Fulton at Merrill – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – September 15, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen is headed to Merrill, where the Vandal Girls Basketball Team will host the Pirates from Fulton. Fulton is 0-1 coming into the game, while Merrill is at 0-2, so one of these teams will go home with their first win of the season.

After entertaining at a senior home in St. Johns, I was able to drive to Merrill with very little resistance from the weather. While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this video of “O Tannenbaum,” the Christmas classic (sung in German.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=443EYOrZw0w

Fulton Coach Brandon Trefil provided my with this information about his Pirate players.

Dayten Lambert is a senior in her fourth year of varsity basketball. She is a threat to score either on drives to the basket or from the three point line. She is a versatile defender who is effective both on the perimeter and in the paint. Kalyn Duflo is a very competitive player who defends the perimeter well, is a good passer and can hit shots from the three point line.

Brooklyn Kanous puts the “E” in energy as she is a ferocious perimeter defender who generates a lot of turnovers from Pirate opponents and is a solid rebounder. Lynnae Podolak is a strong ball handler and passer who defends the perimeter well and can score on slashes to the basket. Camryn Cunningham is able to defend in the paint or on the perimeter and can slash to the basket.

Kerrigan Ryan is a strong perimeter defender who is a capable slasher to the basket. Whitney Reniewicz defends and rebounds well in the post. She is also a threat from the three point line. Norah Hnetynka defends the perimeter well and can hit shots from the three point line. Sage Anderson, Addison Smolinski, Jillian Davis and Lillian Reynolds defend and rebound well in the post. Tessa Duflo and Ava Duflo defend well on the perimeter.

Merrill Coach Jason DeSmyter provided this information about his Vandal players.

Dilyn Colpean is a quick, persistent perimeter defender who gets a lot of steals and fast break baskets from them. She can score on slashes to the basket or shots from the three point line. Maddy DeSmyter is a strong post defender and rebounder who is a fine scorer in the paint or out to the three point line. Ellie Drummond is able to defend in the perimeter or in the paint. She is able to slash to the basket or hit shots from the three point line.

Lexie Fordos is able to defend on the perimeter or in the paint. She has a high basketball IQ and can score from the three point line or on slashes to the basket. Danyka Gonzales is a strong defender and rebounder in the post. Kiera Kipfmiller is a rugged on-ball defender who generates a lot of turnovers from the opposition. Karissa Kremer is a strong perimeter defender who can also defend in the paint and scores near the basket. Marissa Keremer is a fine perimeter defender who is tough on the ball. She is also a threat to score from the three point line.

I got to the JV game in time to see most of it. Fulton’s JVs got off to a 12-4 lead after one quarter and extended their lead to 22-6 at halftime. They controlled the game the rest of the way and won by the final score of 38-13.

Merrill’s Kaylee O’Dell led all scorers with 10 points. Khloe Schoch scored 3 points.

Addison Smolinski led the Fulton JVs with 8 points. Norah Hnetynka and Tessa Duflo each added 6 points. LIlly Morrison and Shyanne Abrams each scored 5 points. Whitney Reniewicz and Ava Rahme each added 3 points. Kerrigan Ryan scored 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally alert eyes of a Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league in the days of yore when he attempted to hoop. It seems that he was not able to figure out that points only counted when the ball goes into the hoop. He was confused by horseshoes, where a leaner can get you a point. His coach could not convince him to stop throwing the ball against the rim as it did not help the team. By the time he figured things out, his coach had a permanent, personalized place for him on the bench.

Merrill wins the opening tap. Dayten Lambert draws a charging foul from the Vandals. Dayten Lambert passes to Kalyn Duflo, who throws in a threeball from the side to give Fulton the first three points of the game. Merrill losses a pass out of bounds. Ellie Drummond steals the ball for the Vandals. Merrill misses a fast break layup. Kalyn Duflo passes to Lynnae Podolak, who hits a threeball from the side to boost Fulton to a 6-0 lead.

Merrill misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Fulton loses a pass out of bounds. Kalyn Duflo steals the ball and passes to Dayten Lambert, who is fouled on a three point attempt from the wing. She hits two free throws to give Fulton an 8-0 lead with 4:39 to play in the opening quarter.

Kalyn Duflo steals the ball for the Pirates. Maddy DeSmyter blocks a Fulton layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and the Pirates get another opportunity. Fulton misfires on a triple try from the corner. Merrill misses a fast break layup and fouls on the rebound. Maddy DeSmyter blocks a Fulton layup. Merrill misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Dilyn Colpean gets the offensive rebound for the Vandals.

Kalyn Duflo and Dayten Lambert tie up the ball; the Possession Arrow looks up from its Christmas Cookie molds and decides to give the ball to Merrill. Merrill misses a ten foot shot from the side. Fulton fouls on the rebound. Whitney Reniewicz knocks a Vandal pass out of bounds; Merrill retains possession. Merrill misses a driving layup. Maddy DeSmyter hits a putback to trim the Fulton lead to 8-2.

Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Merrill takes possession. Merrill drives into the lane, but misses a ten footer. Marissa Kremer gets the offensive rebound for the Vandals. Karissa Kremer hits a layup for Merrill. Fulton is called for a double dribble violation. Merrill misses a threeball from the side. Maddy DeSmyter gets the offensive rebound for Merrill, drives and hits an eight foot shot from the baseline to cut the Fulton lead to 8-6.

Fulton misses a jump shot from the baseline just before the first quarter buzzer seeks attention and puts out a lot blare.

After one quarter, Fulton has an 8-6 lead.

Fulton has the ball to open the second quarter. The Pirates miss a three point shot from the corner. Marissa Kremer passes to her sister Karissa Kremer, who quickly relays the ball to Lexie Fordos, who scores a layup for Merrill to tie the game at 8-8.

Fulton is whistled for a traveling violation. Brooklyn Kanous steals the ball for the Pirates and draws a Vandal foul while doing it. Maddy DeSmyter steals the ball for the Vandals. Brooklyn Kanous steals the ball back for the Pirates. The Bleacher Denizen wonders whether he should continue taking notes or report this stealing spree to the authorities.

Dilyn Colpean ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s angst and gets a hand on the ball, but Fulton briefly recovers before Dilyn Colpean extends the crime spree and steals the ball for Merrill. She hits a fast break layup before Fulton is able to steal the ball back to give Merrill a 10-8 lead. After Fulton scored eight consecutive points to open the game, Merrill has scored ten consecutive points.

Maddy DeSmyter steals a Pirate pass. Brooklyn Kanous blocks a Vandal layup and forces a tie up. The Possession Arrow is measuring butter for its Christmas pastry and misses the play; the ball is awarded to Merrill. Kiera Kipfmiller inbounds the ball to Ellie Drummond who is fouled on a layup. Ellie Drummond hits one of her three free throws (Fulton was in the lane early on the second one, so she got one more.) to give Merrill an 11-8 lead with 4:14 remaining in the opening half.

Karissa Kremer gets her hand on a Pirate pass, but Fulton is able to recover. Danyka Gonzales gets her hand on a Pirate pass and forces a Fulton traveling violation. Merrill misfires on a triple try from the side. Fulton misses a fast break layup. Dilyn Colpean goes coast to coast for a layup to give her Vandals a 13-8 lead.

Fulton misses a layup. Kalyn Duflo pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Brooklyn Kanous draws an offensive foul from the Vandals. Danyka Gonzales steals the ball for the Vandals. Merrill misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. Danyka Gonzales gets the offensive rebound for the Vandals. Merrill is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 2:10 to play in the opening half, Merrill holds a 13-8 lead.

Fulton is fouled on the rebound, but misses two free throws. Lynnae Podolak steals a Merrill pass. Fulton misses a three point attempt from the side. Merrill misses a driving layup. Fulton misses a three point attempt from the wing. Camryn Cunningham pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a ten footer from the side. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow looks away from setting its oven long enough to award the ball to the Pirates.

Fulton misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. The Bleacher Denizen misses seeing the ball go into the basket. Dilyn Colpean plays tough defense and Fulton loses a pass into the lane out of bounds. Lynnae Podolak plays tough defense and forces a Merrill traveling violation. Fulton is fouled, but misses two free throws. Merrill commits an offensive foul. Fulton misses a three point shot from the side.

Lynnae Podolak gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting; somehow, it is not very newsworthy when someone travels WITHOUT the ball.) Merrill misses a ten foot shot from the side before the halftime buzzer decides to make its presence known.

At halftime Merrill has a 13-8 lead. After Fulton scored the first eight points of the game, Merrill scored the next thirteen points in a row.

Lynnae Podolak and Kalyn Duflo lead Fulton with 3 points each.

Dilyn Colpean and Maddy DeSmyter both have 4 points for Merrill.

While we wait for halftime to expire, I hope you will enjoy these two Christmas songs from my You Tube Channel. The first, “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” informs the world of the tragic incident that led to Grandma’s demise. The second, “Grandpa Did It” is an original response that tells “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would have put it!

“Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oACFZptPUZs

“Grandpa Did It” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp3FW5dhL3E

Now that we have enjoyed these two songs, it is time for the second half of this game to be played!

Merrill inbounds the ball to open quarter number three, but commits a traveling violation. Dayten Lambert drives the baseline and hits a layup for Fulton. Kalyn Duflo ties up the ball for the Pirates. The Possession Arrow is really impressed by her defensive aggression and interrupts stirring the chocolate chip cookie batter long enough to award the ball to Fulton.

The Pirates miss a three point shot from the wing. Lynnae Podolak steals the ball for the pirates. Maddy DeSmyter knocks the ball away from Fulton and Kiera Kipfmiller picks it up for Merrill. Kiera Kipfmiller passes to Dilyn Colpean, who hits a fast break layup to give Merrill a 15-10 lead.

Fulton misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pirates get another opportunity. Lexie Fordos steals the ball for the Vandals. Camryn Cunningham ties up the ball for Fulton. The Possession Arrow loves her tough defense and takes time from frosting the sugar cookies to award the ball to Fulton. Dayten Lambert is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Merrill lead to 15-11 with 5:34 remaining in quarter number three.

Brooklyn Kanous steals the ball for the Pirates. Karissa Kremer dives and ties up the ball for Merrill. The Possession Arrow needs to get cookies out of the oven right away, but pauses to award the ball to Merrill. Kalyn Duflo gets her hand on the ball. The Possession Arrow nearly burns its hand on the oven as it tries to react quickly and awards the ball to Fulton. Dayten Lambert is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Vandal lead to 15-12 with 4:58 left in quarter number three.

Merrill is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. The rebound is tied up by Kiera Kipfmiller. The Possession Arrow is getting upset by the continuous interruptions that have caused an oven full of cookies to burn, but takes time to award the ball to Merrill. Dayten Lambert knocks a Vandal pass out of bounds; Merrill retains possession. Merrill misses an eighteen foot shot from the side.

Karissa Kremer steals the ball for Merrill. The Vandals miss a fast break layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fulton gets the ball. The Pirates miss a layup. Merrill misses a driving layup. The Vandals get the offensive rebound, but misfire on a triple try from the side. Kiera Kipfmiller knocks the ball out of bounds; Fulton retains possession. Fulton misses a three pointer from the side and fouls on the rebound. Dilyn Colpean passes to Karissa Kremer, who hits a six foot banked shot to give Merrill a 17-12 lead.

Ellie Drummond steals the ball for the Vandals. Brooklyn Kanous returns the favor and steals the ball for the Pirates. Fulton misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Kerrigan hits a putback for Fulton to trim the Vandal lead to three points. Merrill misses a three point attempt from the side. Ellie Drummond ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow is struggling to mix a batch of sugar cookies and misses the play; the ball is awarded to Fulton.

Kiera Kipfmiller knocks the ball out of bounds; Fulton retains possession. Lynnae Podolak is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Merrill lead to 17-15 with 1:34 to play in quarter number three.

Merrill misfires on a threeball from the wing. Fulton is fouled on the rebound, but misses two free throws. Merrill is called for a double dribble violation. Fulton misses a layup. Whitney Reniewicz hits a putback for Fulton to tie the game at 17-17.

Camryn Cunningham steals the ball for Fulton. The Pirates are fouled on a layup, but miss two free throws with 22.4 seconds to go in the quarter. Whitney Reniewicz gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Fulton misses a layup. Merrill misses a long heave at the basket as the third quarter buzzer announces the end of the period.

With three quarters in the books, the teams are tied at 17-17.

Merrill inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. Dayten Lambert gets her hand on a pass into the lane and knocks the ball out of bounds. Merrill gets another possession. Kalyn Duflo knocks a Vandal pass out of bounds, but Merrill gets the ball back again. Brooklyn Kanous ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is looks up from washing a sink full of dirty pans and awards the ball to Fulton.

Fulton misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow is scouring the pan that got burned during the third quarter and decides the Merrill shall have the ball. Kalyn Duflo knocks a pass out of bounds; Merrill retains possession. The Vandals miss a six foot shot from the side. Fulton misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Merrill gets the ball.

Kalyn Duflo blocks an eight foot Merrill shot in the lane. Fulton misses a three point shot from the wing. Merrill throws a pass out of bounds. Fulton misses a three pointer from the wing. Merrill misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Karissa Kremer gets the offensive rebound for the Vandals. Merrill missed a three point shot from the wing.

Karissa Kremer steals the ball for the Vandals. Camryn Cunningham gets her hand on the ball and Merrill loses it out of bounds. Fulton misses a three point shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Brooklyn Kanous steals the ball for Fulton. Fulton misses a threeball from the side. Kalyn Duflo gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Lexie Fordos steals the ball for the Vandals.

Merrill throws a pass out of bounds. Fulton misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Merrill misses a threeball from the side. Maddy DeSmyter hits a putback for Merrill and is fouled. She hits her free throw to give Merrill a 20-17 lead with 1:09 left on the clock.

Dilyn Colpean gets her hand on the ball, but Fulton recovers. Karissa Kremer steals the ball for Merrill, but the Vandals commit a double dribble violation. Kalyn Duflo grabs a deflected pass on the wing and throws a threeball through the hoop for Fulton to tie the game at 20-20 with 22 seconds remaining.

Lexie Fordos is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to give Merrill a 21-20 lead.

Fulton is fouled with .6 of a second remaining; as it was only Merrill’s fourth foul of the quarter and the foul was not on a shot, Fulton has to inbound the ball (and does not shoot free throws that could win the game.) Fulton misses a long heave as time expires.

Merrill wins this hard-fought defensive battle by the final score of 21-20.

Dayten Lambert and Kalyn Duflo each had 6 points to lead Fulton’s scoring. Lynnae Podolak scored 4 points. Kerrigan Ryan and Whitney Reniewicz each tallied 2 points.

Maddy DeSmyter led the victorious Vandals with 7 points. Dilyn Colpean supported her with 6 points. Karissa Kremer put in 4 points; Lexie Fordos had 3 points including the game winning free throw and Ellie Drummond scored 1 point.