Dansville at Fowler – – CMAC Girls’ Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 14, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, is a complex day. While it’s Valentine’s Day, it is also one day after a horrible shooting incident on Michigan State University’s Campus. Before the game, the Fowler announcer called for a moment of silence to commemorate those who lost their lives or were injured.

Tonight, there is a big game in CMAC Girls’ basketball as the Aggies from Dansville are visiting the Eagles from Fowler. Dansville is a perfect 10-0 in the CMAC with a 16-1 overall record. Fowler is 9-2 in the CMAC and 12-6 overall.

Dansville’s only loss this year is to Dearborn Divine Child, a Division 2 power that has over three times Dansville’s enrollment.

Megan Dietz is a big force for the Aggies. She is tall enough to defend in the post and more than quick enough to cover people on the perimeter. With her quickness and height, she creates a lot of turnovers for the opposition. On offense, she has the ball handling and passing skills of most point guards. She is extremely difficult to stop on slashes to the basket and you also need to respect her three point shot.

Kourtney Mack is an excellent three point shooter who plays solid defense on the perimeter. She also is able to score on fast break baskets. She gives the Aggies another dependable ball handler and solid passer. Gracie Taylor handles the point a lot of the time as she is also a fine perimeter defender, ball handler and passer. She is also a threat from the three point line. Elizabeth Carpenter is a tough defender and rebounder in the post. She can score inside and also has a nice mid-range jump shot.

Emily Tringal and Alaina Broyles provide help with the Aggies’ post defense and rebounding. Izzy Joseph can shoot the three point shot.

Fowler’s record is a bit misleading because they played the first part of the season without returning All-State player Emma Riley, who suffered a severe ankle injury during the volleyball season. While she is still rounding into shape, Emma Riley is good at anything you would ask from a guard. She is a dependable ball handler, a creative passer, an extremely creative scorer on drives to the basket and a ferocious perimeter defender. Fowler becomes a far more dangerous team when she is on the floor. (And they were pretty solid when she was recovering from her injury as well.)

Grace Epkey is a versatile, athletic player who can provide top quality defense at any position. She is an extremely tough rebounder and interior defender. She gets her share of putbacks; she is also able to slash to the basket and is a threat from the three point line. Taylor Weber and Avery Koenigsknecht are quick and committed perimeter defenders who are big threats from the three point line.

Grace O’Hare is playing a lot more this year. She is also a strong three point shooter and perimeter defender. Quinn Watts plays the tough, aggressive Fowler defense on the perimeter as well. Katic Spicer handles the ball well and is a creative scorer on drives to the basket.

As Dansville does not have a JV team this year, the Fowler JVs played the Grand Ledge Freshman team in the night’s first game. I got to the game at halftime and Fowler held a 26-8 lead. The Fowler JVs continued to roll in the second half and finished with a 56-16 victory.

Ava Jackson led the Grand Ledge Freshmen with 10 points. Jade Queen scored 5 points and Cadence Baumer added 1 point.

Ella Hufnagel led the Fowler JVs with 10 points. Brooke Weber scored 9 points. Megan Hufnagel chipped in with 8 points. Paige Thelen contributed 7 points. Neelah O’Rourke put in 6 points. Selena Stump added 5 points. Josie Simon tossed in 4 points. Madelyn Sillman had 3 points. Saige Miller and Paisley Hansen each tossed in 2 points.

It was Parent’s Night in the Fowler Gym. All the players along with their parents were introduced to the spectators!

It is now time to look at the results of the Dansville/Fowler Varsity game through the shadowy lenses of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the Stone Age. While many people criticized the Bleacher Denizen’s shooting range, I’d like to point out that no one could shoot the boulders we played with in that time very far.

Dansville wins the opening tap. Emma Riley steals the ball for the Eagles. Avery Koenigsknecht whips a cross court pass to Taylor Weber, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Fowler the first points of the game. Grace Epkey steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misfires on a triple try from the side. Emma Riley gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing.

Avery Koenigsknecht steals the ball for the Eagles and passes to Grace Epkey, who is fouled on a layup. Grace Epkey is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for the Eagles. Kourtney Mack spots Megan Zeitz cutting to the basket and passes to her; Megan Zeitz hits a layup for Dansville. Avery Koenigsknecht passes to Emma Riley, who throws in a threeball from the corner to give Fowler an 8-2 lead.

Dansville misses a three point attempt from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Kourtney Mack knocks the ball away from Fowler and Megan Zeitz grabs it for Dansville. Grace Epkey steals the ball for Fowler. A Fowler pass receiver leaps to catch the ball and lands on the sideline. Grace O’Hare knocks the ball away from Dansville and Grace Epkey picks it up for Fowler. Kourtney Mack steals the ball and passes to Megan Zeitz, who drives and hits a layup for Dansville to trim the Eagle lead to 8-4.

Elizabeth Carpenter steals a Fowler pass. Taylor Weber steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a twelve foot jump shot in the lane. Dansville misfires on a triple try from the corner. Gracie Taylor gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. Izzy Joseph gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup.

Kourtney Mack blocks a Fowler threeball from the corner. Grace Epkey steals the ball for Fowler. The Eagles miss a fifteen foot shot from the side. Izzy Joseph drives the baseline for Dansville and is fouled on a layup. She hits one of her two free throws to trim the Eagle lead to 8-5 with 2:03 remaining in the first quarter.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Izzy Joseph drives and passes to Elizabeth Carpenter for an Aggie layup to trim the Fowler lead to one point. Fowler misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get the ball back. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the corner. Rebecca Smith is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to give Fowler a 9-7 lead with 1:09 to play in the quarter.

Grace O’Hare knocks the ball away from Dansville, but the Aggies are able to recover. Taylor Weber taps the ball away from Dansville and Grace O’Hare picks it up for Fowler. Fowler misses a three pointer from the corner. Grace Epkey snags the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Dansville reciprocates and misses a layup. Kourtney Mack blocks a Fowler layup and grabs the ball at the buzzer.

After one quarter, Fowler has a 9-7 lead.

Fowler inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the wing. Taylor Weber ties up the ball for Fowler. The Possession Arrow has been addicted to its video game and misses the play. The ball is awarded to Dansville. The Aggies miss a threeball from the side. Taylor Weber hits a fast break layup to give Fowler an 11-7 lead.

Dansville misses a six foot banked hook shot in the lane. Fowler misses a six foot shot from the baseline. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler gets another opportunity. Fowler misfires on a threeball near the top of the key. Taylor Weber gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Emma Riley drives and is fouled on a layup. She hits two free throws to give Fowler a 13-7 lead with 6:38 remaining in the first half.

Emma Riley gets her hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds; Dansville gets the ball back. Emma Riley blocks a Dansville triple try from the top of the key. Avery Koenigsknecht gets the ball and fires a long pass to Emma Riley, who hits a fast break layup to give Fowler a 15-7 lead.

Emma Riley blocks a Dansville fourteen foot shot in the lane. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Megan Zeitz hits a three point shot near the top of the key for Dansville. Kourtney Mack knocks a Fowler pass out of bounds to prevent an Eagle layup. Fowler gets the ball back. Fowler misses a six foot shot in the lane. Dansville misses an eighteen footer near the top of the key. Megan Zeitz steals a long Fowler pass. Grace O’Hare returns the favor and steals a long Dansville pass. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Kourtney Mack passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both her free throws. With 3:48 to go in the half, the Fowler lead remains at 15-10.

Megan Zeitz kicks the ball and it goes out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Dansville misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Dansville misses a three point shot from the wing. Izzy Joseph snags the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses an eight foot scooped shot from the side. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Megan Zeitz passes to Kourtney Mack, who hits a jump shot from the free throw line to trim the Eagle lead to 15-12.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Dansville misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Elizabeth Carpenter passes to Kourtney Mack, who hits a three point shot from the side for Dansville to tie the game at 15-15.

Fowler throws a pass out of bounds. Kourtney Mack passes to Elizabeth Carpenter, who makes a nice post move and hits a layup to give the Aggies the lead. Fowler misses a three pointer from the side. Dansville misses a half court heave at the buzzer.

At halftime, Dansville has a 17-15 lead.

Emma Riley has 7 points and Taylor Weber has 5 points to lead the Fowler halftime scoring.

Megan Zeitz has 7 points for Dansville and Kourtney Mack has 5 points.

For halftime entertainment, let’s acknowledge Valentine’s Day with this trilogy of Nat King Cole love songs from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uiLf9VvWr0

Fowler inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Eagles miss a threeball from the corner. Dansville misses a threeball from the wing. Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Grace Epkey pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Dansville gets the ball. Gracie Taylor passes to Elizabeth Carpenter as she cuts to the basket; Elizabeth Carpenter hits a layup to give Dansville a 19-15 lead.

Fowler miscommunicates and commits an over and back violation. Dansville fumbles a pass into the lane out of bounds. Fowler miscommunicates and commits another over and back violation. Megan Zeitz saves a loose ball to prevent an Aggie turnover. Gracie Taylor makes a great pass to a teammate who is fouled before she can start shooting her layup. Elizabeth Carpenter passes to a teammate who is fouled on an eight footer from the side of the lane; Dansville misses two layups. With 4:58 remaining in quarter number three, the Dansville lead is at 19-15.

Megan Zeitz is a formidable (and tall) defender at the top of the Dansville zone. Fowler tries to throw a cross court pass over her, but the ball is too high and sails out of bounds. Izzy Joseph drives and hits a layup for Dansville. Elizabeth Carpenter steals the ball for Dansville. Katie Spicer steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Dansville misses a three point shot from the side. Grace O’Hare passes to Taylor Weber, who hits a three point shot from the corner to chop the Dansville lead to 21-18.

Dansville misses a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Fowler misses a threeball from the corner. Dansville misses a three point shot from the side. Gracie Taylor snags the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Grace O’Hare steals the ball for Fowler. Katie Spicer, after a hard dribble to her left, hits a three point shot for Fowler to tie the game at 21-21.

Dansville misses an eight foot runner from the side. Kourtney Mack gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies and passes to Gracie Taylor, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to push the Aggies to a 22-21 lead with 1:29 to go in the third quarter.

Fowler throws a pass out of bounds. Megan Zeitz passes to Kourtney Mack, who drives and hits a layup to give the Aggies a three point lead. Grace O’Hare drives and banks in an eight foot shot from the side for Fowler. Grace O’Hare blocks a Dansville hook/layup shot. Katie Spicer is fouled on a jumper from the free throw elbow and sinks one of her two free throws to tie the game at 2-424 with 29.4 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Dansville holds the ball for a while, then shoots and misses aa three point shot from the wing. Grace O’Hare blocks a Dansville putback. Dansville recovers the ball, but has no time to shoot before the third quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

At the end of three quarters, this game is tied at 24-24.

Dansville has the ball to start out the fourth quarter. Katie Spicer gets her hand on an Aggie pass and Dansville loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. There is a scrum for the rebound and the ball goes out of bounds; Fowler gets the ball back. Izzy Joseph knocks Fowler’s inbound pass out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Gracie Taylor zings a cross court pass to Izzy Joseph, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give her Aggies a 27-24 lead.

Elizabeth Carpenter blocks a Fowler layup. Dansville misses a jumper from the free throw elbow. Fowler fouls on the rebound. Dansville misses a layup. Megan Zeitz pulls down the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Grace Epkey grabs the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Fowler misses a five foot shot from the side of the lane. Grace O’Hare knocks a pass away from Dansville, but the Aggies are able to recover. Dansville is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. With 4:59 remaining in the contest, Dansville has a 27-24 lead.

Kourtney Mack gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. Fowler misses three point shot from the corner. Megan Zeitz is fouled and hits one of her two free throws in a one and one situation to give Dansville a 28-24 lead with 4:35 to play.

Avery Koenigsknecht gets into the lane and is fouled on a six foot shot. She hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Dansville is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one opportunity. Megan Zeitz knocks the ball away from Fowler, but the Eagles recover. Emma riley gets into the lane and is fouled on a ten foot shot. She hits two free throws to trim the Dansville lead to 28-27 with 3:57 to play.

Megan Zeitz passes to Izzy Joseph, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Dansville. Megan Zeitz steals the ball for Dansville. Dansville is fouled, but misses two free throws. Kourtney Mack knocks a Fowler pass out of bounds; the Eagles get the ball back. Emma Riley gets into the lane and banks in a fourteen foot shot to cut the Dansville lead to 31-29.

Dansville misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a runner. Grace Epkey pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Grace O’Hare is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws for Fowler to tie the game at 31-31 with 2:30 left on the clock.

Ella Hufnagel knocks the ball away from a Dansville dribbler from behind and Emma Riley picks up the ball for Fowler. Kourtney Mack steals a Fowler pass. Ella Hufnagel knocks the ball away from Dansville and causes a scrum as players desperately try to retrieve the ball for their team. The ball is finally knocked out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Fowler misses a ten foot shot in the lane. The rebound goes out of bounds and Dansville gets the ball.

Ella Hufnagel plays tough defense and Avery Koenigsknecht joins her to double team Dansville’s ball handler. Avery Koenigsknecht ties up the ball and the Possession Arrow is enamored of her fine defense. The ball is awarded to Fowler. Fowler is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one opportunity. With 1:01 remaining in the game, the game is still tied at 31-31.

Taylor Weber knocks the ball away from Dansville, but the Aggies are able to recover. Dansville misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Izzy Joseph gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Dansville gets the ball back. Megan Zeitz inbounds the ball to Kourtney Mack, who is cutting to the basket. Kourtney Mack hits a layup to give Dansville a 33-31 lead with 21.2 seconds to play.

Fowler misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Avery Koenigsknecht hits a putback with 3.5 seconds to play to tie the game at 33-33.

Dansville misses a heave at the buzzer.

We have OVERTIME in Fowler tonight!!!

Dansville wins the overtime opening tap. Gracie Taylor passes to Elizabeth Carpenter for a layup that gives the Aggies a two point lead. Elizabeth Carpenter blocks a Fowler layup. Dansville misses a six foot hook shot. Elizabeth Carpenter ties up the rebound; the Possession Arrow ignores her fine aggressive play and decrees that Fowler shall get the ball. Fowler misses a ten foot banked shot in the lane. Grace Epkey gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 2:48 left in overtime, Dansville’s lead remains at 35-33.

Dansville misses a runner. Elizabeth Carpenter hits a putback hook for the Aggies. Emma Riley is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to trim the Dansville lead to 37-35 with 2:20 left on the overtime clock.

Dansville misses a three point shot from the side. Avery Koenigsknecht drives and dishes the ball to Taylor Weber, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Fowler a one point lead. Gracie Taylor is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for the Aggies to tie the game at 38-38 with 1:46 to go.

Fowler holds the ball for awhile; Megan Zeitz knocks the ball out of bounds, but Fowler retains possession. Izzy Joseph knocks the ball away from Fowler, but the Eagles recover. Fowler misses a layup. Megan Zeitz is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to give Dansville a 39-38 lead with 35.4 seconds left.

Fowler misses a driving layup. Megan Zeitz is fouled and hits two free throws for Dansville. Dansville leads 41-38 with 24.1 seconds to go.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Fowler misses a three pointer from the side. Emma Riley gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Emily Tringal is fouled and hits two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to boost the Dansville lead to 43-38.

Megan Zeitz blocks a Fowler three point shot from the wing at the final buzzer.

Dansville wins this game in overtime by a 43-38 score to remain undefeated in the CMAC.

Emma Riley led the Fowler scoring with 13 points. Taylor Weber joined her teammate in double figures with 11 points. Grace O’Hare and Katie Spicer each tossed in 4 points. Avery Koenigsknecht scored 3 points. Grace Epkey had 2 points. Rebecca Smith tallied 1 point.

Megan Zeitz led the Dansville scoring with 11 points. Elizabeth Carpenter contributed 10 points. Izzy Joseph and Kourtney Mack each pitched in with 9 points. Gracie Taylor and Emily Tringal each added 2 points.