Portland St. Patrick vs. Concord – – MHSAA Regional Semifinal – – Girls Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 10, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen is headed to Concord High, where the hometown Yellowjackets will host the Shamrocks from Portland St. Patrick in a basketball regional semifinal game. Concord finished tied for first in the Big 8 Conference and has a 19-4 overall record. St. Patrick finished 3rd in the CMAC and has a 17-6 overall record.

I got to the gym early so that I could interview Concord Coach Arshawn Parker to learn more about his Yellowjacket players. While we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of the Dave Clark Five’s “Can’t You See That She’s Mine” from my You Tube Channel!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEc_2hjvblA

I’ve covered a number of St. Patrick’s games this year as I cover a lot of CMAC games. The Shamrocks have some quality players who have helped them to this record and their first district win since 2017. (A lot of this is because they have shared a district with the powerful Fowler Eagles who have won two state championships and finished in the final four three other times in the last five years.)

Grace Rockey is an excellent all-around player for the Shamrocks. She is an excellent athlete who plays shortstop on the Shamrock softball team. She is tall enough to play and defend in the post, but she is also quick and athletic enough to be a formidable defender on the perimeter. She is strong with the ball and great driving to the basket. She is also an excellent rebounder and shoots the three point shot well.

Mattie Honsowitz is a tough defender, rebounder and scorer in the post. She has excellent hands for catching passes in the post and excellent fundamental footwork so she can set up for and shoot an accurate midrange shot or layup. Macie Smith is a versatile defender who can cover opponents on the perimeter or in the post. She is also a solid midrange shooter.

Lily Sandborn is the usual point guard for the Shamrocks. She is a tough perimeter defender who is a good ball handler. Bella Russman puts the “t” in toughness and the “r” in rebounding. She is a determined defender in the post and can score on layups or putbacks. Naomi Hass is an excellent perimeter defender.

Concord Coach ArShawn Parker was also generous with information about his Yellowjacket players.

Cieara Barrett is an excellent all-around player who typically defends the opposing team’s best scorer. She is an excellent defender who is a fine rebounder. On offense, she has excellent ball handling and passing skills. She is a fine scorer who can slash to the basket or hit shots from the three point line. Her free throw shot is also accurate.

Grace Thorrez is a tough scorer, defender and rebounder near the basket. She uses her height really well on both offense and defense. Bradie Lehman is a versatile offensive player who can hit the three ball or slash to the basket where she has an effective floater. She is also a quality ball handler and passer who gets a lot of assists.

Haley Stimer is a hard worker who plays rogh perimeter defense for the Yellowjackets. Hannah Stimer is a fine three point shooter. Maya Barrett is a good perimeter defender who can hit the three point shot. Avery Arbuckle is a good post defender and rebounder from her forward position.

It is now time to look through 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 days of yore. Your Bleacher Denizen was showing a lot of promise as a three point shooter, but things fell apart when it was ruled that he could no longer use a catapult to help him shoot outside shots. The Bleacher Denizen’s scoring average dropped and his playing time dropped even faster.

Concord wins the opening tap. Bradie Lehman passes to Cieara Barrett, who hits a ten foot shot from the side to give the Yellowjackets the first two points of the game. Macie Smith hits a layup for the Shamrock to tie the game. Concord misses a layup. Grace Thorrez grabs the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets. Concord misses a layup. Grace Thorrez pulls down another offensive rebound for Concord. The Yellowjackets miss a threeball from the corner.

St. Patrick misses a banked twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side. Lily Sandborn knocks the ball away from Concord and Bella Russman picks it up for St. Patrick. Cieara Barrett blocks a Shamrock jump shot from the wing. Concord is whistled for an offensive foul. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Mattie Honsowitz hits a putback to givre the Shamrocks a 4-2 lead.

Concord misses a driving layup. Macie Smith passes to a Shamrock teammate, who is fouled on a layup, but misses both her free throws. Cieara Barrett is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Shamrock lead to 4-3 with 4:47 to play in the opening quarter.

St. Patrick misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Concord misfires on a triple try from the side. Haley Stimer grabs the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets. Concord misses a ten foot shot in the lane; the rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick takes possession. Haley Stimer taps the ball away from the Shamrocks, but St. Patrick recovers. Cieara Barrett forces a Shamrock traveling violation.

Concord misses a twelve footer in the lane. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. (Of course, this was done by Shamrock player, not the Saint, himself.) Lily Sandborn ignores your Bleacher Denizen’s hyper accuracy and grabs the offensive rebound for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a driving layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another opportunity. Lily Sandborn inbounds the ball to Mattie Honsowitz, who hits a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane to give her Shamrocks a 6-3 lead.

Grace Rockey knocks the ball away from Concord and Lily Sandborn picks it up for St. Patrick. Naomi Hass hits a ten foot shot from the side for the Shamrocks. She is fouled on the play and sinks her free throw to give St. Patrick a 9-3 lead with 2:23 left in the opening quarter.

Hannah Stimer passes to Grace Thorrez, who hits a layup for the Yellowjackets. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Lily Sandborn pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Grace Thorrez steals the ball for the Yellowjackets. Concord misfires on a triple try from the side. Cieara Barrett pulls down the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets and is fouled on a ten foot putback shot. Cieara Barrett hits one of her two free throws to shave the Shamrock lead to 9-6 with 1:20 to play in the first quarter.

Grace Rockey drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Concord misses an eight footer off the dribble in the lane. Grace Rockey hits a fast break layup for the Shamrocks. Cieara Barrett passes to Grace Thorrez, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Concord with 17.9 seconds left to trim the Shamrock lead to 13-6.

Bradie Lehman steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Yellowjackets as the buzzer announces that it is time for a break.

After one quarter, St. Patrick has a 13-8 lead.

Concord has the ball to begin the second quarter. Grace Rockey gets her hand on the ball, but the Shamrocks recover. Cieara Barrett passes the ball to Haley Stimer, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for Concord. Cieara Barrett blocks a Shamrock shot, but St. Patrick recovers. The Shamrocks miss a jumper from the free throw line. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get another opportunity.

St. Patrick misses a layup. Concord misses a three pointer from the side. Grace Thorrez gets her hand on the ball and forces a Shamrock travel. Bradie Lehman drives and dishes the ball to Grace Thorrez, who hits a layup to give Concord a one point lead. Mattie Honsowitz drives and hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 15-14 lead.

Concord misfires on a triple try from the corner. Grace Thorrez gets the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets. Concord misses a reverse layup. St. Patrick is whistled for a double dribble violation. Concord misses a three pointer from the side.

The ball gets stuck between the backboard and the rim on its way down. Your Bleacher Denizen is eager to help by showing his overweight 68 year old body can rise up and get wedged basketballs out of a rim, but before he can react, Concord Coach ArShawn Smith actually does what I always joke about in this situation. He actually leaps up and knocks the ball out of the rim while making it look easy. (Coach Parker is also the junior high principal. My junior high principal could never do that!!)

Grace Rockey ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s angst at not being able to show off his leaping ability and passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who is fouled as she shoots a layup. Mattie Honsowitz hits one of two free throws to give the Shamrocks a 16-14 lead with 4:21 to play in the second quarter.

The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and the Yellowjackets take possession. Lily Sandborn steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a fast break layup. Mattie Honsowitz grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Grace Thorrez blocks a Shamrock layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another possession.

The Shamrocks miss a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Grace Rockey grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Concord misses a layup. Cieara Barrett grabs the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets. Bradie Lehman passes to Grace Thorrez, who hits a revers layup for Concord to tie the game at 16-16.

St. Patrick misses a layup. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow is painting a spring nature scene, but looks up and awards the ball to Concord. The Yellowjackets miss a layup. Cieara Barrett blocks a Shamrock layup. A Shamrock players picks up the ball and gets it to Macie Smith, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the side to give St. Patrick an 18-16 lead.

Lily Sandborn taps the ball away from the Yellowjackets, but Concord recovers. Cieara Barrett gets into the lane and hits a six foot shot for Concord to tie the game. St. Patrick misses a reverse layup. Macie Smith grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Grace Rockey banks in a threeball from the wing to give the Shamrocks a 21-18 lead. (I think I heard her yell “BANK!!”)

Grace Thorrez is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Concord with only 20.8 seconds remaining in the half. Bradie Lehman steals the ball for Concord and hits a fast break layup to give the Yellowjackets a one point lead. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Bella Russman grabs the offensive rebound and hits a ten foot putback as the halftime buzzer lets us all know that it is here.

St. Patrick has a 23-22 lead at halftime.

Grace Thorrez has 10 points for Concord at halftime and Cieara Barrett has 6 points.

Grace Rockey and Mattie Honsowitz each have 7 points for St. Patrick.

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Shamrocks miss a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Concord misses a driving eight foot shot in the lane. Bella Russman saves the ball near midcourt to prevent a Shamrock turnover. St. Patrick is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. With 6:08 remaining in quarter number three, the St. Patrick lead remains at 23-22.

Concord is whistled for a double dribble violation. Grace Thorrez blocks a Shamrock driving layup. Concord misses a driving layup. St. Patrick misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Macie Smith pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. I don’t believe that traveling without the ball would be terribly noteworthy.) Macie Smith steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Bradie Lehman steals the ball for the Yellowjackets and heaves a long pass to Grace Thorrez, who hits a layup to give Concord a 24-23 lead.

Bradie Lehman steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits one of her two free throws for the Yellowjackets. Bradie Lehman steals the ball for Concord. Lily Sandborn knocks the ball away from the Yellowjackets and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow is working on some shading and misses the play. The ball is awarded to Concord. Bradie Lehman passes to Cieara Barrett, who is fouled on a fast break layup and splits her two free throws to give Concord a 26-23 lead with 3:54 remaining in quarter number three.

St. Patrick is whistled for carrying the ball. Noami Hass and Grace Rockey double team a Concord player and force a tieup. The Possession Arrow and its art supply merchant are enamored of the Shamrock girls’ hustle and award the ball to St. Patrick. Grace Thorrez taps the ball away from the Shamrocks and Cieara Barrett picks it up for the Yellowjackets. Concord misses a fast break layup. Mattie Honsowitz passes to Bella Russman, who hits one of her two free throws to trim the Yellowjacket lead to 26-24 with 3:15 to play in quarter number three.

Concord misses a layup. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Bella Russman pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Grace Rockey hits a fifteen foot shot from the side for the Shamrocks to tie the game. Concord misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Grace Rockey hits a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line to boost St. Patrick to a 28-26 lead.

Haley Stimer passes the ball to Cieara Barrett, who quickly relays the ball to Hannah Stimer, who hits a threeball from the side to give Concord a one point lead. Cieara Barrett knocks the ball away from St. Patrick, but the Shamrocks recover. Bradie Lehman steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give Concord a 31-28 lead.

Mattie Honsowitz passes to Grace Rockey, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for St. Patrick with 50.3 seconds to go in quarter number three. Concord misses a threeball from the corner. A St. Patrick ball handler steps out of bounds. Bradie Lehman passes to a teammate who is fouled on a twelve foot shot from the side with 1.0 second left, but misses her free throws. St. Patrick heaves the ball full court, but misses the basket.

After three quarters, Concord holds a 31-29 lead.

Concord has the ball to open the fourth quarter. Macie Smith knocks a pass out of bounds; the Yellowjackets retain possession. Concord misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets the ball. Cieara Barrett’s defense leads to a Shamrock double dribble violation. Macie Smith nearly steals the ball for the Shamrocks, but the Yellowjackets recover. Grace Rockey knocks the ball away from Concord and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow is impressed with Ms. Rockey’s defense and awards the ball to St. Patrick.

Bradie Lehman knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow loves the defensive intensity and awards the ball to Concord. Lily Sandborn causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow is a bit disturbed at all the interruptions to painting its masterpiece, but takes time to award the ball to St. Patrick. The Shamrock misses a driving layup. Mattie Honsowitz saves the rebound for the Shamrocks. Grace Thorrez blocks a Shamrock layup.

Concord misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. St. Patrick misses a layup. Mattie Honsowitz blocks a Yellowjacket layup. Mattie Honsowitz drives and is fouled on a six foot shot in the lane. She makes her two free throws for St. Patrick to tie the game at 31-31 with 4:12 left on the clock.

Hannah Stimer passes to Grace Thorrez, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give Concord a one point lead. Cieara Barrett gets the offensive rebound for the Yellowjackets. Grace Rockey gets her hand on the ball and a Concord dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Grace Thorrez blocks a Shamrock layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another opportunity. Grace Rockey drives from the side and is fouled on a layup. She hits one of her two free throws to tie the game at 32-32 with 2:41 to play.

Concord misses a layup. Lily Sandborn alertly reacts to prevent a Shamrock over and back violation. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Cieara Barrett is fouled on an eight foot shot off the dribble from the side. She hits two free throws to give Concord a 34-32 lead with just 57.3 seconds remaining.

A Shamrock dribbler loses the ball out of bounds. Concord is fouled with 36.3 seconds left, but misses two free throws. St. Patrick misses a seventeen foot shot from the side. Macie Smith grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Bradie Lehman knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession with 13.6 seconds left and a two point deficit. St. Patrick misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow.

Bradie Lehman grabs the offensie rebound for the Yellowjackets and is fouled immediately. She makes one of her two free throws to give Concord a 35-32 lead with just .8 of a second left in the game.

Lily Sandborn catches a long inbound pass that she had to catch inside the three point line. She banks in a sixteen foot shot just before the final buzzer sounds, but Concord wins the game 35-34 and will play Reading in Wednesday’s semifinal game.

Grace Rockey led the St. Patrick scoring with 13 points. Mattie Honsowitz supported her teammate with 9 points. Macie Smith tossed in 4 points. Naomi Hass and Bella Russman each scored 3 points. Lily Sandborn tallied 2 points.

Grace Thorrez found time to score 13 points when she wasn’t blocking Shamrock shots. Ciearar Barrett supported her teammate with 9 points. Bradie Lehman added 8 points. Hannah Stimer had 3 points and Haley Stimer scored 2 points.