Webberville vs. Portland St. Patrick – – Girls Basketball – – District Semifinal – – March 1, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

In this video of “Red River Valley” from my You Tube Channel, I take the listener through a series of arrangements that go from traditional to rock. I tell the listeners that you never know where the Red River Valley may take you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8

Unfortunately, one place the Red River Valley does not lead is Fowler High School. However, M-21 gets you pretty close; the Bleacher Denizen was able to get to Fowler to watch tonight’s District Girls Basketball Semifinals!

The first game will feature the Shamrocks of Portland St. Patrick vs. the Spartans of Webberville. St. Patrick enters the game with a 14-7 record while Webberville is at 8-14.

Natalee Teachworth is the only senior on the St. Patrick roster. She is a fine defender and rebounder who can shut down the middle for Shamrock opponents. She jumps quickly and can block shots easily. On offense, she is either good at catching and converting passes into the lane into layups. She also scores a lot on putbacks.

Laynie Meredith is a quick, relentless perimeter defender who generates a lot of turnovers for Shamrock opponents. She is a good ball handler who runs the offense well and can score either from the three point line or on drives to the basket.

Addy Scheurer is another quick and determined Shamrock perimeter defender who has an excellent three point shot. Rylee Scheurer is extremely athletic and probably the fastest of the Shamrock players. She is tall; the combination of length, quickness and coordination is really tough on Shamrock opposing offenses. She can defend the perimeter or the post well. On offense, she can score inside or from the three point line.

Tori Sandborn has good basketball instincts and a fine shot. Gracelyn Rockey is only an eighth grader, but she is already one of the Shamrocks’ top players. She is very tough and poised for her age. She is comfortable attacking the basket and fighting for rebounds, etc. in the post. She can score on drives or putbacks. Isabella Russman and Mattie Honsowitz give the Shamrocks depth in the middle as well as solid defense in the post.

Webberville Coach Greg Glover was really helpful with background information about his Spartan players as I am seeing them for the first time this year. Ryleigh Nelson is a tall player who defends really well in the post and is a strong rebounder. On offense, she handles the ball well and can score inside or hit three point shots.

Kalista Matiyow is a fine ball handler who gives the Spartans a threat from the three point line. Katelyn Banning is a good ball handler who gives quickness to the Spartan perimeter defense. Kaleah Valera defends in the post and is a solid mid-range shooter. Mackenzie Langham is a fine rebounder. Abby Vogel and Ruth Wisuri add quickness and experience to the Webberville perimeter defense.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the somewhat open eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in those ancient times when some folks considered him to be “young.” While many people said your Bleacher Denizen was too slow, especially laterally to play quality defense, the armor that was part of our basketball uniforms in that day slowed many perimeter defenders down.

St. Patrick wins the opening tap. Lainey Meredith passes to Addy Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Shamrocks. Webberville misses a layup. Abby Vogel pulls down the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Natalee Teachworth blocks a Webberville layup. St. Patrick misses a jump shot. (This is a Shamrock player, of course, not the Saint, himself!) The Shamrocks steals the ball, but miss a fifteen foot shot from the wing. Webberville is whistled for a traveling violation. Addy Scheurer brings the ball up court, stops, pops and hits a three point shot for the Shamrocks. The score is now Addy Scheurer 6 Webberville 0.

Webberville loses the ball against the St. Patrick press. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the corner. Lainey Meredith steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Ryleigh Nelson steals the ball for the Spartans and makes a layup to give Webberville its first two points of the game. St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the wing. Gracelyn Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Natalee Teachworth knocks a pass out of bounds; Webberville retains possession.

Gracelyn Rockey knocks Webberville’s inbound out of bounds; the Spartans retain possession. Lainey Meredith steals the Spartan inbound pass and hits a fast break layup for the Shamrocks. Rylee Scheurer steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Webberville gets the ball. Gracelyn Rockey steals the ball and passes to Rylee Scheurer, who hits a layup to give the Shamrocks a 12-2 lead.

Lainey Meredith steals a long Webberville inbound pass. Addy Scheurer passes to Natalee Teachworth, who hits a jump shot from the free throw line for the Shamrocks. Natalee Teachworth steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Lainey Meredith passes to Gracelyn Rockey, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks. Webberville misses a layup. Ryleigh Nelson hits a putback to trim the Shamrock lead to 14-4.

Kaleah Valera steals the ball for the Spartans. Abby Vogel passes to Ryleigh Nelson, who hits a layup for Webberville. St. Patrick misses a layup; Mattie Honsowitz hits a putback for the Shamrocks. Sophia Schrauben gets her hand on a pass; Webberville is able to recover. Lainey Meredith ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow consults its standing committee. The committee sits and awards the ball to the Shamrocks. Tori Sandborn passes to Hannah Weller, who hits an eighteen foot shot from the side to give St. Patrick an 18-6 lead.

Hannah Weller steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Ryleigh Nelson blocks a Shamrock layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another opportunity. The Shamrocks misfire on a threeball from the side. Tori Sandborn harasses a Webberville ball handler and steals the ball. She passes to Addy Scheurer, who hits a layup to push the St. Patrick lead to 20-6.

Webberville throws a long pass out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the corner. Tori Sandborn steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Kalista Matiyow hits a ten foot shot from the side of the lane for Webberville. Hannah Weller hits a sixteen foot shot from the baseline to give St. Patrick a 22-8 lead.

Webberville loses a pass out of bounds. Webberville misses a layup; Mackenzie Langham pulls down the offensive rebound for the Spartans. Webberville misses another layup; Mackenzie Langham pulls down another offensive rebound for the Spartans. She passes to Ryleigh Nelson, who hits a layup, is fouled and hits her free throw to trim the Shamrock lead to 22-11 with 7.5 seconds remaining in the quarter.

St. Patrick misses a threeball from the wing at the buzzer.

After one quarter, St. Patrick has a 22-11 lead.

Webberville has the ball to open the second quarter. Lainey Meredith steals the ball for the Shamrocks and hits a fast break layup. Natalee Teachworth steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another possession. The Shamrocks miss a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Laynie Meredith knocks the ball out of bounds; Webberville retains possession. The Spartans commit an offensive foul. Laynie Meredith passes to Addy Scheurer, who strokes a three point shot from the wing to give the Shamrocks a 27-11 lead.

Gracelyn Rockey steals a long Webberville pass. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the corner. Addy Scheurer pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Webberville takes possession. Gracelyn Rockey knocks the ball away from Webberville and Lainey Meredith ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow and its welcome committee confer and award the ball to the Shamrocks. Laynie Meredith passes to Gracelyn Rockey, who is cutting to the basket and hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 29-11 lead.

Rylee Scheurer steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Gracelyn Rockey pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Lainey Meredith drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Laynie Meredith steals a long Webberville pass. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Rylee Scheurer hits a putback to boost the Shamrock lead to 33-11.

Natalee Teachworth steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Addy Scheurer passes to Laynie Meredith, who spins and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Laynie Meredith get her hand on the ball and Webberville loses it out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a six foot turnaround shot from the side. Rylee Scheurer knocks the ball away from Webberville; Natalee Teachworth and Laynie Meredith team up to tie it up for St. Patrick. The Possession Arrow was daydreaming about its postseason basketball plans and missed the play. The ball is awarded to Webberville.

Kalista Matiyow passes to Ryleigh Nelson, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for Webberville. Ruth Wisuri steals the ball for the Spartans. Webberville turns the ball over. St. Patrick misses a six foot shot from the side. Sophia Schrauben gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow consults its travel agent and decrees that St. Patrick shall have the ball. Mattie Honsowitz hits a layup to give the Shamrocks a 37-12 lead.

Hannah Weller steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Ryleigh Nelson blocks a St. Patrick layup. Isabella Russman steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Ryleigh Nelson steals a Shamrock pass. Mattie Honsowitz knocks the ball away from Webberville and Hannah Weller picks it up for St. Patrick. Megan Myers recovers a loose ball to prevent a Shamrock turnover. Hannah Weller passes to Isabella Russman, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the wing at the buzzer for St. Patrick.

St. Patrick has a 39-12 lead at halftime.

Ryleigh Nelson leads the Webberville scoring with 10 points.

Addy Scheurer has 11 points for St. Patrick and Laynie Meredith has 8 points.

As there is no halftime entertainment, I hope you’ll enjoy this song from my You Tube Channel. My dad and I set John 3:16 to music and Dad wrote over half the lyrics that were not taken right from the Bible. I hope you enjoy this tune!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYixQ0OWsd4 (This is the most recent video on my channel.)

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. The Shamrocks miss a layup. Natalee Teachworth pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Rylee Scheurer passes to Natalee Teachworth, who spins and hits layup for the Shamrocks. Rylee Scheurer steals a Spartan pass. St. Patrick misses a layup. Laynie Meredith gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Laynie Meredith passes to Addy Scheurer, who hits a three pointer from the side to give St. Patrick a 44-12 lead.

Lexi Proctor goes to the floor to prevent a bad pass from becoming a Webberville turnover. Webberville is fouled on a ten foot turnaround shot from the baseline, but misses two free throws. Ryleigh Nelson knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Katelyn Banning ties up the ball for Webberville. The Possession Arrow admires Ms. Banning’s hustle and awards the ball to Webberville. Laynie Meredith gets her hand on the ball and Webberville loses it out of bounds.

St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the side. Addy Scheurer knocks a Spartan pass out of bounds; Webberville retains possession. Webberville misses a layup. Gracelyn Rockey passes to Natalee Teachworth, who hits a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane for St. Patrick. Rylee Scheurer steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give St. Patrick a 48-12 lead.

Natalee Teachworth stands tall in the lane and forces a Webberville traveling violation. St. Patrick misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Kalista Matiyow passes to Ryleigh Nelson, who executes a post move and hits a layup for the Spartans. Kalista Matiyow steals the ball for the Spartans. Webberville misses an eight footer in the lane.

St. Patrick misses a layup. Rylee Scheurer pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Ryleigh Nelson is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for Webberville. With 3:25 left in the third quarter, St. Patrick has a 48-15 lead.

Abby Vogel steals the ball for the Spartans. Webberville misses a sixteen foot shot from the wing. Isabella Russman passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks. Katelyn Banning hits a layup for the Spartans. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Isabella Russman hits a putback for St. Patrick to give her Shamrocks a 52-17 lead.

Webberville misses a layup. Katelyn Banning ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow looks up from its video game and decides to give the ball to St. Patrick. Ruth Wisuri knocks the ball away from the Shamrocks and Payten Sholty picks it up for Webberville. Sophia Schrauben harasses a Webberville ball handler into a traveling violation. St. Patrick misses a layup. Mattie Honsowitz hits a putback to give St. Patrick a 54-17 lead.

Isabella Russman ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow was powdering its nose and missed the play. The ball is awarded to Webberville. Webberville is not able to shoot before the third quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After three quarters, St. Patrick holds a 54-17 lead.

St. Patrick has the ball to open the fourth quarter. The Shamrocks misfire on a threeball from the corner. Natalee Teachworth pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Gracelyn Rockey hits a putback for the Shamrocks. Webberville loses the ball out of bounds. Kalista Matiyow knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Katelyn Banning picks it up for Webberville. Addy Scheurer steals the ball and passes to Laynie Meredith, who hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 58-17 lead.

Webberville loses a pass out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a six foot shot in the lane. Webberville fouls on the rebound. St. Patrick misfires on a three pointer from the corner. Natalee Teachworth gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Natalee Teachworth gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. (Yes, it DID happen twice!)

Webberville misses a layup. St. Patrick is fouled, but missed the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Gracelyn Rockey hits a layup for St. Patrick. Webberville commits an offensive foul. St. Patrick throws a pass out of bounds. Payten Sholty passes to Ryleigh Nelson, who hits a seventeen foot shot from the wing. St. Patrick has a 60-19 lead.

St. Patrick misses a layup. Hannah Weller grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick turns the ball over. Webberville misses an eighteen foot shot from the wing. Sophia Schrauben passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks lead 62-19.

Rylee Scheurer’s defense causes a Webberville dribbler to lose the ball out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a layup. Mattie Honsowitz hits a putback for the Shamrocks. Sophia Schrauben knocks the ball away from Webberville and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Webberville misses an eighteen foot shot from the side as the final buzzer ends the game.

St. Patrick wins 66-19 and will face Fowler in the District Final on Friday. (By the time anyone reads this Fowler will have won the second game which I have already seen. I am not psychic LOL.)

Webberville’s Ryleigh Nelson led all scorers with 15 points. Katelyn Banning and Kalista Matiyow each had 2 points.

Addy Scheurer had 14 points to lead the St. Patrick scoring. Mattie Honsowitz contributed 12 points and Laynie Meredith chipped in with 10 points. Gracelyn Rockey put in 8 points. Natalee Teachworth and Rylee Scheurer each added 6 points. Hannah Weller and Isabella Russman each scored 4 points. Sophia Schrauben tallied two points.

In an interesting statistical oddity, St. Patrick did not shoot any free throws during this game!!

Fowler played Lansing Christian in the night’s second semifinal game. Here is that play by play! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2023/03/02/lansing-christian-vs-fowler-girls-basketball-mhsaa-district-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-1-2023-by-chuck-krafft/