Portland St. Patrick at Fowler – – CMAC Girls Basketball Co-Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 14, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the CMAC Girls Co-Game of the Week is going to be the Shamrocks from Portland St. Patrick at Fowler. The host Eagles have a 2-1 record with the loss being to Division 1 Power Midland Dow. St. Patrick won their only game this season; your Bleacher Denizen blogged that win over Pewamo-Westphalia Tuesday night.

While we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this rendition from my You Tube Channel of the Classic Christmas Hymn, Silent Night!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPXHuLAp83M

Fowler graduated a lot of players from last year, so all the players have new roles. Grace O’Hare is a strong perimeter defender who handles the ball well and is an effective midrange scorer. Katie Spicer is a creative ball handler who can find ways to score when it appears that the opponent has the advantage. She is also a strong three point shooter.

Rebecca Smith is a tough defender who plays with energy in the post. Brooke Weber has a high Basketball IQ and is a tough defender anywhere on the court. Isabella Halfmann is a freshman who understands the game really well. She can play well either on the wing or the post and is tall enough to help with the rebounding as well. She also brings a great three point shot to the Eagles.

St. Patrick brings back all but one of the players from last year’s strong team. Laynie Meredith has energy to spare and uses it to be a menace to opponent’s offenses as she is a threat to steal the ball from anyone. On offense, she slashes to the basket well and is a good shooter from the three point line. Rylee Scheurer is a tall perimeter player who is one of the fastest girls in the area (in any sport.) She uses her speed to bedevil opponents on the perimeter as her height and quick hands can foil any passing attempt.

Grace Rockey, a freshman who already has one year of experience as a rotation player, is really versatile. She is quick enough to help defend on the perimeter and tall and strong enough to be a really tough defender and rebounder in the post. On offense, she is very difficult to stop near the basket with her strength and size. She is also an excellent three point shooter. Tori Sandborn brings tough perimeter defense and dependable ball handling to the Shamrocks.

Mattie Honsowitz is a good post defender and rebounder. On offense, she excels at getting position and using fine footwork to score in the post. Hannah Weller has an accurate midrange shot. Lily Sandborn defends the perimeter and handles the ball well. Bella Russman and Megan Myers are good rebounders and defenders in the post.

I was able to see most of the JV game. Fowler led 12-8 after one quarter and moved to a 25-17 halftime lead. Fowler led 33-23 after three quarters. St. Patrick actually outscored Fowler 15-14 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overcome Fowler’s lead as the Eagles won 47-38.

Macie Smith led the Shamrock JVs with 16 points. Joanna Dugan scored 5 points. Morgan Krieger, Maria Austen and Lily Sandborn each tossed in 4 points. Alice Newman and Naomi Hass each had 2 points. Marian Davlin tallied 1 point.

Neelah O’Rourke led the victorious Fowler JVs with 18 points. Josie Simon contributed 9 points. Saige Miller chipped in with 6 points. Karstyn Lackshiede put in 5 points. Sophia Feldpausch scored 4 points. Selena Stump (in just one quarter because the varsity needed her) added 3 points and Kerigan Pung had 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game from the perspective of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league went he attempted to play in ages past. It took him to long to realize that basketball was not the same as horseshoes and you receive no points for hitting the rim with your shot. His coaches were not impressed with shots they considered to be “misses” even though your Bleacher Denizen DID frequently manage to hit the rim.

St. Patrick wins the opening tap. The Shamrocks miss a layup. Addy Scheurer pulls down the offensive rebound for St. Patrick. St. Patrick is assessed with a traveling violation. (This is a Shamrock player, of course, not the Saint, himself, as I’m sure he is permitted to walk wherever he feels appropriate!) Laynie Meredith ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s musings and steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup.

Laynie Meredith steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Kelcie Pung blocks a St. Patrick layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Rebecca Smith passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key to give the Eagles the first three points of the game. Tori Sandborn passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a three point shot from the side for St. Patrick to tie the game at 3-3.

Katie Spicer hits a twelve foot shot from the side for Fowler. St. Patrick misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline and fouls on the rebound. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Addy Scheurer steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get another possession. Addy Scheurer inbounds the ball to Grace Rockey, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws. With 4:43 remaining in the first quarter, the score is tied at Grace Rockey 5 Katie Spicer 5.

Fowler misfires on a threeball from the wing. Kelcie Pung snags the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Paige Thelen hits a layup for Fowler; she is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 4:21 to go in the first quarter, the score is Fowler 7 Grace Rockey 5.

Paige Thelen gets the offensive rebound from the missed free throw. Brooke Weber throws in a threeball from the side for the Eagles. St. Patrick turns the ball over. Fowler misses an eight foot shot from the side and fouls on the rebound. Katie Spicer knocks the ball away from the Shamrocks and the ball is tied up. The Possession Arrow consults its Christmas Decoration Committee and they decide the ball would be attractive in Fowler’s hands, so the Eagles take possession. Grace Rockey decides to steal the ball and redecorate the scoreboard by hitting a fast break layup. The score is now Fowler 10 Grace Rockey 7.

Fowler misfires on a triple try from the wing. Grace Rockey passes to Rylee Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the side for St. Patrick to tie the game. Fowler misses a three pointer from the side. Paige Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a driving eight foot shot from the baseline. Laynie Meredith hits a fast break layup to give the Shamrocks a 12-10 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Selena Stump pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Isabella Halfmann passes to Grace O’Hare, who hits a five foot banked shot in the lane to tie the game. Katie Spicer and Rebecca Smith team up to steal the ball for the Eagles.

Fowler misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Rebecca Smith grabs the offensive rebound for Fowler. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Rebecca Smith steals the ball and passes to Selena Stump, who hits a fast break layup for the Eagles. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 10.6 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Fowler has a 14-12 lead.

Tori Sandborn passes to Addy Scheurer, who fakes a three point shot and bursts to the basket where she is fouled on a layup. Addy Scheurer hits one of her two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 14-13 with just .5 of a second on the clock. The buzzer sounds and quarter number one is in the books!

After one quarter, Fowler has a 14-13 lead.

St. Patrick has the ball to begin the second quarter. The Shamrocks miss a three point shot from the side. Fowler misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Grace O’Hare blocks a Shamrock reverse layup. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. St. Patrick reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the wing. Fowler misses a layup. Laynie Meredith passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who is fouled on a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Mattie Honsowitz hits one of her two free throws to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:27 to play in the first half.

Grace Rockey grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Isabella Halfmann is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Grace Rockey passes to Tori Sandborn, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give her Shamrocks a 17-15 lead.

Rylee Scheurer knocks the ball away from the Eagles, but Fowler is able to recover. Fowler misses a three pointer from the wing. St. Patrick misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Mattie Honsowitz drives and is fouled on a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. She hits one of her two free throws to boost the Shamrocks to an 18-15 lead with 3:56 remaining in the second quarter.

Isabella Halfmann passes to Brooke Weber, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fowler to tie the game. Selena Stump steals the ball for the Eagles. Isabella Halfmann passes to Paige Thelen, who hits a ten foot shot from the baseline to give Fowler a 20-18 lead.

St. Patrick misses a driving layup and fouls on the rebound. Selena hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side for Fowler. Kelcie Pung steals the ball and passes to Grace O’Hare, who hits a fast break layup for the Eagles to give Fowler a six point lead. Rylee Scheurer answers with a three point shot from the side to trim the Eagle lead to 24-21.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. St. Patrick misses a driving eight foot shot from the baseline. Laynie Meredith steals the ball for the Shamrocks and hits a fast break layup. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 1:24 to play in the half, the Fowler lead is at 24-23.

Rebecca Smith passes to Selena Stump, who sinks a threeball from the wing for the Eagles. Rebecca Smith and Grace O’Hare stand tough in the lane and force St. Patrick to miss a layup. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Grace O’Hare blocks a Shamrock layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Fowler gets the ball. Fowler misses a thirty-five foot heave from the wing at the buzzer.

Fowler has a 27-23 halftime lead.

Grace Rockey leads St. Patrick with 7 points and Rylee Scheurer has 6 points.

Selena Stump has 7 points for Fowler and Brooke Weber has 6 points.

Fowler’s pep band is an excellent unit. They entertained at halftime and were great. They opened with the Fowler fight song. They then played “Telephone”, “Funky Town”, “Born to be Wild”, “Freebird” and “Kerncraft”. All of the songs from a span of about fifty years were down on a top notch level. Kudos to Director Jake Roorda and his pep band.

For those of you who could not hear the great halftime show, I hope you will enjoy these two Christmas songs from my You Tube Channel.

“Jesus Came to Save Us” is an original song where I have country style music with at least one Beach Boys style chord run. It began as an awful country prison love song whose lyrics I still unfortunately remember. I hope you will agree with me that it works with these Christian lyrics!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGipc4NwzN8

And here is the timeless “O Holy Night!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-t_hOWhFfE

Now that we have had our musical experiences, it is time for the third quarter to begin. In an amazing coincidence, the score at the beginning of the third quarter is the same as the halftime score. The mind boggles!!!

St. Patrick has the ball to start out quarter number three. Grace Rockey passes to Tori Sandborn who hits a three point shot near the top of the key for St. Patrick. Isabella Halfmann drives the baseline and hits a layup for Fowler. Mattie Honsowitz hits a layup for St. Patrick. Fowler misses a sixteen foot shot from the wing. Rebecca Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Isabella Halfmann passes to Katie Spicer, who throws in a threeball from the side to give Fowler a 32-28 lead.

Isabella Halfmann blocks a Shamrock driving layup. There is a scrum for the loose ball and it is tied up. The Possession Arrow polls its Academic Standards Committee and decides to award the ball to Fowler. The Eagles miss a sixteen foot shot from the side. Rebecca Smith hits a putback and Fowler has a 34-28 lead.

St. Patrick drives and misses a six footer in the lane. Isabella Halfmann pulls down the defensive rebound and goes coast to coast to hit a layup for Fowler. Kelcie Pung steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Isabella Halfmann hits a putback to boost the Eagle lead to 38-28.

Gracelyn Rockey hits a layup for St. Patrick to stop a Fowler nine point scoring run. Fowler misses a ten foot shot from the side. Laynie Meredith blocks an Eagle putback. St. Patrick turns the ball over. Kelcie Pung hits a three pointer from the side to give Fowler an eleven point lead. Grace Rockey is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 41-32 with 4:11 to go in the third quarter.

Rylee Scheurer steals the ball for the Shamrocks, makes a fast break layup, is fouled and sinks her free throw. Fowler misses a six foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Grace O’Hare grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler turns the ball over. Grace Rockey drives and hits a hook/layup for the Shamrocks to shave the Fowler lead to 41-37.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Isabella Halfmann passes to Rebecca Smith, who hits a layup for the Eagles. Tori Sandborn inbounds the ball to Grace Rockey, who hits a layup and is fouled, but misses her free throw. With 2:20 remaining in quarter number three, the Fowler lead is at 43-39.

Mattie Honsowitz blocks an Eagle driving layup. Tori Sandborn is fouled going for the loose ball and hits one of her two free throws for St. Patrick. Fowler misses a three point shot form the corner. Grace O’Hare blocks a Shamrock fast break layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another opportunity. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot from the baseline and fouls on the rebound.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles take possession. Fowler misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Selena Stump hits a putback to give the Eagles a 45-40 lead.

Isabella Halfmann steals the ball for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Grace Rockey is fouled catching a pass and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 45-41 with 22.5 seconds left in the quarter.

Grace O’Hare finds Selena Stump cutting through the lane and passes to her for an Eagle layup. Laynie Meredith is fouled and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 47-43 lead with just 1.5 seconds to play in the quarter. Addy Scheurer and Laynie Meredith team up to steal the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a buzzer fling.

After three quarters, Fowler leads 47-43.

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to get the final quarter underway. The Shamrocks miss a layup. Isabella passes to Selena Stump, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Fowler. Laynie Meredith passes to Addy Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Shamrocks. Mattie Honsowitz blocks an Eagle hook shot. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Paige Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Katie Spicer drives and hits a layup to push Fowler to a 52-46 lead.

St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Mattie Honsowitz hits a putback for the Shamrocks. Katie Spicer is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 54-48 lead with 5:16 left in the game.

Rylee Scheurer drives and dishes the ball to Tori Sandborn, who hits a three point shot from the corner for St. Patrick. Isabella Halfmann passes to Grace O’Hare, who slings in a threeball from the corner for Fowler. Isabella Halfmann knocks a pass out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. Tori Sandborn passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who hits an eight foot shot in the lane for St. Patrick. Fowler misses a three pointer in the lane. St. Patrick misses a driving scooped layup. Grace Rockey is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to shave the Fowler lead to 59-55 with 3:39 left in the contest.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Laynie Meredith passes to Grace Rockey, who pivots and hits a six foot banked shot to pull St. Patrick to within two points. Katie Spicer is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 61-57 lead with 3:03 left in the game.

Grace O’Hare’s stout defense forces St. Patrick to miss a layup. The Shamrocks get the offensive rebound, but miss a driving layup. Addy Scheurer steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the side. Fowler is fouled on an eight foot shot from the side, but misses two free throws. Laynie Meredith passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a shot in the lane; she was fouled before the shot and the basket is negated. Katie Spicer steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Fowler. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 1:14 to play, Fowler has a 63-57 lead.

St. Patrick gets out to a too fast break and turns the ball over. Isabella Halfmann is fouled catching a the inbound pass and hits two free throws for Fowler to boost the Eagles to a 65-57 lead with 1:08 left in the half.

St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Rylee Scheurer taps the ball away from Fowler and Laynie Meredith picks it up for the Shamrocks. Laynie Meredith drives and hits an eight foot shot in the lane for St. Patrick. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Laynie Meredith steals the ball and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Rylee Scheurer steals Fowler’s inbound pass. Laynie Meredith drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick to chop the Fowler lead to two points 65-63.

St. Patrick plays tough defense and Fowler loses its inbound pass out of bounds. St. Patrick loses a pass out of bounds with 25.5 seconds to go. Katie Spicer is fouled and hits two free throws for Fowler. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Katie Spicer is fouled and hits two free throws with 11.2 seconds left to give Fowler a 69-63 lead.

Katie Spicer steals the Shamrock inbound pass as time expires.

Fowler wins this matchup of two CMAC powers who both looked good in this fast-paced game by the score of 69-63.

Grace Rockey led the Shamrock scoring with 20 points. Laynie Meredith contributed 12 points. Tori Sandborn joined her teammates in double figures with 10 points. Rylee Scheurer added 9 points and Mattie Honsowitz scored 8 points. Addy Scheurer put in 4 points.

Katie Spicer lead the Eagle scoring with 20 points. Selena Stump added 14 points. Isabella Halfmann scored 9 points and Grace O’Hare put in 7 points. Rebecca Smith and Brooke Weber each contributed 6 points. Paige Thelen chipped in with 4 points and Kelcie Pung tallied 3 points.