Lansing Christian vs. Morrice – – MHSAA Girls Basketball District – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 27, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

In one of my more successful You Tube videos, I mention that you never know where the Red River Valley will lead you. One place that it does not lead is to Fowler. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8

However, fortunately for the teams that are playing at the Girls Basketball District hosted by Fowler, M-21 does get you pretty close to Fowler High School.

Your Bleacher Denizen had an interesting day getting over to Fowler to watch the game. The computer in the communication system of the BleacherDenizenMobile rebelled and had to be taken to Mike Young’s Dealership in Frankenmuth. (I grew up and bought the car in Frankenmuth.) Mr. Young’s service department did its usual excellent job and sent me on my way around noon or so.

Over near Frankenmuth, at that time, there was a lot of freezing rain and sleet all over the place and the first few miles on the path to Fowler were driven at around 30 miles per hour. I even emailed Fowler’s administration to verify the game would be played. However, road conditions got better as the temperature warmed up a couple degrees and the falling sleet turned into falling rain. It was still a bit of a challenge, but the BleacherDenizenMobile got me to Fowler High School in plenty of time to blog the game!

The Pilgrims from Lansing Christian bring a 10-12 record into this game while the Orioles from Morrice are at 16-3. However, Lansing Christian’s record may be a bit misleading as they play in a league where they are the only Division 4 team.

Here is a bit of information about Lansing Christian’s players. Audra Usiak is a point guard with a great deal of experience who is a menacing perimeter defender and is a fine ball handler who runs the offense well. Grace Sullivan is a threat to drive to the basket or to hit shots from the three point line. Lydia Brogan plays excellent defense on the perimeter. Anna Meyer is a fine rebounder and defender in the post.

Morrice has some strong players as well. Aubrey Rogers is an athletic junior in her third year of starting on the varsity. She is a strong ball handler who can pretty much get to anywhere she wants on the floor. She is also a threat from the three point line. On defense, she can use her athletic ability to overwhelm people on the perimeter or in the lane with her combination of length, strength and quickness. She is also a strong rebounder.

Makenzie Doerner is a good decision maker who runs the point a lot of the time for the Orioles. She is a good ball handler and passer; she is also a huge threat from the three point line. Lily Nowak can overwhelm opposing dribblers with her competitive aggression as well as her quick hands and feet. She is a threat to steal the ball from anyone at any time. Kaylee McGowan contributes strong defense, rebounding and scoring in the post. Alexa Rose is also a tough rebounder and defender in the post.

It is now time to report on the events of this game through the occasionally vigilant eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in what people now call the Stone Age. People criticized the Bleacher Denizen’s outside shooting, but the reality was that most people struggled to shoot the large boulders we played with even under the basket. (We DID develop some impressive arm and shoulder muscles – – – )

Morrice wins the opening tap. Grace Sullivan steals the ball for Christian and hits a fast break layup to give the Pilgrims the first two points of the game. Kaylee McGowan passes to Lily Nowak, who hits a jumper from the free throw elbow for Morrice to tie the game. Christian turns the ball over. Morrice throws a pass out of bounds.

Christian misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Audra Usiak grabs the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 6:29 to play in the first quarter, the game is tied at 2-2.

Lydia Brogan grabs the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims and makes a reverse layup. Aubrey Rogers passes to Alexa Rose, who banks in a jumper from the free throw elbow for Morrice to tie the game. Christian misses a sixteen footer from the side. Ava Mustapha is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to boost Christian to a 5-4 lead with 5:03 to play in the quarter.

Ava Mustapha steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Christian. Lydia Brogan steals the ball for the Pilgrims, but steps on the baseline. Grace Sullivan gets her hand on a pass and the Pilgrims lose the ball out of bounds. Christian misses a driving layup. Lydia Brogan steals the ball for the Pilgrims. Christian is whistled for an over and back violation. Morrice misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Lily Nowak hits a putback to trim the Christian lead to 7-6.

Christian misses a layup. Lily Nowak passes to Makenzie Doerner, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Morrice a 9-7 lead.

Audra Usiak drives and dishes the ball to Ava Mustapha, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Morrice lead to 9-8 with 1:57 to play in the first quarter.

Lydia Brogan knocks the ball away from the Orioles and the Pilgrims pick it up. Christian misfires on a threeball from the side. Sophie Hazelton gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Audra Usiak passes to Lydia Brogan, who throws in a threeball from the wing to retake the lead for Christian. Morrice turns the ball over. Audra Usiak passes to Ava Mustapha, who hits a layup to give Christian a 13-9 lead.

Morrice misses a fifteen foot shot off the dribble from the side. Grace Sullivan drives and hits a layup for Christian. Lydia Brogan knocks an Oriole pass out of bounds; Morrice retains possession. Morrice misses a three point shot from the wing as the first quarter buzzer sounds off.

After one quarter, Lansing Christian has a 15-9 lead.

Christian inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Grace Sullivan drives and hits a layup for the Pilgrims. Sophia Hazelton nearly steals the ball for the Pilgrims, but Audrey Rogers gets the ball back for the Orioles. Lily Nowak hits a three point shot from the wing to trim the Pilgrim lead to 17-12.

Christian misses a three pointer from the wing. They get the offensive rebound, but miss another three pointer from the wing. Sophia Hazelton gets the offensive rebound for Christian. Lily Brogan hits a twelve foot shot from the wing for the Pilgrims. Morrice misses a three pointer from the side. Aubrey Rogers steals the ball and hits a layup for the Orioles. Audra Usiak passes to Sophia Hazelton, who hits a three point shot from the side to boost the Pilgrims to a 22-14 lead.

Morrice misses a driving six foot shot from the side of the lane. Ava Mustapha goes coast to coast for a Pilgrim layup. Audra Usiak gets her hand on an Oriole pass and Morrice loses the ball out of bounds. Christian is whistled for a traveling violation. Lydia Brogan gets her hand on the ball and a Morrice dribbler loses it out of bounds. Christian misses a threeball from the wing and fouls on the rebound.

Audra Usiak knocks the ball out of bounds; Morrice retains possession. Morrice misses an eighteen footer from the side. Makenzie Doerner snares the offensive rebound for the Orioles. Morrice gets assessed with a traveling violation. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Maddie Crawford gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian steps on the baseline. Lydia Brogan steals the ball for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a threeball from the side. Aubrey Rogers is fouled on the rebound and hits one of two free throws in a one and one opportunity for Morrice to trim the Christian lead to 24-15 with 2:42 to play in the first half.

Alexa Rose grabs the offensive rebound of the missed free throw for the Orioles. Morrice misses a three point shot from the side. Christian is called for traveling. Aubrey Rogers hits a three pointer off the dribble from the wing for Morrice to cut the Christian lead to 24-18.

Sophie Hazelton throws in a threeball from the side for the Pilgrims. Morrice misses a ten foot banked shot from the side. Audra Usiak passes to Sophie Hazelton, who hits another threeball from the corner to give the Pilgrims a 30-18 lead.

Morrice misses a layup. Lily Nowak gets the offensive rebound for the Orioles. Morrice misfires on a threeball from the wing. Lydia Brogan drives from the top of the key and hits a layup for the Pilgrims. MOrrice misses a three point shot from the side. Aubrey Rogers knocks the ball out of bounds; Christian retains possession. The Pilgrims miss a three point shot from the wing. Morrice rebounds the missed shot as the halftime buzzer makes its presence known.

At halftime, Lansing Christian has a 32-18 lead.

Sophia Hazelton has three triples for the Pilgrims; she along with Lydia Brogan leads the Pilgrim halftime scoring with 9 points. Ava Mustapha has 8 points and Grace Sullivan has 6 points.

Lily Nowak leads the Morrice scoring with 7 points and Aubrey Rogers has 6 points.

As we have no halftime entertainment, maybe we can enjoy the new most popular song from my You Tube Channel. “Little Brown Church” is a classic Christian tune and for some reason, a lot of people on You Tube have been listening to it lately. I hope you enjoy it!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnetrJFi6o

Morrice has the ball to open the third quarter. The Orioles misfires on a triple try from the wing. Lydia Brogan drives from the side and hits a layup for the Pilgrims. Morrice misses a three point shot from the side. Ava Mustapha goes coast to coast for a Pilgrim fast break layup that gives Christian a 36-18 lead.

Morrice misses a fifteen foot hook shot from the side. Lily Nowak knocks the ball away from Christian and Makenzie Doerner picks it up for Morrice. Morrice misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Orioles get another opportunity. Morrice misses a threeball from the wing. Audra Usiak passes to Ava Mustapha, who is fouled on a three point shot from the side. She hits two of her three free throws to give Christian a 38-18 lead with 5:18 to go in the third quarter.

Christian fouls on the rebound of the missed free throw. Morrice loses control of the ball and there is a tieup. After consulting its card club, the Possession Arrow decides that Christian shall get the ball. Lydia Brogan drivers and hits a layup to give the Pilgrims a 40-18 lead.

Morrice misses a three point shot from the side. Christian reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the side. The Pilgrims go one better and foul on the rebound. Maddie Crawford gets her hand on the ball and Morrice loses it out of bounds. Lily Nowak knocks the ball out of bounds; Christian retains possession. Audra Usiak gets the ball to Ava Mustapha, who drives and hits a layup to give Christian a 42-18 lead.

Aubrey Rogers passes to Lily Nowak, who hits a three point shot from the side for Morrice. Christian misses a layup. Maddie Crawford pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian turns the ball over. Maddie Crawford gets her hand on the ball and Lydia Brogan picks it up for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a driving layup and fouls on the rebound.

Morrice misses a threeball from the wing. Christian fouls on the rebound. Morrice misses a three point shot from the corner. Kaylee McGowan hits a putback for the Orioles to trim the Christian lead to 42-23.

Lily Nowak steals the ball for Morrice. Lydia Brogan steals the ball for Christian. Christian drives the baseline and misses a layup. The rebound is tied up. After checking with its Magic 8 Ball, the Possession Arrow decrees that Morrice shall have the ball. The Orioles miss a three point shot from the side at the buzzer.

After three quarters, Christian has a 42-23 lead.

Christian inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter underway. The Pilgrims throw a pass out of bounds. Morrice misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Grace Sullivan drives from the wing and hits a layup for the Pilgrims. Morrice misses a driving eight foot shot in the lane. Lydia Brogan is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Christian a 45-23 with 6:22 left on the clock.

Morrice misses a three point shot from the top of the key; the rebound goes out of bounds and Christian takes possession. Christian misses a layup. Ava Mustapha is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to push the Pilgrims to a 47-23 lead with 5:17 remaining in the game.

Makenzie Doerner passes to Kaylee McGowan, who hits a layup for Morrice. Kaylee McGowan knocks a pass out of bounds; Christian gets the ball back. The Pilgrims miss a driving layup. Morrice misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball back. Aubrey Rogers steals the Pilgrim inbound pass. Morrice misses a layup. Christian is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. With 4:00 remaining in the game, Christian has a 47-25 lead.

Audra Usiak knocks a pass out of bounds. Morrice retains possession. Morrice is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one opportunity. Audra Usiak is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Christian a 49-25 lead with 2:58 to go in the contest.

Morrice misses a three point shot from the wing. Maisie Campbell ties up the rebound; The Possession Arrow is delighted with her hustle and awards the ball to the Orioles. Morrice misses an eighteen foot shot from the wing. Christian is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. The rebound goes out of bounds and Morrice gets the ball. Ava Mustapha steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give the Pilgrims a 51-25 lead.

Morrice misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball. Makenzie Doerner steals the ball for the Orioles. Morrice is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Christian misses a driving layup. Morrice misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Morrice gets another possession. The Orioles miss a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball.

Christian passes the ball out of bounds. Morrice misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball. Alexa Rose steals the ball for Morrice just before the final buzzer sounds.

Lansing Christian wins this game 51-25 and will play Fowler in Wednesday’s District Semifinal.

Lily Nowak had 10 points to lead the Morrice scoring. Aubrey Rogers added 6 points. Kaylee McGowan put in 4 points. Makenzie Doerner had 3 points and Alexa Rose scored 2 points.

Ava Mustapha had 18 points to lead the Lansing Christian scoring. Lydia Brogan supported her teammate with 14 points. Sophie Hazelton had three triples and scored 9 points. Grace Sullivan contributed 8 points. Audra Usiak put in 2 points.