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Roscommon gets another opportunity. Roscommon misses a driving layup. P-W travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting; traveling “without” the ball might not be terribly newsworthy!)

Roscommon misses a layup. Zoey Kauffman is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws for the Bucks with just 21.5 seconds left in the half. P-W misses a threeball from the side as the second quarter buzzer announces it is time for all of us to take a break.

Pewamo-Westphalia has a 26-15 lead at halftime.

Mara Williams has 6 points for Roscommon and Zoey Kauffman has 5 points.

Elly Bengel has 9 points to lead P-W at halftime. Elyse Thelen has 7 points. Adrianna Eklund and Alonna Thelen each have 5 points.

As our readers cannot hear the halftime proceedings, I hope you will enjoy these videos from my You Tube Channel as we wait for the third quarter to begin.

Here is an original tune, “A Man Like Me!!” It is about an office worker who is having Walter Mitty fantasies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

“Blues Stay Away from Me is a classic blues tune that has been performed in many different genres. This version stays close to the way the Delmore Brothers, who wrote the song, performed it in the late 1930s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TtsKUnqw7g

Roscommon inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Bucks miss a layup. Elly Bengel passes to Peyton Eklund, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give the Pirates a 29-15 lead.

Mara Williams drives and hits a layup for Roscommon. P-W drives and misses a ten foot shot from the side. Roscommon misses a three point shot from the wing. Mara Williams hustles and ties up the ball for Roscommon. The Possession Arrow is watering its tulips and misses the play; the ball is awarded to P-W. Elly Bengel is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to boost P-W to a 31-17 lead with 5:36 left in quarter number three.

Roscommon is whistled for carrying the ball. The Buck press forces P-W to throw a pass out of bounds. Peyton Eklund taps the ball away from the Bucks and Trinity Pohl picks it up for the Pirates. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Zoey Kauffman drives and hits a layup for the Bucks to trim the Pirates lead to 31-19.

Brenna Thelen passes to Elly Bengel, who spins and hits a layup for the Pirates. Roscommon fumbles a pass out of bounds. P-W misses a threeball from the corner. Elyse Thelen blocks a ten foot Buck shot off the dribble; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Roscommon gets another possession.

Nemiah Carper passes to Aubrey Bunn, who hits a layup for the Bucks. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. Zoey Kauffman pulls down the offensive rebound for the Bucks. Mara Williams is fouled and hits two free throws for Roscommon to trim the P-W lead to 33-23 with 3:25 remaining in quarter number three.

A P-W traveling violation negates a layup. Roscommon misses a threeball from the wing; the rebound goes out of bounds and P-W takes possession. Zoey Kauffman knocks the ball out of bounds; P-W retains possession. The Pirates miss a driving layup. Mara Williams is fouled on a driving six foot banked shot and hits one of her two free throws for Roscommon. P-W misfires on a triple try from the corner. Zoey Kauffman is fouled on the rebound and hits one of her two free throws to trim the P-W lead to 33-25 with 1:41 to play in quarter number three.

Alexis Carper grabs the offensive rebound for the Bucks. Roscommon misses a threeball from the side. P-W reciprocates and misses a threeball from the side. Roscommon misses a driving layup. The Bucks knock the ball out of bounds; P-W retains possession. P-W misses a three pointer from the wing. The Bucks miss a heave as the buzzer calls for an end to quarter number three.

With three quarters in the books, Pewamo-Westphalia has a 33-25 lead.

Roscommon inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Bucks miss a layup. Nemiah Carper and Alexis Carper fiercely double team the Pirates and cause a traveling violation. Roscommon misses an eight foot shot off the dribble from the side of the land and fouls on the rebound. Alexis Carper knocks the ball away from P-W and Kylie Traver picks it up for Roscommon. Zoey Kauffman drives and hits an eight foot shot from the side to cut the P-W lead to 33-27.

Kylie Traver forces a tieup. The Possession Arrow is weeding out troublesome dandelions from the flower bed and misses the play. The ball is awarded to P-W. Adrianna Eklund passes to Elly Bengel, who drives from the side and hits a layup for the Pirates. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to push the P-W lead to 36-27 with 5:12 left on the clock.

Roscommon misses a layup. P-W misses a three point shot from the corner. Roscommon misses a driving eight foot banked shot. P-W misses a driving layup. Elly Bengel grabs the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses two free throws. Roscommon misses a driving eight foot shot in the lane. Zoey Kauffman is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to chop the P-W lead to 36-29 with 3:41 remaining.

Elly Bengel drives and hits a layup for the Pirates. Zoey Kauffman drives and hits a layup for the Bucks. P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Roscommon takes possession. Elly Bengel steals a Buck pass. Zoey Kauffman steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to cut the P-W lead to 38-31.

Adrianna Eklund throws a touchdown pass to wide receiver Elly Bengel, who converts the great pass into a Pirate fast break layup. Roscommon misses a driving layup. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow looks up from an ailing orchid and awards the ball to Roscommon. Adrianna Eklund gets her hand on the ball; Roscommon recovers. Cami Hamina is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to cut the P-W lead to 40-33 with 1:08 remaining in the game.

Alexis Carper forces a tieup. The Possession Arrow is looking for a trowel and misses the play; the ball is given back to the Pirates. Brenna Thelen is fouled and hits two free throws to boost P-W to a 42-33 lead with 1:01 to go.

Adrianna Eklund blocks a Roscommon ten foot shot from the baseline. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Bucks get another possession. Roscommon misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Adrianna Eklund is fouled and hits two free throws with 18.9 seconds left to give P-W a 44-33 lead.

Both teams bring in their substitute players. Roscommon misses a threeball from the side. Reese Williams hits a putback for Roscommon just before the final buzzer ends the game.

Pewamo-Westphalia wins this game 44-35 and will play Jackson Lumen Christi in Saturday’s Division 3 Final Game.

Zoey Kauffman had 14 points to lead the Roscommon scoring. Mara Williams joined her teammate in double figures with 11 points. Alexis Carper, Cami Hamina, Reese Williams, Aubrey Bunn and Kylie Traver each tallied 2 points.

Elly Bengel poured in 20 points to lead Pewamo-Westphalia. Adrianna Eklund and Elyse Thelen each supported her with 7 points. Alonna Thelen pitched in with 5 points. Peyton Eklund added 3 points. Brenna Thelen put in 2 points.