Saranac at Perry – – CMAC Girls Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 11, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, the BleacherDenizenMobile is pointed at Perry, where I will be blogging the hometown Ramblers’ girls’ basketball game with the Saranac Red Hawks. Each team won its season opener early this week as Perry defeated Byron and Saranac defeated Lansing Catholic.

This is also the first official “CMAC Game of the Week” for this season!

Saranac Coach Chance Wells provided me with this information about his Red Hawk players.

Maycee Reed is able to defend in the post or on the perimeter. She is a great to slash to the basket or to score on post moves. Lydia Rasmus is an excellent three point shooter and a solid on-ball defender. Winnie Harder is a strong defender who is good in the post or on the perimeter. Raeann Johnson is an excellent perimeter defender who can score on slashes to the basket or from the three point line. Abby Ferguson is a strong perimeter defender who provides her Red Hawks with good passing and leadership.

Mylee Reed is a tough perimeter defender who has a good three point shot. Katie Whipple is an excellent shot blocker in the post and has a high basketball IQ. Irelynn Pachulski is able to defend the perimeter or the post and is a strong rebounder. Alexis Smus has an accurate three point shot. Sadie Trahan is a fine defender and rebounder; her hustle also stands out. Alyssa Ricket is a good post defender and rebounder.

Perry Coach Greg Hallock had this information about his Ramblers.

Ruby Simon is a great scorer who can hit from the three point line and slash to the basket. She can attack with either hand and has a knack for banking in short midrange shots. Alivia Davis rebounds, defends and scores well in the post. Ava O’Connor is really quick and athletic. She is a strong perimeter defender and slashes to the basket well.

Addison Freed is a freshman point guard who provides tough perimeter defense and great passing. She can score on slashes to the basket or shots form the three point line. Josie Logghe is another freshmen who is a good scorer in the post. Ava Positano is a physical defender and rebounder in the post. Ally Hart, another freshman, shows great hustle and is an active perimeter defender.

It is now time to go through the events of this contest through the occasionally alert lenses of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of old. It seems that he was never able to grasp the concept that his coach and teammates preferred that he only shoot at the basket deemed to be “theirs.” (I wondered why the other team seldom guarded me closely when I shot at that basket and why their fans cheered when I put it in.) Anyway, this philosophical disagreement eventually severely affected my playing time. .

Perry wins the opening tap, but the tipped ball goes out of bounds and Saranac runs the game’s first possession. Saranac misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Raeann Johnson blocks a Perry jump shot from the side. Saranac misfires on a triple try from the corner.

Raeann Johnson forces a Perry double dribble violation. Saranac throws a pass out of bounds. Perry reciprocates and throws a pass out of bounds. Maycee Reed passes to Winnie Harder, who hits a six foot shot in the lane and is fouled, but misses her free throw. With 6:31 remaining in the opening quarter, Saranac has a 2-0 lead.

Maycee Reed gets the offensive rebound for Saranac. Saranac misses a three point shot from the wing. Ruby Simon drives and hits an eight foot banked shot in the lane for Perry to tie the game. Saranac misses and eight foot banked shot from the side of the lane. Perry misses a driving layup. Josie Logghe grabs the offensive rebound for the Ramblers.

Maycee Reed blocks a Perry layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and the Ramblers get another opportunity. Ava O’Connor alertly rushes to the backcourt to save an errant pass for the Ramblers. Addison Freed inbounds the ball to Ally Hart, who hits a layup to give Perry a 4-2 lead.

Ava Positano gets her hand on a Saranac pass into the lane, but the Red Hawks recover. Lydia Rasmus hits a ten foot shot from the side for Saranac to tie the game. Lydia Rasmus gets her hand on the ball, but Perry recovers. Raeann Johnson and Lydia Rasmus play fierce defense and force Perry to call timeout to prevent a turnover. Mylee Reed forces a tieup. The Possession Arrow and its Christmas Party Committee are focused on the party food and miss the play; the ball is awarded to Perry.

Lydia Rasmus steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a driving layup. Winnie Harder hits a putback, is fouled and hits her free throw to give Saranac a 7-4 lead with 3:24 remaining in the opening quarter.

Ruby Simon drives and hits a six foot banked shot for Perry. The Reed Connection comes through as Maycee Reed passes to Mylee Reed, who hits a three point shot from the side for Saranac. Raeann Johnson steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Red Hawks. Mylee Reed’s pressure forces Perry to lose the ball out of bounds. Maycee Reed drives and hits a layup to give Saranac a 14-6 lead.

Abby Ferguson knocks a Rambler pass into the lane out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Irelyn Pachulski steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Maycee Reed is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to boost her Red Hawks to a 16-6 lead with 1:13 remaining in the quarter.

Katie Whipple knocks the ball away from Perry and Abby Ferguson picks it up for Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a threeball from the corner. Abby Ferguson gets the offensive rebound for Saranac. Ava O’Connor steals the ball for Perry and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits one of her two free throws to trim the Saranac lead to 16-7 with 39.6 seconds left in the period.

Ava O’Connor steals a Red Hawk pass. Perry misses a fast break layup. Ruby Simon pulls down the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Alivia Davis snares the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Josie Logghe is fouled on a shot and hits two free throws for Perry with 9.5 seconds to play. Katie Whipple drives and hits a layup for Saranac just before the quarter ends.

After one quarter, Saranac has an 18-9 lead.

Saranac inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Red Hawks miss an eight foot shot from the side. Perry misses a threeball from the corner. Saranac misses a threeball from the side. Mylee Reed pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac is fouled, but misses two free throws.

Katie Whipple blocks a Perry layup. The loose ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow and the Decorating Committee confer with their legal department and decide to award the ball to Perry. Raeann Johnson gets a hand on the ball and Perry loses it out of bounds. Winnie Harder passes to Katie Whipple, who relays the ball to Mylee Reed, who scores a layup to give Saranac a 20-9 lead.

Mylee Reed steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Addison Freed steals the ball for Perry. Addison Freed passes to Alivia Davis, who hits a layup for the Ramblers. Saranac misses a three pointer from the side. Maycee Reed gets the long offensive rebound and drives to the basket where she is fouled on a layup. Maycee Reed hits one of her two free throws to give Saranac a 21-11 lead with 5:56 to play in the half.

Addison Freed drives and hits a reverse layup for Perry. Maycee Reed drives, spins and hits a layup for Saranac. Lydia Rasmus nearly steals the ball for the Red Hawks, but the Ramblers recover. Perry throws a pass out of bounds. Saranac misses a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Perry takes possession. Lydia Rasmus steals the ball and passes to Mylee Reed, who hits a layup to give Saranac a 25-13 lead.

Raeann Johnson gets a hand on the ball and a Red Hawk teammate picks it up for Saranac. Saranac misses a layup. Mylee Reed blocks a Perry layup; the loose ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow looks up from an article suggesting various decors for the party and awards the ball to Saranac.

Ava O’Connor plays fierce defense and a Red Hawk dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Abby Ferguson and Mylee Reed double team a Rambler dribbler and Perry loses the ball out of bounds. Hannah Kelly and Josie Logghe close off the baseline and force a Saranac traveling violation. Winnie Harder knocks the ball away from Perry and Lydia Rasmus picks it up for Saranac.

Saranac misfires on a triple try from the corner. Perry reciprocates and misfires on a triple try from the corner. Ally Hart is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Red Hawk lead to 25-14 with 2:12 left on the first half clock.

Alivia Davis blocks a Saranac shot in the lane. Winnie Harder’s unrelenting defense causes Perry to miss a layup. Saranac misses a fast break layup. Perry is called for traveling on a drive to the basket. Ally Hart steals a Red Hawk pass. Turnabout is fair play, so Raeann Johnson steals a Perry pass. Saranac misses a driving layup. Maycee Reed grabs the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Ava O’Connor hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side for Perry to trim the Saranac lead to 25-16.

Saranac misses a driving layup. Maycee Reed gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws with 25.3 seconds remaining in the period. Katie Whipple gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Ally Hart steals the ball for Perry. The Ramblers are not able to shoot before the halftime buzzer makes its presence known.

Saranac has a 25-16 lead at halftime.

Ruby Simon leads the Perry scoring with 4 points. Ava O’Connor and Ally Hart each have 3 points.

The Reed connection was big for Saranac in the first half as Mylee Reed and Maycee Reed each have 7 points. Winnie Harder has 5 points.

Perry inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Abby Ferguson steals the ball for Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a three point shot from the side. Addison Freed passes to Ava O’Connor, spins and is fouled on a hook/layup shot. Ava O’Connor hits one of her two free throws to trim the Perry lead to 25-17 with 7:25 to play in quarter number three.

Saranac misses a threeball from the corner. Lydia Rasmus pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point attempt from the top of the key. Abby Ferguson gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup. Raeann Johnson gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Lydia Rasmus passes to Raeann Johnson, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Saranac a 28-17 lead.

Maycee Reed steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point shot from the corner. Winnie Harder grabs the offensive rebound for Saranac and passes to Raeann Johnson, who hits another three point shot from the corner for the Red Hawks. Ava O’Connor drives and is fouled on a layup. She hits one of her two free throws to shave the Red Hawk lead to 31-18 with 5:55 remaining in quarter number three.

Saranac misses a six foot banked shot from the side. Alivia Davis drives and hits a layup for Perry. Lydia Rasmus throws in a threeball from the side for Saranac. Ava O’Connor passes to Addison Freed, who hits a twelve foot shot from the baseline for Perry. Winnie Harder passes to Lydia Rasmus, who hits a threeball from the side to boost Saranac to a 37-22 lead.

Mylee Reed knocks a pass out of bounds to prevent a Perry layup. Perry retains possession. Alivia Davis takes a short drive to the basket and hits a layup for Perry. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Maycee Reed is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to give Saranac a 38-24 lead with 3:56 left in the period.

Maycee Reed blocks a Perry jump shot from the side. Raeann Johnson passes to Mylee Reed, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Saranac. Perry misses a threeball from the side. Maycee Reed is fouled on an eight foot shot from the side and hits two free throws to boost Saranac to a 43-24 lead with 2:57 remaining in quarter number three.

Addison Freed passes to Ava O’Connor, who is fouled on a six foot shot from the side and hits one of her two free throws for Perry. Josie Logghe’s tight defense forces Saranac into a double dribble violation. Katie Whipple knocks a Perry pass out of bounds; the Ramblers retain possession. Addison Freed inbounds the ball to Ava O’Connor, who hits an eighteen foot shot from the wing to trim the Red Hawk lead to 43-27.

Saranac misses an eight foot hook shot from the baseline. Katie Whipple blocks a Perry layup; Perry retains possession. Perry misses a three point shot from the wing. Abby Ferguson passes to Mylee Reed, who is fouled on a three pointshot from the side. Mylee Reed hits one of her three free throws to give her Red Hawks a 44-27 lead with 1:36 to play in quarter number three.

Winnie Harder grabs the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Perry loses a pass out of bounds. Saranac misfires on a triple try from the corner. Mylee Reed gets the offensive rebound, drives in and is fouled on a layup. She hits two free throws to boost Saranac to a 46-27 lead with 32.7 seconds left in the period.

Abby Ferguson steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a fast break layup. Mylee Reed hits a putback for the Red Hawks. Perry misses a three point shot from the corner. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side as the third quarter buzzer decides to end the period.

After three quarters, Saranac has a 48-27 lead.

Saranac inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter started. Ally Hart gets her hand on a pass and knocks it out of bounds; the Red Hawks get the ball back. Ally Hart blocks a Saranac layup and ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow looks up from the papier mache ornaments it is making and awards the ball to Perry. Ava O’Connor hits a threeball from the top of the key for Perry to trim the Saranac lead to 48-30.

Saranac throws a pass out of bounds. Winnie Harder steals the ball for Saranac. Ally Hart knocks the ball away from Saranac and Hannah Kelly picks it up for Perry. Ally Hart hits an eight foot shot in the lane for Perry. Saranac misses a driving layup. Mylee Reed steals the ball for Saranac and hits a layup to give the Red Hawks a 50-30 lead.

Maycee Reed steals the ball. Saranac misses a layup. Perry misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Saranac misses a layup. Perry misses an eight foot banked shot from the side. Ally Hart hits a putback for the Ramblers. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 5:06 left in the game, the Saranac lead is at 50-34.

Saranac misses a driving layup; the rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow has been trying on its Santa Claus costume, but takes a minute to award the ball to Saranac. Ruby Simon steals the Red Hawk inbound pass for Perry. Abby Ferguson steals the ball for Saranac.

Josie Logghe blocks a Saranac layup; Saranac recovers, but drives and misses a layup. Perry misses a six foot shot in the lane. Alivia Davis blocks a Red Wing fast break layup. Katie Whipple knocks a Perry pass out of bounds; the Ramblers retain possession. Ruby Simon is fouled on a ten foot shot in the lane and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Saranac lead to 50-35 with 3:55 to go.

Saranac misses a threeball from the corner. Raeann Johnson steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misfires on a threeball from the top of the key. Ruby Simon is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws to cut the Red Hawk lead to 50-37 with 3:06 left in the contest.

Bella Hamel steals a Red Hawk pass to break up a fast break. Perry misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Ruby Simon gets the offensive rebound for the Ramblers. Perry misses a layup. Josie Logghe hits a putback for Perry. Saranac misses a threeball from the baseline. Ruby Simon drives and hits a layup to chop the Saranac lead to 50-41.

Ruby Simon gets her hand on a pass, but Saranac is able to recover. Saranac misses a driving layup. Abby Ferguson steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Jessica Polhemus plays tough defense and forces a Saranac raveling violation. Abby Ferguson knocks the ball out of bounds; Perry retains possession. Abby Ferguson blocks a Perry threeball from the corner. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Perry gets it back. Mylee Reed steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac runs out the last few seconds on the clock.

Saranac holds off Perry’s comeback to win its first CMAC game of the 2025-26 season by the final score of 50-41.

Ava O’Connor scored 11 points to lead the Perry scoring. Ruby Simon supported her teammate with 9 points. Ally Hart added 7 points and Alivia Davis contributed 6 points. Addison Freed and Josie Logghe each scored 4 points.

The Reed Connection came through big time for the Red Hawks as Mylee led the team with 17 points and Maycee joined her in double figures with 10. Raeann Johnson and Lydia Rasmus each scored 8 points. Winnie Harder added 5 points and Katie Whipple tallied 2 points.