Okemos at DeWitt – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 29, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen is headed to DeWitt High School to watch as the their Panthers host the Wolves from Okemos. DeWitt is in first place with a 7-1 in the CAAC-Blue and 11-2 overall. Okemos is in fourth place in the CAAC-Blue with a 4-3 record and 8-4 overall.

As we wait for the game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of the Mavericks’ “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down”! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et0d9YvK0u4

It is now time to review the events of this game through the hopefully observant eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the ancient times when he was considered to be “young.”

DeWitt Coach Bill McCullen provided me with this information about his Panther players.

Carly Dennis is a four year starter who can hit the three point shot or slash to the basket to score. She is a fine post defender as well and provides steadiness to her team. Sophia Beland runs the point for the Panthers. She is a good perimeter defender who handles the ball and passes well. Jaynie English is a good three point shooter and perimeter defender who handles the ball well enough to help at the point.

Golden Nicholson is a tough defensive standout who rebounds well and can score on slashes to the basket. Mia Popoff provides good post defense and rebounding. Jessie English is a strong three point shooter who defends the perimeter well. Rowynn Moore is a versatile scorer who can hit the three point shot or slash to the basket. She also provides strong perimeter defense.

Okemos Coach Aaron Schafer provided me this information about his players.

Natalia Hawks is an athletic guard who provides excellent perimeter defense, ball handling and passing. She can score on slashes to the basket. Eden Tandoc is a strong post defender and rebounder who uses excellent footwork to score in the lane. Elizabeth Schafer is a good three point shooter and shot blocker. She is also an excellent passer who can score in the post.

Emma Yskes defends the perimeter well. She is a fine offensive rebounder and passer who sets screens and does the tasks a good team needs that do not always appear in the box score. (I learned during the game that she is also a good shot blocker!! Even a Bleacher Denizen can use literary techniques like foreshadowing once in a while!) Annie Ahearn has a fine basketball IQ, sets great screens and can hit the three point shot.

Talana Pruitt gives the Wolves good three point shooting. Addy McCarthy is a strong perimeter defender who handles the ball well. Breanna Willoughby is a sticky perimeter defender who excels at defending on the ball. Savanna Scarlett rebounds and defends well in the post. Kendall Idomir can shoot the threeball or score on slashes to the basket.

Kate Waugh is a strong perimeter defender. Olivia Brown is an athletic player who runs the floor well and is an aggressive defender in the Wolves’ press. Isabella Zuzula is a fine three point shooter with a good basketball IQ.

I got to the gym in time to see the end of the freshman game which DeWitt won 66-9.

London Funk scored 4 points for Okemos. Jennifer Hulburt had 3 points and Mia Getz had 2.

Elaina White led the DeWitt freshmen with 12 points. Chloe Wilber and Mariya Feikema each contributed 9 points. Kaelyn Brown and Maya Linton each scored 6 points. Eve Schoonover tossed in 5 points. Avery Gardner, Ellie Owen, Daisy Johnson and Ella Rumsey each added 4 points. Brooklyn Takagishi scored 3 points.

DeWitt got off to an 11-6 lead after one quarter of the JV game. They used a 15-2 advantage in the second quarter to break the game open on their way to a 26-8 halftime lead. The Panther JVs controlled the game the rest of the way and won by the final score of 49-22.

Alyssa McFall led the Okemos JVs with 5 points. Amber Danowski, Isla Matson and Ashlyn Beland each pitched in with 4 points. Maddie Idema scored 3 points and Amiah Triplett tallied 2 points.

Tess Rypstra led the victorious DeWitt JVs with 21 points. Kara Nowak supported her teammate with 7 points and Izzy Wizner pitched in with 6 points. Addy Bertram scored 4 points. Megan Schrems added 3 points. Ella Rogers, Ella Rumsey, Kaelyn Brown and Elle Bowen each put in 2 points.

The silver-tounged DeWitt Announcer, Steven Goff reads the opening announcements and introduces the starters from both teams with his dulcet tones!

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally alert eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen, who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the ancient times when he was considered to be “young.” It seems that your Bleacher Denizen was never able to master the concept of only shooting at the appropriate basket.

He loved it when opposing fans cheered him when he scored in their basket, although it was a mystery that the other team never guarded him. Alas, he took too long to learn that his coach only valued scoring when it was in the correct basket. Others who viewed the game more traditionally and limited their shooting to one basket quickly took the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time.

DeWitt wins the opening tap. The Panthers misfire on a threeball from the side. Mia Popoff blocks an Okemos layup; the Wolves recover the ball. Okemos misses a three point attempt from the side. DeWitt travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting at times. Somehow I doubt it would be terribly newsworthy if someone traveled without the ball.)

Golden Nicholson ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s semantic musings and ties up the ball for DeWitt. The Possession Arrow was rebuilding its car engine and missed the play. The ball is awarded to Okemos. The Wolves miss a fifteen foot shot from the side. Anne Ahearn grabs the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Okemos misses a fifteen footer from the side.

DeWitt misses a three point shot from the side. Mia Popoff intercepts an Okemos pass. DeWitt turns the ball over. Jaynie English knocks the ball away from Okemos, but the Wolves recover. Natalia Hawks drives and hits an up and under layup to give Okemos the first points of the game. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to give Okemos a 3-0 lead with 4:49 to play in the opening quarter.

DeWitt misses a driving layup. Jessie English blocks an Okemos shot. Jaynie English hits a fifteen foot shot from the side to give the Panthers their first two points of the game. Okemos misses a driving hook/layup. Rowynn Moore is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give DeWitt a 4-3 lead with 3:34 left in the first period.

Okemos misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Natalia Hawks knocks the ball away from DeWitt and Talana Pruitt picks it up for Okemos. Carly Dennis gets her hand on the ball, but the Wolves recover. Rowynn Moore steals the ball for the Panthers. DeWitt is assessed a traveling violation on a too fast break. Addy McCarthy passes to Talana Pruitt, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Okemos a 6-4 lead.

DeWitt misses a three pointer from the wing. Carly Dennis hits a putback for DeWitt to tie the game. Jessie English steals the ball for the Panthers. DeWitt misses a three pointer from the corner. Okemos misses a three pointer from the wing. Elizabeth Schafer blocks a DeWitt shot; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Okemos takes possession.

Okemos misses a ten foot banked shot from the side. Talana Pruitt gets the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Jaynie English blocks an Okemos shot; the loose ball goes out of bounds and DeWitt takes possession. DeWitt misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Sophia Beland hits a putback to give DeWitt a two point lead. Okemos misses a driving layup just before the first quarter buzzer seeks attention and blares to end the period.

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

Okemos throws the ball inbounds to open the second quarter. The Wolves commit a traveling violation. DeWitt misses a three point shot from the side. Golden Nicholson hits a putback for the Panthers. Okemos misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Savanna Scarlett gets her hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds; DeWitt retains possession.

The Panthers miss a three pointer from the top of the key. Eden Tandoc makes a great hustle play when she throws the rebound off a Panther player to secure possession for the Wolves. Mia Popoff plays tough defense on the baseline to force an Okemos traveling violation. Natalia Hawks dives and gets her hand on the ball, but DeWitt recovers. The Panthers miss a threeball from the wing. Okemos misses a threeball from the side. Sophia Beland passes to Rowynn Moore, who throws in a threeball from the wing to give DeWitt a 13-6 lead.

Elizabeth Schafter responds by hitting a three point shot from the wing for Okemos. Natalia Hawks knocks a Panther pass out of bounds; DeWitt retains possession. DeWitt misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw elbow. Rowynn Moore knocks the ball away from Okemos and Golden Nicholson picks it up for DeWitt. Carly Dennis is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws to give DeWitt a 15-9 lead with 3:26 remaining in the half.

Golden Nicholson gets a hand on the ball, but Okemos recovers. Elizabeth Schafer passes to an Okemos teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both her free throws. Addy McCarthy steals the ball and passes to Elizabeth Schafer, who hits a fast break layup to trim the DeWitt lead to 15-11.

DeWitt misses a layup. Jessie English hits a putback for the Panthers. Okemos throws a pass out of bounds. DeWitt misses a three point shot from the wing. Okemos loses a pass out of bounds. Carly Dennis passes to Jessie English, who hits a three point shot from the corner for DeWitt. Anne Ahearn hits a three point shot from the wing for Okemos. The second quarter buzzer makes its presence known before DeWitt can shoot.

DeWitt takes a 20-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. Your Bleacher Denizen smugly predicts that the third quarter will start with the Panthers still having a 20-14 lead.

As our readers cannot see or hear what is happening at halftime, I hope you will enjoy these videos from my You Tube Channel!!

“Down South in New Orleans” (A 1955 hit for Johnny and Jack that was way ahead of its time) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QUZ5FrpeFA

“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” features me on the piano and John Rickert on trumpet!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MxOus8t44

“The House of the Rising Sun” was a huge hit for the Animals in 1964! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm7njm5177I

Halftime has ended and your Bleacher Denizen sneaks a glance at the scoreboard. He is gratified to see that his daring prediction about the score at the beginning of the third quarter IS still 20-14. Several people on the sidelines intervene to prevent the Bleacher Denizen from seriously injuring himself as he tries to pat himself on the back.

DeWitt’s players ignore the Bleacher Denizen’s overconfident moment and inbound the ball to open quarter number three. The Panthers misfire on a triple try from the top of the key. Sophia Beland pulls down the offensive rebound for DeWitt. Natalia Hawks steals the ball for Okemos. The Wolves miss a three point shot from the side.

DeWitt misses a layup. Mia Popoff grabs the offensive rebound for the Panthers. DeWitt misses a layup. Sophia Beland grabs the offensive rebound for the Panthers. DeWitt miss a three point shot from the top of the key. Sophia Beland gets her hand on the ball for DeWitt; Jaynie English dives and ties the ball up. The Possession Arrow is nursing some skinned knuckles suffered during its engine repair and misses the play. The ball is awarded back to Okemos.

Mia Popoff knocks the Wolves’ inbound pass out of bounds; Okemos retains possession. The Wolves miss a driving layup. Eden Tandoc is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to cut the Okemos lead to 20-16 with 6:37 remaining in quarter number three.

Natalia Hawks steals the ball for Okemos. The Wolves are assessed with a traveling violation. DeWitt commits a double dribble violation. Sophia Beland gets her hand on the ball for DeWitt and creates chaos; Okemos has to call timeout to prevent a turnover. The English Connection comes through for DeWitt as Jaynie knocks the ball away from the Wolves and Jessie picks it up for the Panthers.

DeWitt loses a pass out of bounds. Okemos misfires on a triple try from the wing. Emma Yskes blocks a DeWitt layup. Anne Ahearn passes to Eden Tandoc, who spins and hits a layup to chop the DeWitt leaded to 20-18.

Emma Yskes blocks another DeWitt layup and causes a scrum for the ball. (Who says a mere Bleacher Denizen can not use literary devices to push his story. I at least did a reasonable facsimile of “foreshadowing” early in the article.) DeWitt ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s feeble attempt at literary glory and calls a timeout to preserve the possession.

When play resumes, Elizabeth Schafer blocks a DeWitt layup and the ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow is figuring out which wrench will work on its repair job and misses the play; Ms. Schafer’s excellent defense is ignored and the ball is given to DeWitt. Sophia Beland passes to Carly Dennis, who hits a layup to give DeWitt a 22-18 lead.

Okemos misses a three point shot from the corner. Natalia Hawks gets her hand on the ball, but DeWitt is able to recover. Jaynie English drives and hits a layup for DeWitt. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 2:32 to play in quarter number three, DeWitt has a 24-18 lead.

Jaynie English knocks the ball away from Okemos and Carly Dennis grabs is for Dewitt. Golden Nicholson hits a fast break layup for the Panthers. Sophia Beland steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for DeWitt. Okemos misses a layup. Carly Dennis passes to Jaynie English, who throws in a threeball from the side for DeWitt to give her Panthers a 31-18 lead.

DeWitt plays spirited defense and prevents Okemos from getting the ball over the midcourt line in the required ten seconds. DeWitt gets the ball. Sophia Beland passes to Carly Dennis, who hits a layup for DeWitt. Jessie English blocks an Okemos layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and the Wolves get another opportunity. Jaynie English steals the Okemos inbound pass.

DeWitt misses a layup. Jaynie English pulls down the offensive rebound for the Panthers. DeWitt misses a layup. Carly Dennis is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to boost DeWitt to a 35-18 lead with 33 seconds to go in quarter number three.

Sophia Beland knocks the ball out of bounds. Okemos retains possession. Okemos misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and DeWitt gets the ball. DeWitt misses a driving layup just before the buzzer decides to call an end to quarter number three.

DeWitt has scored the last fifteen points of quarter number three to take a 35-18 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Okemos inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter started. Savanna Scarlett passes to Eden Tandoc, who hits a layup to end the DeWitt scoring run. DeWitt misses a driving layup. Mia Popoff gets the offensive rebound for the panthers. DeWitt misses a layup. Eden Tandoc hits a layup for Okemos to shave the DeWitt lead to 35-22.

DeWitt misses a threeball from the wing. Jessie English grabs the offensive rebound for the Panthers. Carly Dennis is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give DeWitt a 36-22 lead with 6:47 left on the clock.

Golden Nicholson steals the ball for the Panthers. DeWitt misses a threeball from the corner and travels with the offensive rebound. Sophia Beland steals the ball and passes to Rowynn Moore, who hits a layup for the Panthers. Okemos misses a three point shot from the corner. DeWitt misses a driving layup. Jessie English hits a putback to give DeWitt a 40-22 lead.

Okemos misses a jump shot from the side and DeWitt fouls on the rebound. Okemos misses a driving layup. Emma Ystes, tonight’s Human Eraser, blocks another DeWitt layup; the Panthers recover the loose ball. (P.S. Marvin Webster, a great NBA shot blocker had the nickname, “The Human Eraser.”) DeWitt ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s NBA history lesson as Sophia Beland inbounds the ball to Carly Dennis, who hits a layup to give Okemos a 42-22 lead.

The Wolves misfire on a triple try from the wing. Eden Tandoc gets the offensive rebound for the Wolves. Sophia Beland steals an Okemos inbound pass. DeWitt is called for traveling. Carly Dennis steals the Okemos inbound pass. Elizabeth Schafer knocks a Panther pass out of bounds; DeWitt retains possession. The Panthers miss a layup.

Okemos misses a three point shot, but gets the offensive rebound. Jessie English steals the ball for the Panthers. Audra Corneal dives to prevent a loose ball from going out of bounds and saves DeWitt’s possession. Rowynn Moore passes to Mia Popoff, who hits a layup for DeWitt. Eden Tandoc hits a ten foot shot from the side to trim the DeWitt lead to 44-24.

DeWitt turns the ball over. Okemos misses a layup. Natalia Hawks dives to tie up the ball for Okemos. The Possession Arrow is looking for a missing hose clamp and misses the play; the ball is given back to DeWitt. Jaynie English is fouled and hits two free throws to give Dewitt a 46-24 lead with 1:12 to go.

Okemos misses a three point shot from the wing. Elizabeth Schafer steals the ball for Okemos. Ella Rogers steals the ball for DeWitt and hits a fast break layup. Natalia Hawks is fouled and hits two free throws for Okemos. With 40.4 seconds remaining, DeWitt’s lead is at 48-26.

Eden Tandoc steals the ball for Okemos. The Wolves miss a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and DeWitt gets the ball. Natalia Hawks and Eden Tandoc double team DeWitt and the Panthers lose the ball out of bounds. Anne Ahearn throws in a threeball from the corner for Okemos. DeWitt runs out the last few seconds remaining.

DeWitt wins this CAAC-Blue contest by the score of 48-29.

Eden Tandoc led the Okemos scoring with 10 points. Anne Ahearn chipped in with 6 points. Natalia Hawks and Elizabeth Schafer each had 5 points. Talana Pruitt scored 3 points.

Carly Dennis led the victorious Panthers with 13 points. Jaynie English supported her teammate with 9 points. Jessie Englis and Rowynn Moore each contributed 7 points. Sophia Beland and Golden Nicholson each scored 4 points. Ella Rogers and Mia Popoff each tallied 2 points.