Fowler vs. Muskegon Catholic Central – – Girls Basketball Regional Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 11, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen is in Fowler to watch the Eagle Girls as they play the Crusaders from Muskegon Catholic Central in the Regional Semifinal. Fowler enters this game with a 21-3 record while Muskegon Catholic Central is at 10-12.

While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this piano solo video of “Feed the Birds” (Mary Poppins) from my You Tube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2KWzZEUZA

The Eagles are a team that has now won its District five consecutive times; they have won their Regional four of the last five years and had earned a spot in the Regional final in 2020 before the tournament was cancelled before they could play the game. This year, the Eagles replaced their entire starting five and have still won their district.

This year’s senior leaders are Grace O’Hare and Rebecca Smith. Grace O’Hare has a lot of experience; she was probably the sixth player on last year’s State Semifinalists. She is a tall and athletic player who is effective either in the post or in the perimeter on defense. She is also a fine rebounder who can score either on midrange shots or by slashing to the basket. She also makes excellent decisions when she handles the ball. Rebecca Smith is a tough post defender who rebounds well and gets her share of putbacks.

Katie Spicer is a gifted and very creative offensive player. She is also a solid perimeter defender (you have to be if you want to get minutes on this deep Eagle team.) When she drives to the basket, she has an amazing assortment of moves she can use to get her shot over or past defenders and makes more than her share of these shots. She can also get red hot from the three point line.

Brooke Weber is a tall player who defends well in the post and can also help on the perimeter. She is a fine three point shooter as well. Izzy Halfmann is a versatile player with a variety of skills. She is tall enough to defend in the post and quick enough to be a stifling presence on the perimeter. (When you realize she’s a freshman, it’s amazing she already defends as well as she does.) On offense, she is a fine ball handler and decision maker with a great basketball IQ. She is great at getting putbacks, stealing the ball for layups and slashing to the basket to score.

Paige Thelen is a fine defender and rebounder in the post. Ella Hufnagel provides energy, energy and more energy off the bench. She is extremely quick and able to stay in front of any opposing ball handler. She is solid slashing to the basket to score (especially after steals) and is starting to shoot an effective three point shot as well. Selena Stump is a fine outside shooter who can get scorching hot at times.

Muskegon Catholic Coach Kaelee Cook provided me with this information about her Crusader players. Andre’a Johnson is an excellent perimeter defender with great quickness. She is able to get a lot of steals and convert them to fast break layups. Daeja Hill is a solid perimeter defender who can run the point. She is able to score either from the three point line or on slashes to the basket. Abbi Cook is a good rebounder and defender in the post. She runs the floor well and moves well without the ball. She gets her share of points on putbacks.

Lindsay Ladd rebounds, defends and scores in the post. Claire Carlton is a versatile defender who can cover the post or the perimeter well. Kenzie Kammeraad is a strong three point shooter who can also slash to the basket. She is a good perimeter defender who also handles the ball well. Leona Kotecki is a speedy player who is a tough perimeter defender. She creates a lot of turnovers that she turns into fast break layups. She will frequently defend the opponent’s best offensive player.

In tonight’s first game, Gobles got off to a 26-12 halftime lead against Battle Creek St. Philip. St. Philip made a big run in the third quarter and got as close as five points before Gobles hit the last basket of the third quarter and headed into the fourth quarter with a 35-28 lead. Gobles dominated the fourth quarter and won by the final score of 54-30.

Addi Dzwik led the St. Philip scoring with 13 points. Mylee Grimm supported her with 8 points. Mimi Hibbard added 5 points. Makenzee Grimm and Clare Lussier each tallied 2 points.

Charlotte Zantello led the Gobles scoring with 14 points. Kylee Killeen joined her teammate in double figures with 12 points. Deanna Wood tacked on 8 points. Daisy Jackson contributed 7 points. Kennadi Killeen added 6 points. Elianna Wood notched 5 points. Claire Bodin had 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. At times, your Bleacher Denizen failed to grasp some of the games’ intricacies. For a while, he felt that if dribbling was a good thing, double dribbling would be a great thing. He was not intuitive enough to realize that the referee’s whistles were an indication that the refs did not share his ideas about double dribbling and his coach was forced to severely cut his playing time.

Catholic Central wins the opening tap. The Crusaders miss a three point shot from the side. Leona Kotecki pulls down the offensive rebound for Catholic. The Crusaders miss a ten foot banked shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Catholic gets another opportunity. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles. Katie Spicer passes to Izzy Halfmann, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Fowler the first three points of the game.

Catholic loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line. Katie Spicer gets her hand on the ball and forces a Crusader traveling violation. Lindsay Ladd steals the ball for the Crusaders. Catholic misses a three point shot from the wing. Claire Carlton makes a fantastic hustle play to prevent the offensive rebound from going out of bounds and ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow and its team of culinary experts miss the play and award the ball to Fowler.

The Eagles misfire on a threeball from the side. Grace O’Hare pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Izzy Halfmann is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws. With 6:24 to play in the first quarter, the score is Izzy Halfmann 4 Muskegon Catholic Central 0.

Fowler’s press forces the Crusaders to throw the ball out of bounds. Lyla Kotecki knocks the ball away from Fowler, but the Eagles recover. Fowler misses a threeball from the corner and fouls on the rebound. Claire Carlton passes to Abbi Cook, who hits a ten foot shot from the side to trim the Fowler lead to 4-2.

Fowler misses a layup. Paige Thelen steals a Crusader pass. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Claire Carlton hits a fast break layup for the Crusaders to tie the game at 4-4.

Paige Thelen passes to Katie Spicer, who throws in a threeball from the wing for Fowler. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Eagles. Catholic turns the ball over. Grace O’Hare passes to Brooke Weber, who hits a three point shot from the side to push Fowler to a 12-4 lead.

Lindsay Ladd passes to Andre’a Johnson, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Catholic. Rebecca Smith passes to Grace O’Hare, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Fowler. Catholic misses a fourteen foot shot from the side. Ella Hufnagel hits a fast break layup for Fowler. She is fouled on the play and makes her free throw to boost Fowler to an 18-7 lead with 2:42 to play in the first quarter.

Katie Spicer steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup, but gets the offensive rebound. Leona Kotecki steals the ball for the Crusaders. Muskegon misses a fast break layup. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. Selena Stump steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Rebecca Smith hits a putback to give Fowler a 20-7 lead.

Rebecca Smith steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler is fouled, but misses two free throws. Selena Stump gets her hand on the ball and Catholic loses it out of bounds. Selena Stump hits a three point shot from the side and Fowler has a 23-7 lead.

Izzy Halfmann and Katie Spicer put on a double team and Catholic commits an over and back violation. Fowler misses a threeball from the corner. Izzy Halfmann pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Catholic drives and dishes a pass out of bounds. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side as the first quarter buzzer announces its presence.

After one quarter, Fowler has a 23-7 lead.

Fowler has the ball to open the second quarter. Katie Spicer bounces a pass to Rebecca Smith, who hits a layup for the Eagles. Fowler’s press forces a Catholic turnover. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the side; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Crusaders take possession. Brooke Weber steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot near the top of the key.

Catholic throws a pass out of bounds. Claire Carlton knocks an Eagle pass out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Andre’a Johnson nearly steals the ball for the Crusaders, but the Eagles recover. Grace O’Hare hits a layup for the Eagles. The Crusaders turn the ball over. Fowler is assessed with a traveling violation. Katie Spicer steals the Crusader inbound pass. Ella Hufnagel passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the wing and Fowler has a 30-7 lead.

Catholic misses a twelve footer from the baseline. Katie Spicer passes to Grace O’Hare, who pours in a threeball from the wing for the Eagles. Catholic misses a threeball from the corner. Katie Spicer passes to Paige Thelen, who scores a layup for Fowler. Ella Hufnagel steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Grace O’Hare gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Paige Thelen passes to Selena Stump, who hits a twelve foot shot from the side for Fowler. The Eagles lead 37-7.

Paige Thelen steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Fowler. Andre’a Johnson drives and hits a layup for Catholic. Fowler misses a jump shot. Brooke Weber snares the offensive rebound for the Eagles and passes to Rebecca Smith, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws. With 3:11 to play in the first half, the Fowler lead is at 41-9.

Cali Thelen steals a Crusader pass. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Cali Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a threeball from the corner. Catholic is fouled on a twelve foot shot from the baseline, but misses two free throws. Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Selena Stump hits a putback to boost the Eagles to a 43-9 lead.

Selena Stump steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup; she hits two free throws for Fowler. Leona Kotecki is fouled on a driving six foot shot from the side and hits one of her two free throws for the Crusaders. With 1:42 to play in the first half, the Fowler lad is at 45-10.

Lyla Kotecki knocks the ball away from Fowler and out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the side. Selena Stump gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing and fouls on the rebound. A Crusader dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Ella Hufnagel is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Fowler a 46-10 lead with 47 seconds left on the first half clock.

Catholic misses a three point shot from the side. Kelcie Pung hits a three pointer from the side for Fowler. Ella Hufnagel gets a hand on the ball and Catholic loses it out of bounds. Fowler misses a threeball from the side as the halftime buzzer announces the end of the proceedings.

Fowler has a 49-10 lead at halftime.

Andre’a Johnson has 5 points to lead the Muskegon Catholic Central scoring.

Selena Stump has 12 points for Fowler and Grace O’Hare has 8 points.

As there is no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy a couple tunes from my You Tube Channel.

Here is my version of “Amazing Grace!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blOrsQkhhf0

This is an original Christian song, “Jesus Came to Save Us.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGipc4NwzN8

Catholic has the ball to open the third quarter. Izzy Halfmann knocks the ball away from Catholic and Katie Spicer ties up the ball for Fowler. Katie Spicer is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws for Fowler to give her Eagles a 51-10 lead with 7:44 to play in quarter number three.

Katie Spicer steals the ball for the Eagles; Fowler misses a fast break layup. Grace O’Hare grabs the offensive rebound for the eagles. Fowler misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Brooke Weber nearly steals the ball for Fowler; Catholic is able to hang onto it. Kenzie Kammeraad drives and hits a layup for the Crusaders. She is fouled on the play, but her successful free throw is negated because of a lane violation. With 5:30 to play in the quarter, Fowler holds a 53-12 lead.

Izzy Halfmann drives and hits a layup for the Eagles. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup; she hits two free throws for the Eagles. Catholic misses an eight foot hook shot. Claire Carlton grabs the offensive rebound for the Crusaders. A Catholic dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses a three pointer from the side. Selena Stump gets the offensive rebound for the eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Paige Thelen gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer near the top of the key. Paige Thelen hits a putback to boost Fowler to a 59-14 lead.

The Crusaders miss a sixteen foot shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Andre’a Johnson steals the ball for the Crusaders. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles and is fouled on a driving layup. She hits one of her two free throws with just a couple seconds left in the third quarter to lift Fowler to a 60-14 lead.

The Crusaders have no time to shoot before the third quarter buzzer brings things to a half.

After three quarters, Fowler has a 60-14 lead.

The Crusaders inbound the ball to get the final quarter underway. Cali Thelen steals the ball for the Eagles. Izzy Halfmann passes to Kelcie Pung, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fowler. Catholic is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 5:55 left on the clock, Fowler’s lead is at 63-14.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Paisley Hansen knocks the ball out of bounds; Catholic retains possession. Selena Stump steals the ball for Fowler. Kelcie Pung passes to Selena Stump, who hits a twelve foot shot from the side for Fowler. The Crusaders are fouled on a driving layup, but miss two free throws. Saige Miller passes to Selena Stump, who hits a threeball from the wing for Fowler. Claire Carlton is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for the Crusaders. With 2:23 left in the game, the Fowler lead is at 68-15.

Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. Saige Miller gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Catholic misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Saige Miller pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler commits an over and back violation.

Catholic misses an eight foot shot from the baseline. Mallory Rich is fouled on an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. She hits two free throws for the Crusaders with 34.1 seconds to go. Fowler runs out the clock.

Fowler wins this Regional Semifinal by the score of 68-17 and will play Gobles in Wednesday night’s Regional Final.

Andre’a Johnson and Claire Carlton led the Muskegon Catholic Central scoring with 5 points each. Mallory Rich, Abbi Cook and Kenzie Kammeraad each added 2 points. Leona Kotecki tossed in 1 point.

Selena Stump led the Fowler scoring with 17 points. Izzy Halfmann joined her teammate in double figures with 11 points. Grace O’Hare chipped in with 8 points. Paige Thelen, Ella Hufnagel, Rebecca Smith and Kelcie Pung each contributed 6 points. Katie Spicer added 5 points and Brooke Weber scored 3 points.

I learned at the end of the night that this was Fowler Coach Nate Goerge’s 200th win! Congratulations!!