Cass City at Kingston – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 20, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen is going to Kingston to blog the Cardinals’ girls basketball game against the Red Hawks from Cass City. Kingston is coming off an excellent season where they made a run to the quarterfinals where they lost to a Fowler team that was coming off two consecutive state championships!
https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/03/15/fowler-vs-kingston-girls-basketball-mhsaa-division-4-quarterfinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-14-2023-by-chuck-krafft/

While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this original Christmas tune from my You Tube Channel. After you hear this, you will know “the rest of the story” in regard to the unfortunate incident between Grandma and the reindeer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp3FW5dhL3E

Cass City enters this game with a 1-3 record while Kingston is at 3-1. It’s only loss was to a powerful Goodrich team that made it to the Division 2 semifinals last year. (That semifinal game is also in my blog if anyone is interested.)

This will be the first time I’ve ever posted about a Cass City event in “The Bleacher Denizen” blog. Red Hawk Coach Justin Ketterer was generous with his time and provided this information about his players.

Diana Cortes has a high basketball IQ and is an intense perimeter defender. Shayler McIntyre is a freshman who runs the point for the Red Hawks. She is a fine passer who understands the game well. Shelby Ignash is an athletic post player who is a tough defender, rebounder and scorer in the lane. She also is capable of stepping out and hitting three point shots. Josie Spencer is a versatile defender who can cover either the post or the perimeter. Hailey Dubs is a strong rebounder and defender who has solid footwork and can score in the post.

Lexi Champagne is injured and will not play today. She is an athletic defender who matches up well in the post or on the perimeter. Mia Myers-Caister knows the game well and is tough. She is a solid perimeter defender who can cause turnovers. Katelyn Rockwell is a strong perimeter defender who can hit the three point shot. Audrina Hartwick is a wing with a solid three point shot. Takara Tageson is a good leader who defends well in the post. Lily Khiari-Huc is an exchange student who is learning the game and is a supportive teammate.

Kingston Coach Jay Green provided this information about his Cardinal players.

Delaney St. George is a consummate point guard who defends the perimeter ferociously, runs the team on offense and has a great three point shot. I also learned that she scored her 1000th career point earlier this season.

Twin senior sisters Abby Walker and Gracy Walker start along with their sophomore sister Molly Walker. Abby Walker is a tough rebounder, defender and scorer in the post. Gracy Walker is a fine perimeter defender who slashes to the basket well and is also a threat from the three point line. Molly Walker is a tough perimeter defender. She also handles the ball really well and can score on slashes to the basket a well as from the three point line. The fifth starter is Zoe van Rijn, who also plays tough post defense, rebounds well and can score in the paint.

Keira McGarvie splits time with Zoe van Rijn in the post. She is a fine scorer, defender and rebounder. Chesaney Wenzlaff is a tough perimeter defender with a fine three point shot. Lauren Krug is a good post defender and rebounder who also has a solid midrange jump shot. Meeghan Flikkie and Lauren Smith are able perimeter defenders. Mikayla Adamczyk is injured today, but is a solid post defender.

I got to the gym in time to see the JV game. Kingston led 11-6 after one quarter and had a 16-10 halftime lead. Each team scored just four points in a tough defensive third quarter; Kingston had a 20-14 led entering the final period. They stretched their lead to 24-16, but then Carla Cortes led a Red Hawk comeback. She banked in a three point shot with 3:48 to go and hit a two point shot shortly after to trim the Cardinal lead to 24-19.

Both defenses were tough for the next couple minutes, but Carla Cortes banked in another seventeen foot shot to chop the Kingston lead to 24-23 with about 1:25 left. Braylon Guitierrez stole the ball for Cass City at the point to give the Red Hawks a chance to take a late game lead. Kingston’s Violet Tetil blocked a Cass City layup to keep the lead in Kingston’s hands. Then Piper St. George passed to Grace McGarvie, who hit a layup to give Kingston a 29-26 lead with 25 seconds to go.

Piper St. George blocked a Red Hawk triple try at the buzzer to preserve the Kingston lead. Kingston won the JV game by a 29-26 score.

Carla Cortes led the Red Hawk JVs with 11 points. Rylee Bliss, Braylon Guitierrez and Lexi Tamlyn each added 4 points.

Lilah Kiley led the victorious Kingston JVs with 9 points. Brianna Rayl scored 8 points. Violet Tetil put in 5 points and Grace McGarvie had 4 points.

It is time to review the events of this varsity game through the eager if disjointed eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league back in the days when he was considered to be “young.” He was starting to progress in the game until the Basketball Powers That Be banned the catapult he was using to launch his three point shot and add zip to his passes. Alas, the loss of the catapult meant that your Bleacher Denizen was forever limited, especially after the Powers that Be also banned his basketball rocket propulsion system.

The game got off to a heartwarming start as Mrs. Walker’s third grade class led the singing of the National Anthem. The third graders followed up by singing and signing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” The young ones were confident and performed with gusto!! It was a great show. In about twelve years, Kingston could have a couple dozen pop stars!!

Cass City wins the opening tap. The Red Hawks miss a layup. Kingston sails a pass over everyone in the lane and out of bounds. Zoe van Rijn knocks the ball away from the Red Hawks and Molly Walker picks it up for the Cardinals. Shelby Ignash blocks a Cardinal layup. Kingston recovers the ball. Delaney St. George passes to Gracy Walker, who hits a layup to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

Cass City misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Kingston misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Zoe van Rijn pulls down the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a driving eight foot shot from the baseline. Molly Walker nearly steals the ball for Kingston, but Cass City is able to recover.

Cass City misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Josie Spencer grabs the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Cass City misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Shelby Ignash and Josie Spencer knock a Kingston pass out of bounds; the Cardinals retain possession. Kingston misses a layup. Gracy Walker hits a putback to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.

Shayler McIntyre passes to Shelby Ignash cutting to the basket; she hits a layup to give the Red Hawks their first two points. Kingston misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Delaney St. George steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow and its Security Council decree that the ball belings to Kingston. Kingston misses a jump shot from the free throw line.

Cass City throws its fast break outlet pass out of bounds. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. Molly Walker pulls down the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Josie Spencer steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Zoe van Rijn steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Gracy Walker grabs the offensive rebound for Kingston. Kingston misses a fifteen foot shot. Abby Walker steals the ball for Kingston and hits a fast break layup to give the Cardinals a 6-2 lead.

Cass City turns the ball over. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. Abby Walker gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a six foot shot in the lane. Zoe van Rijn blocks a Cass City fast break layup. Cass City retrieves the loose ball, ut misses a layup. Molly Walker passes to Delaney St. George, who hits a three point shot from the side for Kingston. Molly Walker steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Kingston. Cass City misses a twelve foot shot from the side at the buzzer.

After one quarter, Kingston has an 11-2 lead.

Kingston inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. The Cardinals miss a layup. Josie Spencer passes to Diana Cortes, who is fouled on a reverse layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Kingston lead to 11-3 with 7:15 to play in the second quarter.

Abby Walker passes to Keira McGarvie, who hits a layup for Kingston. Cass City misfires on a threeball from the side. Kingston reciprocates and misfires on a threeball from the side. Delaney St. George grabs the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. Keira McGarvie gets the offesive rebound for the Cardinals. Abby Walker passes to Keira McGarvie, who hits a layup for Kingston to push the Cardinal lead to 15-3.

Keira McGarvie’s tough post defense causes Cass City to miss a layup. Shelby Ignash knocks a Kingston pass into the lane out of bounds; Kingston retains possession. Kingston misses a three point shot from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and Cass City takes the ball. Shayler McIntire is fouled on a driving layup. She hits one of her two free throws to shave the Cardinal lead to 15-4 with 4:59 remaining in the second quarter.

Kingston misses a threeball from the top of the key. Molly Walker gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston throws a pass out of bounds. Josie Spencer passes to Shayler McIntire, who hits a six foot shot from the side to pare the Kingston lead to 15-6.

Keira McGarvie hits a layup for KIngston. Cass City misses a six foot banked hook shot. Kingston loses a pass out of bounds. Shelby Ignash drives and dishes the ball to Hailey Dubs, who hits a layup for Cass City. Kingston misses a three pointer from the side. Keira McGarvie gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 3:17 to go in the second quarter, the Kingston lead is at 17-8.

Molly Walker’s stern defense causes Cass City to throw a pass out of bounds. Kingston misses a threeball near the top of the key. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow and its Christmas Decoration Committee meet to determine that Cass City will get the ball. The Christmas Decoration Committee also makes a suggestion that the ball would look more festive with tinsel glued to it, but the game officials just put the ball back in play.

Cass City misses a banked hook shot. Gracy Walker passes to Molly Walker, who hits a layup for the Cardinals. Delaney St. George steals a Red Hawk pass. Gracy Walker hits a fast break layup to give Kingston a 21-8 lead.

Kingston’s defense forces Cass City to call timeout to avoid turning the ball over for failing to inbound it in five seconds. Molly Walker steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Kingston. Kingston’s defense forces Cass City into a violation for failing to inbound the ball in five seconds. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. Zoe van Rijn hits the floor to secure the rebound for the Cardinals.

Kingston misses a layup. Kingston gets the offensive rebound and Molly Walker hits a layup for the Cardinals. Gracy Walker steals the ball for Kingston. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. Zoe van Rijn goes to the floor again to steal the ball for Kingston. Molly Walker hits a fast break layup for Kingston. Cass City commits a traveling violation. Kingston misses a three quarter court heave at the buzzer.

Kingston has a 27-8 lead at halftime.

Shayler McIntire has 3 points to lead the Cass City scoring.

Molly Walker has 8 points to lead Kingston. Gracy Walker and Keira McGarvie each have 6 points.

Kingston holds a shooting contest for the half time entertainment. As we who are reading on the internet cannot see the contest, I hope you will enjoy these videos from my You Tube Channel for your entertainment!

Here’s a fun video of the 1967 hit “Snoopy’s Christmas!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1pZCnDBHL0

This one is “Little Drummer Boy” (based on the solo arrangement I have used for years.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWFryViWd20

Kingston inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Cardinals misfire on a threeball from the side. Shayler McIntire passes to Shelby Ignash, who is cutting to the basket and hits a layup for the Red Hawks. Kingston misfires on a triple try from the corner. Cass City misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Gracy Walker drives, spins and banks in a five foot hook shot to give her Cardinals a 29-10 lead.

Delaney St. George’s fierce defense causes a Red Hawk dribbler to lose the ball out of bounds. Shelby Ignash steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Delaney St. George steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker hits a putback to give Kingston a 31-10 lead.

Abby Walker steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston throws a pass out of bounds. Gracy Walker knocks the ball away from Cass City and Molly Walker picks it up for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a layup. Cass City commits an over and back violation. Josie Spencer’s tough defense causes a Kingston ball handler to step on the baseline. Despite a heroic effort by Hailey Dubs to save the ball, Cass City throws its inbound pas out of bounds.

Kingston misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Keira McGarvie grabs the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston loses the ball out of bounds. Molly Walker steals the ball for the Cardinals. Molly Walker passes to Abby Walker, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Kington a 32-10 lead with 3:26 to go in quarter number three.

Cass City misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Kingston misses a layup. Abby Walker grabs the offensive rebound and passes to Molly Walker who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for the Cardinals. Abby Walker steals a Red Hawk bounce pass. Kingston misfires on a triple try from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Cass City misses a threeball near the top of the key. Meeghan Flikkie drives nd hits a ten foot shot from the baseline to boost the Cardinal lead to 36-10.

Shayler McIntire hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Cass City. Kingston misses a three pointer from the wing. Meeghan Flikkie gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Cass City misses a three point shot from the wing. Delaney St. George is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Kingston a 37-13 lead with 1:03 left on the third quarter clock.

Cass City bounces a pass out of bounds. Kingston misses a three point shot from the side. Shayler McIntire hits a fast break layup for Cass City. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing just before the third quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

With three quarters in the books, Kingston has a 37-15 lead.

Cass City has the ball to open the final quarter. Delaney St. George steals the ball for Kingston. The Cardinals miss a layup. Molly Walker hits a putback for Kingston. Josie Spencer drives and is fouled on a twelve foot shot from the side. She hits one of her two free throws. With 7:03 remaining in the contest, Kingston has a 39-16 lead.

Molly Walker zips a cross court pass to Delaney St. George, who hits a three point shot from the side for Kingston. Cass City misses a driving layup. Shelby Ignash briefly steals the ball for the Red Hawks, but her momentum causes her to travel. Gracy Walker passes to Molly Walker, who hits a layup for Kingston. Cass City misses a layup. Gracy Walker is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free thrwos to give Kingston a 45-16 lead with 5:46 left on the clock.

Gracy Walker steals the ball for the Cardinals. Kingston travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. I’m not sure how newsworthy traveling without the ball would be.) Shayler McIntire passes to Shelby Ignash, who hits an eight foot shot from the baseline for the Red Hawks. Kingston misses a three point shot from the wing. Cass City misses a ten footer from the baseline.

The rebound is tied up and the Possession Arrow consults its Steering Committee which votes to steer the ball to the Cardinals. Delaney St. George passes the ball to Keira McGarvie, who hits a layup for Kingston. Shelby Ignsh passes to Shayler McIntire, who its a layup for Cass City. At this point, Kingston has a 47-20 lead.

Kingston loses a pass out of bounds. Cass City turns the ball over. Kingston misses a three point shot from the corner. Meeghan Flikkie gets the offensive rebound for Kingston. The Cardinals miss a three point shot from the side. Chesaney Wenzlaff gets the offensive rebound for the Cardinals. Kingston misses a three pointer from the side. Keira McGarvie hits a putback for the Cardinals. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 3:32 to play, Kingston has a 49-20 lead.

Cass City misses a three point shot from the wing. Shelby Ignash gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Cass City misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Red Hawks get another opportunity. Cass City misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Hailey Dubs stands tall in the lane and forces a Kingston traveling violation. Shayler McIntire passes to Hailey Dubs, who hits a layup for Cass City. Shayler McIntire knocks the ball away from Kingston and out of bounds. Kingston retains possession. Meeghan Flikkie drives and hits a layup to give Kingston a 51-22 lead.

Cass City misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. Chesaney Wenzlaff passes to Lauren Krug, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Kingston. Shayler McIntire passes to Mia Myers-Caister, who launches and hits a three point shot from the wing for Cass City. Kingston misses a layup. Mia Myers-Caister hits and eight foot shot from the side for Cass City and is fouled. She misses her free throw. With 27.6 seconds remaining in the game, Kingston has a 54-27 lead.

KIngston misses a three point shot from the wing. Chesaney Wenzlaff knocks the ball away from Cass City, but the Red Hawks recover. Cass City misses a three point attempt from the wing at the final buzzer.

Kingston wins by the final score of 54-27.

Shayler McIntire had 10 points to lead the Cass City scoring. Shelby Ignash put in 6 points and Mia Myers-Caister scored 5 points. Hailey Dubs added 4 points. Diana Cortes and Josie Spencer each tallied 1 point.

Molly Walker had 14 points to lead the Kingston scoring. Keira McGarvie joined her teammate in double figures with 10 points. Gracy Walker contributed 9 points. Abby Walker and Delaney St. George each contributed 7 points. Meeghan Flikkie tossed in 4 points. Lauren Krug scored 3 points.