Potterville vs. Webberville – – 1st Round – – MHSAA Girls Basketball District – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 3, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, it opening night for the MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament. Your Bleacher Denizen is off to Potterville where the hometown Vikings will play the Spartans from Webberville in this first round game. Potterville enters the game with a 3-16 record; they play in the rugged CMAC. Webberville is an independent team that has a 12-10 record.

When I saw Potteville play in January, Coach Al Adams provided me with this information about his Viking players.

Emily Cates is an excellent ball handler who scores on slashes to the basket and can hit shots from the three point line. Aubrey Gasch has a great three point shot. Kyra Marciniak is tough in the post where she defends, scores and rebounds well. She gets a lot of points on putbacks. Autumn Reynolds is an effective perimeter defender. Kayla Blake and Gracie Curd are long, athletic and versatile; they provide solid defense at any position. T.J. Uhl is a good rebounder and post defender. Emalee Scott plays active perimeter defense.

Webberville Coach Kayson Lycos provided me with this information about his Spartan players.

Jolie Bryan has an excellent three point shot. She is a versatile defender who can play in the post or on the perimeter. She blocks a lot of shots. Haley Proctor is a speedy player who is a good rebounder and post defender with a solid three point shot. Makayla Culver is a solid perimeter defender who shoots an accurate three point shot. Jenna Lycos runs the point for the Spartans. She is a tough perimeter defender who handles the ball well and creates shots for her teammates. She also has a fine midrange shot.

It is not time to review the events of this game through the occasionally open eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the ancient times when some considered him to be “young.” It seems that he never completely understood running back to play defense as no one wanted him to shoot at that basket anyway. The coach had different ideas about defense and hustle in general and the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time quickly disappeared.

Potterville wins the opening tap. The Vikings miss a driving layup. Webberville misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Potterville misses a layup. Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville commits a traveling violation. Webberville misfires on a threeball from the corner. Emily Cates passes to Gracie Curd, who hits a layup to give Potterville the first two points of the game.

Kendall Lienerth blocks a Spartan ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Potterville misfires on a threeball from the top of the key. Makayla Culver saves a loose ball to prevent a Spartan turnover. Gracie Curd steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville is fouled. Haley Proctor steals the Viking inbound pass. Webberville loses a pass out of bounds. Jolie Bryan knocks a long Potterville pass out of bounds; the Vikings retain possession. Jolie Bryan and Lexi Proctor block a Viking layup. Makayla Culver hits a twelve foot shot from the baseline for Webberville to tie the game at 2-2.

Potterville misses a threeball from the top of the key. Webberville misses a layup. Potterville travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. Somehow, I’m not sure that traveling without the ball would be terribly newsworthy.) Kendall Lienerth ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s musings about basketball semantics and steals the ball for Potterville. The Vikings miss a fast break layup and foul on the rebound. Gracie Curd steals the ball and hits a layup to make the score Gracie Curd 4 Webberville 2.

Emily Cates steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits two free throws to give Potterville a 6-2 lead with 1:16 remaining in the opening quarter.

Webberville misses a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane. Makayla Culver grabs the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a threeball from the top of the key. Potterville commits a traveling violation. Webberville misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Jaidyn Josselyn knocks the ball away from Potterville and Jolie Bryan picks it up for Webberville. Webberville throws a pass out of bounds as the first quarter comes to a conclusion.

After one quarter, Potterville leads 6-2.

Webberville inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Gracie Curd ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow looks up from the “Price is Right” rerun it’s watching, is impressed with Ms. Curd’s aggressive defense and awards the ball to Potterville. The Vikings lose a pass out of bounds. Webberville reciprocates and loses a pass out of bounds. The Vikings misfire on a threeball from the top of the key. Emily Cates hits a putback to give Potterville an 8-2 lead.

Webberville misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Lexi Proctor gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misfires on a triple try from the side. Jenna Lycos grabs the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Webberville misfires on a threeball from the side. Potterville reciprocates and misfires on a threeball from the side. Webberville misses a three pointer from the wing. Aubrey Gasch passes to Kyra Marciniak, who hits a layup for Potterville and is fouled. She sinks her free throw to give the Vikings an 11-2 lead with 5:23 left in the second quarter.

Webberville loses the ball out of bounds. Potterville misses a layup. Gracie Curd pulls down the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville commits an offensive foul. Weberville misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Lexi Proctor gets a hand on the ball and Potterville loses it out of bounds. Webberville commits a double dribble violation. Potterville misses a driving layup. Kayla Blake is fouled on a putback and makes two free throws to boost the Viking lead to 13-2 with 3:30 remaining in the first half.

Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville misses a layup. Emily Cates ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow is watching a rerun of General Hospital; it misses the play and awards the ball to Webberville. Kayla Blake steals the ball and passes to Emily Cates, who hits a fast break layup to boost the Viking lead to 15-2.

Webberville misses an eight foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets the ball. Potterville misses a ten footer from the sideline. Gracie Curd ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow’s General Hospital rerun is over; it sees the play and rewards Ms. Curd’s hustle. The ball is awarded to Potterville. Aubrey Gasch inbounds the ball to Emily Cates, who hits a layup for Potterville. The Spartans misfire on a threeball from the wing. Emily Cates is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost the Viking lead to 18-4.

Gracie Curd ties up the ball for the Vikings. The Possession Arrow is channel surfing and misses the play; the ball is awarded to Webberville. Jolie Bryan passes to Katelyn Kubiak, who throws in a ten foot shot from the baseline for Webberville. Potterville is whistled for traveling. Webberville misses a long heave as the second quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

Potterville takes an 18-4 lead into the locker room at halftime. Your Bleacher Denizen predicts that this will also be the score when the third quarter starts.

Emily Cates has 11 points for Potterville to lead all scorers.

As the third quarter is starting, your Bleacher Denizen glances at the scoreboard is still showing Potterville with an 18-4 lead. Your Bleacher Denizen is perhaps a bit too proud of his success at predicting the opening score for the third quarter. Fortunately, the game starts back up before your Bleacher Denizen can injure his 68 year old shoulder by trying to pat himself on the back.

Potterville inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Haley Proctor steals the ball for Webberville. Kendall Lienerth steals the ball for Potterville, but her momentum forces her to travel. Lexi Proctor inbounds the ball to Makayla Culver, who is fouled on a six foot shot from the side. Makayla Culver hits one of her two free throws to trim the Potterville lead to 18-5 with 7:39 remaining in quarter number three.

Potterville misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Spartans get the ball. Webberville misses a layup. Emily Cates is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws. Jolie Bryan passes to Haley Proctor, who hits an eight footer from the baseline for Webberville. Emily Cates is fouled on a driving layup. She hits one of her two free throws to extend the Viking lead to 20-7 with 5:37 to go in quarter number three.

Webberville misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Jolie Bryan is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws for Webberville. Jenna Lycos blocks a Potterville shot. Jenna Lycos hits a fast break layup for Webberville to cut the Potterville lead to 20-10.

Jaidyn Josselyn and Makayla Culver harass Potterville into throwing the ball out of bounds. Webberville misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Haley Proctor grabs the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Makayla Culver banks in an eight foot shot from the side for Webberville. Potterville misses a threeball from the side. Gracie Curd grabs the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Potterville misses another threeball from the side. Jenna Lycos tosses a long pass to Makayla Culver, who converts a layup for Webberville to trim the Potterville lead to 20-14.

Potterville misses a threeball from the top of the key. Kendall Lienerth chases down the long offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses another threeball from the top of the key. Kendall Lienerth steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville misses a threeball from the side. Emily Cates steals the Spartan outlet pass and is fouled. Emily Cates hits one of her two free throws to give her Vikings a 21-14 lead with 1:31 to play in quarter number three.

Emily Cates knocks the ball out of bounds; Webberville retains possession. Kendall Lienerth dives and tries to steal the ball for Potterville, but it goes out of bounds and Webberville gets the ball back. Webberville misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville gets the ball. Jenna Lycos harasses a Potterville dribbler and the Vikings lose the ball out of bounds.

Kendall Lienerth steals the ball for the Vikings. Potterville is whistled for traveling. Makayla Culver is fouled on a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane and hits one of her two free throws for Webberville. Kendall Lienderth is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Potterville. Webberville commits a traveling violation. Emily Cates is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws with 9.0 seconds left to boost the Vikings to a 23-15 lead.

Webberville misses a twelve foot shot from the side and the buzzer lets us all know that it is time to end quarter number three.

With three quarters completed, Potterville holds a 23-15 lead.

Webberville inbounds the ball to begin the fourth quarter. The Spartans miss a fifteen foot shot from the side. Jolie Bryan hits a putback for Webberville. Potterville travels. Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings. A Webberville starter fouls out of the game. The Vikings miss a threeball from the wing. Makayla Culver hits a fast break layup to cut the Viking lead to 23-19.

Aubrey Gasch hits a two point jump shot for Potterville. Emily Cates steals the ball for the Vikings and hits a fast break layup. Webberville drives the baseline and misses a layup. Aubrey Gasch drives and hits an eight foot shot from the side to boost Potterville to a 29-19 lead.

Webberville misses a threeball from the wing. Haley Proctor grabs the offensive rebound and hits a ten foot shot from the side for Webberville. Potterville misses a threeball from the side. Webberville misses an eight foot shot from the baseline. Haley Proctor forces a Potterville traveling violation.

Webberville misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Jenna Lycos hits a putback for Webberville. Potterville misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Vikings get another opportunity. Jolie Bryan knocks the ball away from the Vikings and Jenna Lycos grabs it for the Spartans. Jenna Lycos hits a fast break layup to chop the Potterville lead to 29-25.

Potterville answers as Kendall Lienerth passes to Aubrey Gasch, who throws in a threeball from the top of the key for Potterville. Webberville misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Potterville takes possession. Katelyn Kubiak knocks the ball away from the Vikings, but they recover. Emily Cates passes to Aubrey Gasch, who hits another threeball for Potterville, this time from the side. Aubrey Gasch has ten points so far in the fourth quarter and Potterville now leads 35-25.

Webberville travels. Potterville is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Webberville misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side. Jolie Bryan gets the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses a layup. Potterville travels. Haley Proctor hits an eight foot shot in the lane for Webberville. Emily Cates is fouled; she hits one of her two free throws to give Potterville a 36-27 lead with 2:45 left on the clock.

Kayla Blake ties up the ball for Potterville. Fortunately, this happens during a commercial and the Possession Arrow admires Ms. Blake’s hustle. The ball is awarded to Potterville. The Vikings miss a layup. Kendall Lienerth grabs the offensive rebound for the Vikings. Potterville misses a threeball from the side. Makayla Culver passes to Katelyn Kubiak, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the wing for Webberville. Emily Cates is fouled and hits one of her two free throws. With 1:22 remaining, Potterville has a 37-29 lead.

Webberville misfires on a triple try from the side. Emily Cates is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Potterville. Webberville misses a layup. Emily Cates is fouled and the foul is ruled to be intentional. Emily Cates hits one of her two free throws with 27.1 seconds left to score the game’s final point.

Haley Proctor steals the ball for the Spartans. Emily Cates blocks a Spartan fast break layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Webberville gets it back. The Spartans miss a layup. Potterville dribbles out the last few seconds of the game.

Potterville wins this first round game 39-29 and will play Portland St. Patrick on Wednesday.

In the other Monday night game at Potterville, Bellevue beat Morrice 53-24 and will play Lansing Christian next Wednesday.

Makayla Culver had 10 points to lead the Webberville scoring. Jenna Lycos and Haley Proctor each chipped in with 6 points. Katelyn Kubiak scored 4 points and Jlie Bryan added 3 points.

Emily Cates had 19 points to lead the Potterville scoring. Aubrey Gasch joined her teammate with 10 points, all in the fourth quarter to hold off Webberville’s attempt to get back into the game. Gracie Curd contributed 4 points. Kyra Marciniak had 3 points. Kayla Blake put in 2 points and Kendall Lienerth tallied 1 point.