Gobles vs. Fowler – – MHSAA Girls Division 4 Regional Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 13, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Tigers from Gobles will play the Eagles from Fowler in the Regional Final. Gobles has an 18-5 record entering this game. Fowler has a 22-3 record.

While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this original tune from my You Tube Channel!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

Fowler’s Eagles made this game by winning their Regional Semifinal. There is also a brief recap of the Gobles semifinal win in this article. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/03/12/fowler-vs-muskegon-catholic-central-girls-basketball-regional-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-11-2024-by-chuck-krafft/

Fowler’s two senior starters are Grace O’Hare and Rebecca Smith. Grace O’Hare is quick and athletic; this allows her to be a major defensive factor anywhere on the floor. She is an aggressive perimeter defender and is also a big factor in the post where she is also a strong rebounder. She also is a good scorer near the basket and a dependable ball handler and passer who will hit some three point shots as well. Rebecca Smith is an excellent defender and rebounder in the post. She is also able to score in traffic in the post, especially on putbacks.

Katie Spicer is a solid perimeter defender who is simply a scorer. She has a wonderful three point shot; she gets her share of layups off steals and she is one of the most creative players in the area when she drives to the basket. She is able to contort her body in almost any direction to avoid having her shot blocked and she makes a lot of them (or draws fouls.) She is also a solid ball handler and passer.

Brooke Weber is a tough post defender who is quick enough to help on the perimeter. She also is a strong three point shooter. You would never know that Izzy Halfmann is a freshman. She plays excellent defense on the perimeter and is also tall enough to help in the post. (With all these tall, quick perimeter defenders, you can see why Fowler’s defense can be really difficult on opposing guards.) On offense, Izzy has an excellent basketball IQ. She always seems to know what pass to make and is a good dribbler and ball handler.

Ella Hufnagel’s role has been growing bigger and bigger as the season progresses. She has always been an incredibly quick perimeter defender who can keep just about anyone in front of her and aggressively create turnovers. She is now starting to attack the basket more and has even shown a strong three point shot. Selena Stump is an excellent shooter who can get really hot from the three point line (or anywhere else) at any time.

Gobles Coach Greg Barber was generous with information about his Tiger players. Kennadi Killeen is a versatile defender who can cover opponents on the perimeter or in the post. She is a good rebounder and brings a lot of energy to the Tigers. She is also good at creating her own shot. Kylee Killeen is a point guard who plays good perimeter defense. On offense, she is a good ball handler and passer who can hit shots from the midrange or from the three point line. Deanna Wood is a good perimeter defender who is good at slashing to the basket and a solid rebounder. She is also a good jump shooter.

Daisy Jackson is a fine rebounder and an athletic post defender who has a good midrange shot. Elianna Wood and Charlotte Zantello are tough defenders and rebounders in the post.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the creaking, aging eyes of an ancient Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he played basketball in the days of yore.

Gobles wins the opening tap. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles. Izzy Halfmann inbounds the ball to Brooke Weber, who hits a three pointer from the wing to give Fowler the first three points of the game. Gobles loses the ball out of bounds. Katie Spicer drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball and passes to Grace O’Hare, who hits a layup to give Fowler a 7-0 lead.

Rebecca Smith blocks a Tiger shot; Gobles is able to recover the ball. Gobles misses a three pointer from the wing. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Brooke Weber knocks the ball away from Gobles and Izzy Halfmann picks it up for Fowler. Grace O’Hare hits a fast break layup and Fowler has a 9-0 lead.

Charlotte Zantello drives and hits a layup for Gobles. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. Rebecca Smith steals the ball and passes to Katie Spicer, who is fouled on a layup and makes two free throws to give Fowler an 11-2 lead with 5:57 to play in the opening quarter.

Kylie Killeen passes to Daisy Jackson, who hits a layup for the Tigers. Brooke Weber drives and hits a ten foot shot from the side of the lane for Fowler. Gobles misfires on a triple dry from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Fowler misses a ten toot shot in the lane. The Eagles steal the ball. (Your aging Bleacher Denizen was not fast enough to credit the Eagle player who made this fine play; my apologies.) Grace O’Hare ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s angst and hits a layup to give Fowler a 15-4 lead.

Deanna Wood passes to Kylie Killeen, who hits a sixteen foot shot from the wing for Gobles. Paige Thelen hits a layup for Fowler. Katie Spicer knocks the ball away from Gobles, but the Tigers recover. Gobles misfires on a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Tigers get another opportunity. Goble misses a three pointer near the top of the key. The ball is tied up and the Possession Arrow looks up from its needlepoint project; the ball is awarded to Fowler. Ella Hufnagel drives and dishes the ball to Paige Thelen, who hits a layup to boost the Fowler lead to 19-6.

Gobles commits an offensive foul. Ella Hufnagel drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Izzy Halfmann’s defense forces Gobles to lose the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses a layup. Gobles misses a ten footer off the dribble in the lane. Kennedi Killeen gets the offensive rebound for the Tigers. Gobles misses a layup. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Izzy Halfmann pulls down the offensive rebound and hits a six foot shot from the baseline to give the Eagles a 23-6 lead.

Gobles is assessed with a traveling violation. Katie Spicer drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Rebecca Smith steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler is assessed with a traveling violation. Charlotte Zantello is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws for Gobles to trim the Fowler lead to 25-8 with 1:51 remaining in the opening quarter.

Katie Spicer passes to Paige Thelen, who hits a layup for the Eagles. Gobles misses a three pointer from the side. Brooke Weber passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the corner for the Eagles. Gobles misses a driving layup. Kylie Killeen ties up the rebound; the Possession Arrow loves her hustle and awards the ball to Gobles. Gobles misfires on a threeball near the top of the key. Fowler reciprocates and misfires on a threeball near the top of the key.

Gobles throws a pass out of bounds. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. Selena Stump hits a putback just as the first quarter buzzer announces the period is over.

After one quarter, Fowler holds a 32-8 lead.

Fowler has the ball to begin the second quarter. The Eagles miss a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Gobles gets the ball. Katie Spicer steals the Tiger inbound pass, but steps on the baseline. Deanna Wood drives and dishes the ball to Daisy Jackson, who hits a layup for Gobles to trim the Fowler lead to 32-10.

Selena Stump passes to Izzy Halfmann, who throws in a threeball from the wing for the Eagles. Gobles misses a jump shot; Charlotte Zantello hits a putback for the Tigers. Fowler misses a driving layup. Gobles misses a layup. Katie Spicer steals the ball for the Eagles. Grace O’Hare passes to Ella Hufnagel, who hits a layup for the Eagles and Fowler has a 37-12 lead.

Gobles loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. Grace O’Hare ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow is in pain after pricking itself with the needlepoint needle and misses the play. The ball is awarded to Gobles. Ella Hufnagel gets her hand on a Tiger pass and knocks it out of bounds. Gobles retains possession. Ella Hufnagel steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler throws a pass out of bounds.

Ella Hufnagel knocks the ball away from the Tigers and Katie Spicer grabs it for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Ella Hufnagel steals the ball and passes to Izzy Halfmann, who hits a layup for Fowler. Gobles misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Daisy Jackson hits a putback for Gobles. Selena Stump hits a twelve foot shot of the dribble to give Fowler a 41-14 lead.

Gobles loses the ball out of bounds. Fowler misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler gets another opportunity. Charlotte Zantello gets her hand on the ball and Fowler loses it out of bounds. Izzy Halfmann passes to Ella Hufnagel, who hits a three pointer from the wing for the Eagles and Fowler has a 44-14 lead.

Ella Hufnagel and Izzy Halfmann team up to force a Gobles traveling violation. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. Paige Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a ten foot jump shot. Izzy Halfmann gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles and passes to Brooke Weber, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Fowler. Ella Hufnagel steals the ball for the Eagles and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits one of her two free throws to push Fowler to a 48-14 lead.

Ella Hufnagel gets her hand on the ball and forces a Gobles traveling violation. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner and fouls on the rebound. Selena Stump steals the ball for the Eagles. Kylie Killeen blocks a Fowler ten foot shot from the side. Selena Stump knocks the ball away from Gobles, but the Tigers recover. Izzy Halfmann steals a Gobles inbound pass. Daisy Jackson steals the ball for the Tigers. Grace O’Hare blocks a Tiger shot and Kylie Killeen recovers the loose ball for Gobles. She is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws. With 2:03 remaining in the first half, Fowler’s lead is at 48-16.

Fowler misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Brooke Weber hits a putback for the Eagles. Gobles misses a driving layup. Daisy Jackson blocks a Fowler shot; Rebecca Smith recovers the loose ball for the Eagles and hits a layup. Deanna Wood hits a ten foot shot from the baseline for Gobles. Ella Hufnagel hits a layup for Fowler. Kylie Killeen drives and hits a layup for Gobles to shave the Fowler lead to 54-20.

Fowler misses a fifteen foot shot from the wing. Brooke Weber gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Charlotte Zantello steals the ball for the Tigers. Gobles misses a twelve foot banked shot from the side as the second quarter buzzer sounds off.

Fowler has a 54-20 lead at halftime.

Charlotte Zantello and Daisy Jackson each have 6 points to lead the Gobles scoring.

Brooke Weber has 10 points and Ella Hufnagel has 9 points for Fowler.

As we have no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy a couple videos from my You Tube Channel.

“Feed the Birds” from “Mary Poppins” is played as a piano solo in this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2KWzZEUZA

I mentioned that I’m a bit on the grey side of middle aged earlier in this article. Hopefully I am not “Too Old to Cut the Mustard” as it may appear in this video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6GOgZAHqxI

Fowler inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Daisy Jackson steals the ball for the Tigers and Deanna Wood hits a fast break layup. Izzy Halfmann passes to Grace O’Hare, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Fowler. Gobles misses a seventeen footer from the wing. Kylie Killeen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Tigers. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for Fowler and passes to Grace O’Hare, who hits a layup to give Fowler a 59-22 lead.

Gobles misses a driving layup. Daisy Jackson hits a putback for the Tigers. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing, but gets the offensive rebound. Fowler misses a layup. Gobles misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Tigers get another possession. Gobles misfires on a triple try from the corner. Charlotte Zantello gets the offensive rebound for the Tigers. Katie Sicer steals the ball for Fowler and hits a fast break layup. The Eagles now lead 61-24.

Gobles misses a driving layup. Izzy Halfmann passes to Brooke Weber, sho hits a layup for the Eagles. Deanna Wood drives and hits a layup for the Tigers. Katie Spicer hits a threeball from the corner to give Fowler a 66-26 lead.

Ella Halfmann steals the ball for Fowler. The Eagles misfire on a threeball from the wing. Gobles misses an eight footer from the side of the lane. Fowler misses a layup. Izzy Halfmann gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Charlotte Zantello knocks the ball away from Fowler. Eliana Wood picks up the loose ball and passes to her sister, Deanna Wood, who hits a layup to shave the Fowler lead to 66-28.

Fowler misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline; the Eagles get the offensive rebound. Fowler misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Deanna Wood inbounds the ball to Daisy Jackson, who hits a layup for the Tigers. Eliana Wood knocks the ball away from Fowler and Deanna Wood picks it up for Gobles. Gobles misses a shot. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow is finishing bandaging its cut, but pays attention long enough to award the ball to Gobles.

Katie Spicer knocks the ball away from Gobles and Rebecca Smith picks it up for Fowler. Fowler misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound is tied up as the third quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

Gobles inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. Gobles misses an eight foot shot from the side. Daisy Jackson blocks a Fowler layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Deanna Wood hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side for Gobles. Brooke Weber passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot near the top of the key to give Fowler a 69-22 lead.

Gobles misses a driving layup. Daisy Jackson hits a putback for Gobles; she is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Katie Spicer grabs the offensive rebound and passes to Brooke Weber, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Fowler a 72-34 lead.

Gobles misses a twelve foot shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Tigers get another possession. Grace O’Hare knocks a Tiger pass out of bounds; Gobles retains possession. Gobles misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Deanna Wood hits a fast break layup to shave the Fowler lead to 72-36.

Daisy Jackson gets a hand on the ball, but the Eagles are able to recover. Fowler throws a pass out of bounds. Kennedi Killeen passes to Olivia Sweet, who hits a layup to give Gobles the final two points of the game. Fowler leads 72-36.

Deanna Wood steals the ball for Gobles. The Tigers miss a driving layup. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow awards the ball to Fowler. Lily Heintzman nearly steals the ball for Gobles, but Fowler recovers. Olivia Sweet steals the ball for the Tigers. She is fouled as the final buzzer sounds.

Fowler wins this game 72-38 and will play Mendon in next Tuesday’s quarterfinal game.

Deanna Wood had 14 points to lead the Gobles scoring. Daisy Jackson joined her teammate in double figures with 12 points. Charlotte Zantello added 6 points. Kylie Killeen put in 4 points and Olivia Sweet tallied 2 points.

Brooke Weber scored 15 points to lead the Fowler scoring. Katie Spicer contributed 14 points and Grace O’Hare chipped in with 11 points. Ella Hufnagel scored 9 points. Selena Stump tossed in 8 points. Izzy Halfmann notched 7 points. Paige Thelen added 6 points. Rebecca Smith had 2 points.