Mendon vs. Fowler – – MHSAA Girls Division 4 Basketball Quarterfinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 19, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, our Bleacher Denizen is at Gobles High School to blog the Girls Basketball Final between the Hornets of Mendon and the Eagles from Fowler. Each team brings a 23-3 record into this contest.

Jennifer Griffith, the Mendon Coach, offered me this information about some of her top Hornet players. Makennah Mullin is the team leader and the Hornets typically run the game through her. Gracie Schultz is quick off the dribble and slashes to the basket well. Lila Schinker is a good defender.

Jadyn Samson is the floor general. She handles pressure well and is always hustling. Brianna Heitkamp brings helps bring offense off the Hornet bench. Cienna Nightingale has strong post moves and is truly a team first player.

Fowler is a deep team with many player who contribute, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Grace O’Hare is a tough defender with the height to defend in the post as well as the energy and quickness to hound opponents on the perimeter. She is also a good rebounder who passes well. She scores on putbacks and slashes to the basket; she can also hit the three point shot.

Katie Spicer is a an excellent ball handler, passer and perimeter defender. She is a great three point shooter and can be amazingly creative when she drives to the basket. What ever she needs to do to put up a credible shot and avoid having it blocked, she does. This results in a lot of scores and a lot of fouls from opponents.

Rebecca Smith is a great defender and rebounder in the post. She gets her share of putbacks on offense. Brooke Weber defends and rebounds well in the post. She also brings an accurate three point shot to the Eagles. Izzy Halfmann may be a freshman, but she will match any player in basketball IQ. She is tall and tough enough to defend in the post and quick enough to bedevil opponents on the perimeter. She is a strong rebounder and a fine ball handler as well. She is good slashing to the basket or scoring layups off steals and she can also hit shots from the three point line.

Elizabeth Hufnagel is a ball of energy who brings a lot of intensity to the Fowler perimeter defense as she creates many turnovers for opponents. She has become more assertive on offense this year; she uses her quickness to slash to the basket and is becoming a threat from the three point line as well. Paige Thelen is a fine rebounder and defender in the post. Selena Stump is an excellent shooter who can get red hot at any time, especially from the three point line. Kelcie Pung is a solid perimeter defender and a three point threat.

Fortunately, while it was cold out, the Bleacher Denizen had easy-to-drive, dry roads and his Onstar-GPS was able to direct him right to Gobles High School, who hosted the game. Gobles were very generous hosts and had food available for the people working the game. The highlight of the buffet was some delicious pizza from Nino’s a local restaurant. I loved the thin crust pizza. Nino’s, the people from Gobles are lucky to have you in their town and I hope they know it!!!

Gobles Freshman Rosie Bouwman sang the National Anthem before the game. As a person who has been a professional musician all his adult life and who has a “Chuck Krafft” You Tube Channel with 61 videos in it, I have to say, that Ms. Bouwman was great! I loved that she stayed with a traditional performance of the song and her pitch was excellent. She hit every high note and did not appear to strain in the least!!! Kudos to Rosie Bouwman!

It is now time to review the events of this game through the aging (although hopefully clear) eyes of a Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. While your Bleacher Denizen thought he was trying to be inclusive, his church league coach never truly accepted the Bleacher Denizen’s idea that it was good to pass the ball to anyone, no matter what color uniform they were wearing. This resulted in a severe cut in your Bleacher Denizen’s time on the court.

Mendon wins the opening tap. Brooke Weber forces a Hornet traveling violation. Brooke Weber passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot near the top of the key to give Fowler the first three points of the game. Katie Spicer ties up the Hornet inbound pass. The Possession Arrow and its Spring Cleaning Committee love her hustle and award the ball to Fowler. Katie Spicer passes to Izzy Halfmann, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Fowler a 6-0 lead.

Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. Rebecca Smith hits a putback for Fowler. Mendon fails to inbound the ball in the required five seconds and Fowler takes possession. Brooke Webber passes to Izzy Halfmann, who throws in a threeball from the wing for Fowler. Katie Spicer steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler loses a pass out of bounds.

Brooke Weber steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler commits a traveling violation. Katie Spicer steals the ball for Fowler. Makennah Mullin steals the ball for Mendon. Rebecca Smith steals the ball for the Eagles. (Your Bleacher Denizen wonders if the proper authorities know all about the brazen thefts that are happening repeatedly on this basketball court!) Makennah Mullin ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s angst and blogs a Fowler jumper from the free throw elbow. The ball goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity.

Gracie Schultz knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Jadyn Samson steals the ball for the Hornets and hits a fast break layup to give Mendon its first two points of the game. Katie Spicer passes to Brooke Weber, who drains a threeball from the corner for Fowler. Selena Stump’s defense causes a Hornet dribbler to lose the ball out of bounds. Brianna Heitkamp steals the ball for the Hornets. Ella Hufnagel steals the ball for the Eagles. Selena Stump throws in a threeball to give the Eagles a 17-2 lead.

Grace O’Hare steals a Hornet pass. The Eagles are assessed with a traveling violation. Mendon travels on a drive for a layup. Brianna Heitkamp knocks an Eagle pass out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler misses a three point attempt from the side. Mendon is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 2:39 to play in the opening quarter, the Fowler lead is at 17-2.

Fowler misfires on a triple try from the wing. Ella Hufnagel grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting; somehow I’m not sure that traveling without the ball would mean much.) Mendon drives and dishes a pass out of bounds. Fowler throws a pass out of bounds. Grace O’Hare gets her hand on the ball, but Mendon is able to recover. Katie Spicer knocks the ball out of bounds; Mendon retains possession.

Mendon misses a driving six foot shot from the baseline. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow looks up from its Cleaning Plan Schedule and awards the ball to Fowler. Brielle Bailey blocks a Fowler driving layup. The Eagles recover the loose ball. Rebecca Smith passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Fowler. Mendon misses a driving six foot shot from the base4lin. Brielle Bailey is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 23-3 with 43.2 seconds left in the quarter.

Brooke Weber passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Fowler. Katie Spicer knocks the ball out of bounds; Mendon retains possession. Jadyn Samson hits a well-defended sixteen foot shot from the corner as the first quarter buzzer let’s us know it’s here.

After one quarter, Fowler has a 23-5 lead.

Mendon inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Hornets miss a driving layup. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow looks up from the paint brushes it is cleaning and awards the ball to Fowler. Cienna Nightingale ties up a Fowler pass in the lane. The Possession Arrow and its Garage Cleaning Crew are impressed with Ms. Nightingale’s aggressive defense and award the ball to Mendon.

Ella Hufnagel is not so impressed and steals a Hornet pass in the lane. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Mendon misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Ella Hufnagel passes to Rebecca Smith, who hits a fast break layup for the Eagles to give them a 25-5 lead.

Mendon misses a threeball from the wing. Fowler reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Jadyn Samson passes to Makennah Mullin, who hits a layup for the Hornets. Katie Spicer passes to Izzy Halfmann, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give the Eagles a 28-7 lead.

Katie Spicer knocks a pass out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Brianna Heitkamp passes to Makennah Mullin, who hits a layup for the Hornets. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Izzy Halfmann ties up the rebound for Fowler. The Possession Arrow and the people helping it clean out the gutters agree that her hustle was impressive; they award the ball to Fowler.

Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Paige Thelen gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Cienna Nightingale steals the ball for the Hornets. Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles. Makennah Mullin steals the ball back for Mendon. The Bleacher Denizen feels his pocket and is relieved his wallet has not been stolen. Brianna Heitkamp can’t be bothered by the Bleacher Denizen’s nerves and passes to Makennah Mullin, who hits a layup for the Hornets. Ella Hufnagel is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 30-11 lead with 2:21 to play in the second quarter.

Mendon misses a layup. Brielle Bailey hits a putback for the Hornets. Fowler misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Grace O’Hare pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Katie Spicer causes a tie-up. The Possession Arrow sets down its shop vac long enough to award the ball to the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Brooke Weber gets the offensive rebound for Fowler. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the wing.

Rebecca Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Ella Hufnagel and Grace O’Hare team up to tie up the ball for the Eagles. The Possession Arrow was focused on a tough scuff mark on the garage floor and missed the play. The ball is awarded to Mendon. Brielle Bailey passes to Brianna Heitkamp, who is cutting to the basket and hits a layup to cut the Fowler lead to 30-15.

Fowler misses a jump shot. Mendon misses a three point attempt from the wing. Fowler rebounds the ball as the halftime buzzer puts a stop to play.

Fowler has a 30-15 lead at halftime. There is an excellent chance that the Eagles will continue to have a 30-15 lead as the third quarter begins.

Makennah Mullin has 6 points to lead Mendon at halftime and Jadyn Samson has 4 points.

Katie Spicer and Izzy Halfmann each have 9 points for Fowler.

The third quarter begins. Your eagle-eyed Bleacher Denizen inspects the scoreboard and is proud to state that he has predicted the 30-15 score that opens the third quarter accurately. A couple fans intervene to prevent the Bleacher Denizen from throwing his shoulder out by patting himself on the back.

Fowler inbounds the ball to open quarter number three. Makennah Mullin steals the ball for the Hornets. Katie Spicer steals a Mendon pass into the lane. Gracie Schultz gets her hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds. Fowler retains possession. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. Grace O’Hare hits a putback to boost the Eagle lead to 32-15.

Makennah Mullin passes to Gracie Schultz, who hits a layup for the Hornets. Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Izzy Halfmann gets her hand on the ball, but Mendon is able to recover. Gracie Schultz is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Mendon to cut the Fowler lead to 32-19 with 6:07 left on the third quarter clock.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Mendon takes possession. The Hornets miss a driving six foot shot from the baseline. Grace O’Hare hits a fast break layup for the Eagles. Katie Spicer steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give the Eagles a 36-19 lead.

Menton throws a pass out of bounds to ruin a fast break. Fowler misses a three point shot form the wing. Mendon throws a pass into the lane too high and out of bounds. Fowler takes possession. Fowler misses a driving layup. Grace O’Hare gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles and passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a jump shot from the free throw elbow to give the Eagles a 38-19 lead.

Ella Hufnagel knocks a Hornet pass out of bounds; Mendon retains possession. Cienna Nightingale passes to Makennah Mullin, who hits a layup for the Hornets. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Ella Hufnagel gets her hand on the ball and Mendon loses it out of bounds. Fowler misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Mendon takes possession. Grace O’Hare knocks the Hornet inbound pass out of bounds; Mendon retains possession.

Mendon misses a driving layup. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Paige Thelen hits a putback for the Eagles. Grace O’Hare steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a twelve foot shot from the side. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow and its parking lot cleanup crew award the ball to the Hornets. Grace O’Hare knocks the Mendon inbound pass out of bounds; Mendon retains possession. Paige Thelen steals the inbound pass and is fouled on a layup. She hits one of her two free throws to boost the Eagles to a 41-21 lead with 1:49 left in quarter number three.

Katie Spicer steals the ball for the Eagles. Gracie Schultz ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow was on a break from scrubbing out the oven and on its phone. The play is missed and Fowler is awarded the ball. Grace O’Hare drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Brooke Weber blocks a Hornet layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Mendon gets another opportunity. Brianna Heitkamp passes to Makennah Mullin, who spins and banks in a six foot shot to shave the Eagle lead to 43-23.

Kelcie Pung throws in a threeball from the side for Fowler. Grace O’Hare steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a six foot shot from the baseline. Mendon loses the ball out of bounds as the third quarter comes to its end.

After three quarters, Fowler has a 46-23 lead.

Mendon has the ball to open the final quarter. The Hornets throw a pass out of bounds. Fowler runs its offense for about thirty seconds and calls timeout. Fowler is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. Ella Hufnagel gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Izzy Halfmann passes to Grace O’Hare, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost Fowler to a 47-23 lead with 5:45 left on the clock.

Izzy Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Izzy Halfmann gets a hand on a Mendon pass into the lane and the ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow and its janitorial crew like Ms. Halfmann’s hustle and award the ball to Fowler. Fowler is fouled, but misses two free throws. With 4:33 to play, Fowler’s lead remains at 47-23.

Izzy Halfmann rebounds the missed free throw for Fowler. Gracie Schultz steals the ball for the Hornets. Ella Hufnagel dives and ties up the ball for Fowler; the Possession Arrow and its janitorial crew are playing three on three basketball on their break and miss the play; the ball is awarded to the Hornets. Cienna Nightingale passes to Brianna Heitkamp, who hits a three point shot from the wing to shave the Fowler lead to 47-26.

Fowler runs some more time on the clock before Katie Spicer is fouled and hits two free throws for the Eagles with 2:47 to go. Brooke Weber taps the ball away from the Hornets, but Mendon recovers. Brianna Heitkamp passes to Makennah Mullin, who hits a layup to trim the Eagle lead to 49-28.

Katie Spicer drives and hits a layup for Fowler. Mendon misses a layup. Jenna Scheffler gets the offensive rebound for the Hornets. Mendon misses a layup. Brielle Bailey steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Hornets. Brielle Bailey steals the ball and hits another fast break layup for the Hornets. Fowler runs out the clock.

Fowler wins this game 51-32 and will play Ishpeming in Thursday’s semifinal game.

Makennah Mullin led the Mendon scoring with 12 points. Brielle Bailey chipped in with 7 points. Brianna Heitkamp tossed in 5 points. Gracie Schultz and Jadyn Samson each added 4 points.

Katie Spicer led the victorious Fowler Eagles with 17 points. Izzy Halfmann supported her teammate with 9 points. Grace O’Hare put in 7 points. Rebecca Smith scored 4 points. Paige Thelen, Kelcie Pung, Brooke Weber and Selena Stump each put in 3 points. Ella Hufnagel tallied 2 points.