Portland St. Patrick vs. Concord – – MHSAA Division 4 Girls Basketball Quarterfinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 17, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, the BleacherDenizenMobile has been pointed at Mason High School, where the Shamrocks from Portland St. Patrick and the Yellow Jackets from Concord will take some time out of their St. Patrick Day celebrations to play the Girls’ Division 4 Basketball Quarterfinal. This could be interesting. I have blogged St. Patrick for a lot of games, but I have never covered Shamrock Basketball on St. Patrick’s Day!

In an unrelated bit of self congratulation, this is The Bleacher Denizen’s 1500th post since he set up his own blog!!

Concord has a 24-2 record coming into the quarterfinal and finished in first place in the Big 8 Conference. Portland St. Patrick finished fourth in the CMAC and has a 21-5 record entering this game.

While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this novelty video of “Snoopy vs. The Red Baron”, a 1966 hit for the Royal Guardsmen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHucLvxuQx8

I saw Concord play a Saturday game at Pittsford earlier this year. Concord actually defeated St. Patrick in the regional last year and got all the way to the semifinal. Coach Christopher Thorrez is leading them this year and provided this information about his Yellow Jacket players.

CeCe Barrett and Bradie Lehman were starting guards last year in the semifinal game. They are both complete guards who can play either the point or the shooting guard position. They are quick, determined defenders who generate a lot of turnovers from Yellow Jacket opponents. Both of them are strong passers and slick ball handlers who will get the ball to the open teammate. Both of them are able to shoot the threeball or drive to the basket to score. If that isn’t enough, when I covered their game at Pittsford, they were the team’s two leading rebounder!

Haley Stimer also started last season. She is a tough, intense perimeter defender who usually guards the opponent’s best offensive player. Avery Arubuckle play in the post where they are tough defenders and rebounders. They are also scoring threats near the basket.

I cover the St. Patrick’s league, the CMAC frequently and have seen the Shamrocks play a number of times this year.

Mattie Honsowitz injured her knee and cannot play this season. She is a senior who has been a rotation player on the varsity for four years. She was a sterling post presence who defended well and was a strong rebounder. She had great fundamentals on offense where she used her footwork to get herself open for layups and midrange shots; she hit a great percentage of them!

Grace Rockey is a great athlete who has been playing with unstoppable confidence the past few games. She is tall enough to defend the post and quick enough to defend the perimeter where her length and agility help generate opponents’ turnovers. She is an excellent rebounder who is difficult to stop when she drives to the basket or catches a pass in the paint. She is also a threat from the three point line and handles the ball well.

Lily Sandborn runs the point for the Shamrocks. She defends the perimeter fiercely and can slash to the basket to score. She is also a threat to hit the three point shot. Macie Smith is a tall guard who actually generally jumps center for St. Patrick. She can defend on the perimeter or in the paint. On offense, she sees the floor well and shoots the three point shot accurately.

Marian Davlin is a tough rebounder who defends well in the post. She has a solid midrange shot and gets her share of points on putbacks as well. Macie Leonard is a freshman who stepped into the starting lineup when Mattie Honsowitz was injured. She is a good passer and ball handler and another Shamrock who is tall enough to help defend in the post and quick enough to play on the perimeter. She is also an accurate three point shooter.

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

He was showing some promise as an outside shooter until the basketball powers that be ruled he was no longer allowed to hide magnets inside the basketball to guide the ball to the hoop. When the shots started falling all over the place instead of getting to the rim, the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time fell drastically.

Concord wins the opening tap. Grace Rockey gets her hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds. The Yellow Jackets retain possession. Concord misses a driving six foot banked shot from the side. Cieara Barrett blocks a Shamrock layup. Concord misses a three point shot from the side. Grace Rockey passes to Macie Smith, who throws in a threeball from the wing to give her Shamrocks a 3-0 lead.

Concord misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw line. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Yellow Jackets get another possession. Cieara Barrett passes to Avery Arbuckle, who hits a layup to give Concord its first two points. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Grace Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks and hits a fast break layup to give St. Patrick a 5-2 lead.

Cieara Barrett passes to Bradie Lehman, who hits a three point shot from the side for Concord to tie the game. Grace Rockey drives and hits a layup to give the Shamrocks a two point lead. Haley Stimer passes to Avery Arbuckle, who hits a layup for Concord to tie the game at 7-7.

St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Macie Smith pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Haley Stimer knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Cieara Barrett picks it up for Concord. Cieara Barrett passes to Bradie Lehman, who his a three point shot from the side to give Concord a 10-7 lead.

St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Marian Davlin grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Avery Arbuckle ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is washing its supper dishes and misses the play; the ball is awarded to St. Patrick. In a Deja’ vu sequence, St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing and Marian Davlin gets the offensive rebound. This time, however, Avery Arbuckle knocks the ball away from St. Patrick, but the Shamrocks recover. Macie Leonard drives and hits a layup to cut the Concord lead to 10-9.

Macie Smith nearly steals the ball for the Shamrocks, but the Yellow Jackets recover. Macie Smith ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow misses the play because it is scouring a pot where the mashed potatoes burned. The ball is given back to Concord. Grace Rockey blocks a Concord shot, but the Yellow Jackets recover. Haley Stimer hits a seventeen foot shot near the top of the key to give Concord two more points and a 12-9 lead.

St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Concord misses a long heave as the first quarter buzzer seeks attention and blares loudly.

After one quarter, Concord has a 12-9 lead.

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. Haley Stimer gets her hand on the ball and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow finally has the potato pot scoured properly. It sees the play and is impressed with Ms. Stimer’s hustle. The ball is awarded to Concord. The Yellow Jackets miss a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Concord gets another possession.

Lily Sandborn gets a hand on the ball, but Concord recovers. In another Deja’ vu moment, Lily Sandborn gets her hand on the ball, but Concord recovers. The Yellow Jackets misfire on a triple try from the wing. Cieara Barrett grabs the offensive rebound for Concord. Cieara Barrett passes to Bradie Lehman, who throws in a long three point shot from the side to give Concord a 15-9 lead.

St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the wing. (Actually, this was a Shamrock player, not the Saint himself!) Concord misses a ten foot shot from the side. Avery Arbuckle grabs the offensive rebound for the Yellow Jackets. Concord misses a threeball from the wing. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the side. St. Patrick drives from the side and misses a layup.

Macie Leonard blocks a Concord jump shot off the dribble from the three point line. Macie Leonard hits a three point shot from the side for St. Patrick to cut the Concord lead to 15-12.

Concord misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the top of the key. Concord drives and dishes the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick takes possession. The Shamrocks misfire on a three pointer from the corner. Macie Smith steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a spinning six foot banked hook shot. Concord misses a jump shot from the free throw line.

Cieara Barrett knocks a Shamrock pass into the lane out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. Lily Sandborn is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Yellow Jacket lead to 15-13 with 4.1 seconds remaining in the half.

Concord misses a long heave as time expires for the second quarter.

Concord has a 15-13 lead at halftime.

Macie Leonard has 5 points to lead the St. Patrick scoring at halftime. Grace Rockey has 4 points.

Bradie Lehman has 9 points for Concord and Avery Arbuckle has 4 points.

As there are no halftime activities today, I hope you will enjoy these videos from my You Tube Channel as we wait for the second half to begin.

“House of the Rising Sun is a classic blues song; the Animals had a huge hit with it in 1964. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm7njm5177I

“Blues Stay Away from Me” is another classic blues tune that has been performed in many genres. The Delmore Brothers wrote it and had the first hit with it in the 1930s! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TtsKUnqw7g

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Shamrocks misfire on a threeball from the top of the key. Lily Sandborn knocks the ball away from Concord and Macie Leonard picks it up for St. Patrick. Macie Leonard passes to Lily Sandborn, who knocks down a threeball from the corner to give the Shamrocks a 16-15 lead.

Concord is fouled on a driving layup and misses two free throws. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Marian Davlin ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow is rinsing its coffee pot and misses the play; the ball is awarded to the Yellow Jackets. Cieara Barrett passes to Haley Stimer, who hits a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane to give Concord a 17-16 lead.

Macie Smith hits a layup to give the lead back to St. Patrick. Concord misses a three point shot from the wing. Avery Arbuckle hits a putback to give Concord a one point lead. Grace Rockey hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 20-19 lead.

Macie Leonard steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Marian Davlin pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Macie Leonard passes to Macie Smith, who hits a three point shot from the side to boost the Shamrock lead to 23-19.

Macie Smith steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Bradie Lehman knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Brealynn Thorrez picks it up for Concord. Grace Rockey ties the ball up for the Shamrocks. The Possession Arrow looks up while drying the coffee plot and is impressed with Ms. Rockey’s hustle; it awards the ball to St. Patrick. Grace Rockey passes the ball to Marian Davlin, who hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 25-19 lead.

Macie Leonard dives and knocks a Yellow Jacket pass out of bounds. Concord retains possession. The Yellow Jackets miss a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the wing as the buzzer declares that it is time to end quarter number three.

St. Patrick leads 25-19 after three quarters.

Concord has the ball to open the fourth quarter. Lily Sandborn gets her hand on the ball, but the Yellow Jackets recover. Lily Sandborn steals the ball for the Shamrocks and draws a Yellow Jacket foul as she does it. Avery Arbuckle steals a Shamrock pass. Concord misses a sixteen foot shot near the top of the key. Lily Sandborn drives and passes to Macie Smith, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the corner to boost the St. Patrick lead to 27-19.

Concord misses a driving six foot shot in the lane. Bradie Lehman knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. LIly Sandborn reacts quickly to prevent a bad pass from becoming a Shamrock turnover. Cieara Barrett steals the ball for the Yellow Jackets. Concord misses a three point shot from the side. Bradie Lehman steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to trim the Shamrock lead to 27-21.

Haley Stimer knocks the ball loose and a Concord teammate picks it up. Concord misses a three point shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Bradie Lehman ties up the ball for the Yellow Jackets. The Possession Arrow is putting dishes away and misses the play; the ball is awarded to St. Patrick.

The Shamrocks are whistled for a traveling violation. Concord misses a three point shot from the side. The Yellow Jackets press and are five frenzied players in constant motion. Bradie Lehman knocks the ball out of bounds and St. Patrick fouls while trying to recover the ball. Marian Davlin steals the ball for the Shamrock. Lily Sandborn dives to prevent the fierce Concord defense from forcing another turnover. The Shamrocks throw a pass out of bounds.

Concord misses a three point shot from the wing. The Yellow Jackets commit their fourth foul of the quarter with 33.1 seconds left. They foul Grace Rockey, who has to shoot two free throws because it is the fifth team foul. Grace Rockey swishes two free throws to give St. Patrick a 29-21 lead with 30.5 seconds left on the clock.

The Yellow Jackets misfire on a triple try from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets the ball. A Shamrock player is fouled with 6.9 seconds to play and misses two free throws. Concord misses a driving layup as time expires.

St. Patrick wins this fiercely defended quarterfinal game by the final score of 29-21. They will play Onekama in the semifinal game Thursday night.

Bradie Lehman led the Concord scoring with 11 points. Avery Arbuckle added 6 points and Haley Stimer scored 4 points.

Macie Smith had 10 points to lead the St. Patrick scoring. Grace Rockey supported her teammate with 8 points. Macie Leonard tossed in 5 points. Lily Sandborn contributed 4 points and Marian Davlin had 2 points.