Portland St. Patrick at Bath – – CMAC Girls Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 26, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the BleacherDenizenMobile is off to Bath, where the Bees will host the Shamrocks from Portland St. Patrick in a showdown between two of the top girls’ basketball teams in the CMAC. Bath enters the game tied for second place in the league with a 14-3 record and is 18-3 overall. St. Patrick is in fourth place in the league with a 13-4 record and is 17-4 overall.

While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHucLvxuQx8

I have seen both of these teams earlier this season. St. Patrick Coach Michelle Smith provided me with this information about her Shamrock players.

We’ll start with Mattie Honsowitz, a great interior player who was tough scoring and on defense as well as rebounding. She would almost certainly have been at least All-Conference. Unfortunately, she had a knee injury and is out for the season.

Grace Rockey is another excellent Shamrock player. She is a junior in her fourth year of starting for the varsity because she started playing as an eighth grader. She is a superb athlete who can play dominant defense either in the paint or on the perimeter with her combination of height, strength and agility (not to mention quickness.) On offense, she is a complete player who handles the ball well, can score on slashes to the basket, putbacks or shots from the three point line.

Lily Sandborn is a tough perimeter defender who runs the point for the Shamrocks. She handles the ball and passes well; she can score on slashes to the basket. Macie Smith is a versatile defender who is capable on the perimeter or in the post. She sees the floor and passes well. She is a good rebounder who is a threat to slash to the basket.

Macie Leonard is a freshman who stepped into the starting lineup after Mattie Honsowitz’s injury. She has strong guard skills to go along with a fine basketball IQ. She is a good ball handler and perimeter defender who can shoot the three point shot. Marian Davlin is a tough post player who excels at defense and rebounding. She is a great communicator and can score in the lane.

Bath Coach Gabe Sowa gave me this information about his Bee players earlier this year.

Africa Beltran is a senior exchange student who is one of the most complete guards in the Lansing area. She is a tough perimeter defender who handles the ball well and sees the floor better than most. She is tough to stop on slashes to the basket and you also have to respect her three point shot. Anna Poppema is a senior in her third year on the varsity. She is tall for a guard and uses that length effectively in her perimeter defense. She is also a strong three point shooter.

Eva Arambula is an athletic defensive specialist who almost always covers the opponent’s best offensive player. She is tall and tough so she can guard post players, but she is also quick and agile enough to cover perimeter players. Addi Duflo brings a nice three point shot to the Bees. Aubrey Dunckel defends well in the post and can also shoot the three point shot.

Olivia Brimley is a tough defender, rebounder and scorer in the post. Faith Hughes and Harper Williams are good perimeter defenders who can also hit the three point shot.

When I got to the game, I was excited to see that the golden-throated John Johnson, the retired communicator for the MHSAA has brought his dulcet tones to Bath to announce the game! John had a lot of advice for me when I was getting “The Bleacher Denizen” started and I will always be thankful.

I got to the game during the second quarter of the JV game. The Bees got out to a 10-3 lead after one quarter and extended the lead to 20-10 at halftime. Bath outscored St. Patrick 15-4 in the third quarter to take control with a 35-14 lead going into the final quarter. St. Patrick outscored Bath by seven points in the fourth quarter, but lost the game by the final score of 42-29.

Amelia Lansdell led the Shamrock JVs with 9 points. Jordyn Lansdell supported her teammate (and sister) with 7 points. Adelle Martin and Alice Newman each tossed in 5 points. Julia White scored 2 points and Maci Morris tallied 1 point.

Alison Montri and Lyla King each had 11 points to lead the victorious Bath JVs. Jaydin Barber added 6 points. Ava Allgaier had 4 points. Brooke Kares and Mya Vietzke each added 3 points. Teagan Kuykendall and Courtney Lawhorne each put in 2 points.

It was senior night and John Johnson used his trained radio voice to introduce Bath seniors Braelynn Barber, Anna Poppema, Africa Beltran and Aubrey Dunckel to the audience. He also gave a shutout to St. Patrick seniors Mattie Honsowitz and Lily Sandborn.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the somewhat alert eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play in the days of yore. He was showing a lot of promise as a dunker until the basketball powers that be raised the rims from five feet to ten feet. Your Bleacher Denizen’s hops did not give him the extra five feet he would have needed to continue dunking. When the dunks disappeared from the scorebook, so did the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time.

Bath wins the opening tap. The Bees miss a jump shot from the free throw line. Braelynn Barber pulls down the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a three point shot from the side. Aubrey Dunckel grabs the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Bath reciprocates and misses a threeball from the side. Macie Smith passes to Marian Davlin, who hits a sixteen foot shot from the wing to give St. Patrick the first two points of the game.

Bath misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick takes possession. St. Patrick misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Lily Sandborn knocks the ball away from Bath and Macie Smith picks it up for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a driving layup. Grace Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a fast break layup. The Shamrocks get the offensive rebound, but miss a three point shot from the corner.

Morgan Krieger steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misfires on a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Bath takes possession. Harper Williams passes to Addi Duflo, who hits a twelve foot shot in the lane for the Bees to tie the game at 2-2.

St. Patrick misses a driving six foot banked hook shot. Bath travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting; somehow I doubt that traveling without the ball would be very newsworthy.) Marian Davlin passes to Macie Smith, who throws in a threeball from the wing to give the Shamrocks a 5-2 lead.

Bath misses a driving layup. Olivia Brimley pulls down the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup. St. Patrick is fouled on a ten foot shot from the side, but misses two free throws. (Actually, it was a Shamrock player and not the Saint, himself, who missed the free throw.)

Bath misses a fast break layup. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the wing. Harper Williams banks in a three point shot from the side for Bath to tie the game. St. Patrick misses a layup just before the first quarter buzzer seeks attention and decides to blare.

The first quarter ends tied 5-5.

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Shamrocks are whistled for a traveling violation. Africa Beltran drives and hits a layup for the Bees. She is fouled on the play and sinks her free throw to give Bath an 8-5 lead with 7:32 to play in the second quarter.

Africa Beltran harasses St. Patrick into throwing the ball out of bounds; Bath takes possession. Macie Smith steals a Bee pass. Lily Sandborn passes to Maria Austen, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks. Bath misfires on a threeball from the wing. The Shamrocks are fouled on a driving layup and miss two free throws. Grace Rockey is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to give St. Patrick a 9-8 lead with 6:13 remaining in the second quarter.

Bath misses a layup. Eva Arambula knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Africa Beltran picks it up for Bath. Jordyn Lansdell gets her hand on the ball for St. Patrick, but Bath recovers. Africa Beltran hits a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline to give Bath a 10-9 lead.

St. Patrick misses an eight foot banked shot from the side. Africa Beltran saves a loose ball to prevent a Bee turnover. Bath misses a three point shot from the side. Macie Leonard gets her hand on the ball, but Bath recovers. Aubrey Dunckel passes to Eva Arambula, who hits a jump shot just short of the three pint line from the wing to boost Bath to a 12-9 lead.

Africa Beltran steals a Shamrock pass. Bath misses a three pointer from the side. Africa Beltran knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the side. Bath misses a layup. Olivia Brimley gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Bees get another opportunity.

Macie Leonard gets her hand on the ball, but the Bees recover. Bath misses a three pointer from the side. Addi Duflo gets the offensive rebound for the Bees. Bath misses a layup. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the side. Bath misses a threeball from the corner. Grace Rockey drives the baseline and hits a layup for St. Patrick to trim the Bath lead to 12-11.

Grace Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Africa Beltran gets her hand on the ball, but the Shamrocks recover. Macie Leonard passes to Macie Smith, who hits a three pointer from the top of the key to give St. Patrick a 14-12 lead.

Macie Smith steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Africa Beltran knocks the ball out of bounds to prevent a Shamrock fast break layup. St. Patrick gets the ball back. The Shamrocks miss a three pointer from the side. Morgan Krieger ties up the rebound for St. Patrick. The Possession Arrow loves her hustle and awards the ball to St. Patrick with 4.8 seconds left in the half. Africa Beltran steals the ball for the Bees. Bath misses a rushed twenty-five foot shot from the wing as the halftime buzzer alerts us that it is time for a break.

St. Patrick has a 14-12 lead at halftime.

Africa Beltran leads the Bath scoring with 5 points.

Grace Rockey has 6 points for St. Patrick.

During halftime, Bath does the senior night presentation for the Cheerleaders.

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

“She’s About a Mover” is a fun song that was a hit for the Sir Douglas Quintet in 1965! We had a lot of fun capturing the infectious joy in this song in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HfCVev8rE4

“Bring It On Home to Me” is a blues standard that was a hit for a number of artists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flgzousiL9g

Bath inbounds the ball to open quarter number three. Grace Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the corner. Marian Davlin steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Marian Davlin is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to give the Shamrocks a 16-12 lead with 6:41 remaining in quarter number three.

Africa Beltran drives and hits a layup for Bath. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Bath takes the ball. Bath misses a driving six footer from the side of the lane. St. Patrick misses a seventeen foot shot from the wing. Bath commits a double dribble violation.

St. Patrick misses a layup. Faith Hughes passes to Africa Beltran, who hits a layup for Bath and ties the game. Grace Rockey is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give St. Patrick an 18-16 lead with 4:08 to go in quarter number three.

Bath misses a three point shot from the side. Anna Poppema blocks a Shamrock layup. Bath misses a three pointer from the corner and fouls on the rebound. St. Patrick misfires on a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another opportunity. Lily Sandborn drives from the side and hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 20-16 lead.

Bath misses a three point shot from the top of the key. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Lily Sandborn knocks the ball out of bounds; Bath retains possession. Addi Duflo passes to Anna Poppema, who banks in a threeball from the wing to slash the Shamrock lead to 20-19.

Macie Smith hits a three point shot from the corner for St. Patrick. Africa Beltran drives and hits a six foot shot in the lane for Bath. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Macie Smith pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup and gets the rebound. The Shamrocks miss a threeball from the wing. Bath misses a three pointer from the side. St. Patrick misses a heave as the buzzer lets us know it is here.

With three quarters in the books, St. Patrick holds a 23-21 lead.

Bath has the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Bees miss a threeball off the dribble from the wing. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the corner. Africa Beltran gets into the lane and is fouled on an eight foot shot. She hits two free throws to tie the game at 23-23 with 7:20 left in the game.

St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Grace Rockey hits a putback for the Shamrocks. Africa Beltran passes to Addi Duflo, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Bath a one point lead. Lily Sandborn passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks and is fouled on the play. She sinks her free throw to give St. Patrick a 28-26 lead with 6:06 left on the clock.

Lily Sandborn steals a Bath pass. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Bath misses a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets the ball. The Shamrocks miss a driving layup. Africa Beltran slings in a threeball from the top of the key to give Bath a 29-28 lead.

St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Macie Leonard pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Africa Beltran passes to Addi Duflo, who hits a long three point shot past the top of the key for Bath. St. Patrick loses a pass out of bounds. Africa Beltran drives and hits a six foot runner for Bath and the Bees have a 34-28 lead.

St. Patrick misses a layup. Maria Austen nearly steals the ball for the Shamrocks, but Bath recovers. Harper Williams passes to Africa Beltran, who hits a three pointer from the corner for the Bees. Lily Sandborn drives and hits a layup to shave the Bath lead to 37-30.

Bath is whistled for a traveling violation. St. Patrick misses a layup. Marian Davlin grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow decides St. Patrick should have the ball. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the top of the key.

The Shamrocks quickly commit their second, third and fourth fouls of the quarter so they can force Bath to shoot free throws. Addi Duflo is fouled and makes two free throws to give Bath a 39-30 lead with 30.1 seconds to go.

St. Patrick is fouled on a shot, but misses two free throws. Macie Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. After Bath knocks the ball out of bounds, Macie Smith passes to Lily Sandborn, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws with 17.1 seconds to play to trim the Bath lead to 39-32.

Bath runs out the clock. The Bees win this exciting game 39-32 and clinch second place in the CMAC.

Grace Rockey led the St. Patrick scoring with 11 points. Macie Smith pitched in with 9 points. Lily Sandborn added 6 points. Marian Davlin put in 4 points and Maria Austen tallied 2 points.

Africa Beltran exploded for ten points in the fourth quarter and led Bath with 21 points for the game. Addi Duflo joined her teammate in double figures with 10 points. Anna Poppema and Harper Williams each added 3 points. Eva Arambula tallied 2 points.