Dansville at Portland St. Patrick – – CMAC Girls Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 18, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft
Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen has braved the cold, snow and possible incursions by arctic seals and walruses to get to St. Patrick’s gym to watch two games tonight. In the first game, St. Patrick’s boys played Saranac. Here is the play by play of that game.
While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this original tune from my You Tube Channel! I wrote “Hey, there Baby, listen” and my friend Mark Wilcox sings the lead vocal. (I sing harmonies and play piano.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PURLmxT_3Q
This girls’ game is a matchup between two of the top girls’ basketball teams in the CMAC. Dansville enters the game with a 5-1 CMAC record and are 6-2 overall. St. Patrick is 4-1 in the CMAC and 6-2 overall.
This is the first time I have seen Dansville’s girls play this year. Coach Mike Sykes was helpful with background information about his players. Megan Zeitz is a senior returning All-State player. She is a strong offensive player who is a fine ball handler and passer. She is tall and athletic which makes it really difficult to stop her when she drives to the basket. She also has a solid three point shot. Then there’s defense. She is one of the best defenders I have ever seen; in addition to being tall and athletic, she is also strong. She is a formidable defender anywhere on the court to a game-changing extent.
Izzy Joseph is a sophomore with a nice three point shot that also got a lot of playing time on last year’s team. Anna McDaniel is a senior guard in her third year on the Aggie varsity. She is experienced and handles the ball well. Reeghan Griffith started two years ago and is back for her senior year. She is a strong rebounder with a nice shooting touch outside. Alana Broyles is a post player returning from a knee injury. She has the ability to shoot the ball outside as well. Ryker Graf is a freshman center who has started every game this season. She plays strong in the post and rebounds well.
St. Patrick is a gifted team that is blessed to have five starters who are capable of scoring consistently; when you play the Shamrocks you have to guard everyone. (They also have a couple other players who can score.)
Laynie Meredith is an extremely energetic defender who could probably out hustle the Energizer Bunny. She forces a lot of turnovers and turns many of them into fast break layups for herself or a Shamrock teammate. She is a good ball handler who can slash to the basket to score or hit shots from the three point line. Rylee Scheurer is tall enough to defend in the post and quick enough to defend on the perimeter where her length causes a lot of panicked decisions for Shamrock opponents. She slashes to the basket well and has become a major threat from the three point line as well.
Grace Rockey is a freshman in her second year on the St. Patrick varsity. She is an excellent all-around player who is tall and athletic enough to defend anyone in the post. She is also a quick and determined defender on the perimeter. She is a major three point threat who can also get to the basket where she frequently is able to overpower opponents to score. Mattie Honsowitz is a strong post defender who has great footwork and post moves on offense. She earns a lot of open shots near the basket with her post moves and she is also a solid shooter from the perimeter.
Tori Sandborn is a tough perimeter defender and good ball handler. Hannah Weller is a good midrange shooter. Bella Russman and Megan Myers are solid post defenders and rebounders.
It is now time to review the events of this game through the tired, but hopefully open eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league back in the ancient times when he tried to hoop. He was starting to show some real promise as a dunker when the shameless Basketball Powers That Be raised the rim from five feet to ten feet. Alas, all the time practicing those dunks turned out to be unproductive.
St. Patrick wins the opening tap. The Shamrocks miss a three point shot from the wing. Rylee Scheurer grabs offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Dansville takes possession. Grace Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a fast break layup. Addy Scheurer pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. The Shamrocks are fouled on a layup, but miss two free throws.
Dansville misses an eight foot banked shot from the side. Megan Zeitz hits a putback to give Dansville the first two points of the game. Megan Zeitz gets a hand on St. Patrick’s inbound pass and Anna McDaniel grabs the ball for Dansville. Grace Rockey’s tough defense forces a Dansville dribbler to step on the baseline.
St. Patrick misfires on a threeball from the corner. Mattie Honsowitz pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Dansville misses a layup. St. Patrick misses another layup. Mattie Honsowitz is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws for St. Patrick to tie the game at 22-2 with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter.
Rylee Scheurer steals the ball for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a three point shot from the wing. Addy Scheurer pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. The Scheurer Cousin Connection shows itself as Rylee passes to Addy, who thorws in a three ball from the corner to give her Shamrocks a 5-2 lead.
Reeghan Griffeth inbounds the ball to Megan Zeitz, who is cutting to the basket and hits a layup for Dansville. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Grace Rockey hits a putback for St. Patrick. Rylee Scheurer steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Grace Rockey passes to Laynie Meredith, who hits a fast break layup for St. Patrick. Megan Zeitz is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Shamrock lead to 9-5 with 3:25 to go in the opening quarter.
Megan Zeitz steals the ball for the Aggies. Dansville misses a sixteen footer near the top of the key. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Dansville takes possession. Lydia Meredith knocks an Aggie pass out of bounds; Dansville retains possession. Reeghan Griffeth passes to Ryker Graf, who hits a layup to cut the Shamrock lead to 9-7.
Rylee Scheurer zips a cross court pass to Laynie Meredith, who hits a ten foot shot from the baseline for St. Patrick. Laynie Meredith knocks an Aggie pass out of bounds; Dansville retains possession. Alaina Broyles passes to Ryker Graf, who hits a layup for the Aggies to cut the Shamrock lead to 11-9.
St. Patrick is cited for spending three seconds in the lane and turns the ball over. Tori Sandborn knocks the ball away from Dansville, but the Aggies recover. Dansville is whistled for a traveling violation. Alaina Broyles knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Izzy Joseph picks it up for Dansville. The Aggies misfire on a triple try from the side.
Ryker Graf steals the ball for Dansville. Dansville misses a three point shot from the wing. Megan Zeitz pulls down the offensive rebound for Dansville. Dansville misses a three point shot from the wing. The Aggies get the offensive rebound. Dansville misses a three point shot from the side. St. Patrick misses a long heave as the buzzer sounds off.
After one quarter, St. Patrick holds an 11-9 lead.
Dansville has the ball to open the second quarter, but commits an offensive foul. St. Patrick misses a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow stops its tea party and polls its executive committee; the ball is awarded to St. Patrick. Lydia Meredith passes to Rylee Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give the Shamrocks a 14-9 lead.
Dansville loses the ball out of bounds. St. Patrick travels with the ball. (I’m not sure how newsworthy traveling without the ball is; basketball cliches can be interesting sometimes.) Anna McDaniel ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s semantic musings and passes the ball to Ryker Graf, who hits a layup for the Aggies. Rylee Scheurer passes to Laynie Meredith, who hits a three point shot from the side to give her Shamrocks a 17-11 lead.
Mattie Honsowitz steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the side. Dansville misses a layup. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Grace Rockey steals an Aggie pass. Megan Zeitz blocks a Shamrock layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets it back. Megan Zeitz blocks a Shamrock ten footer in the lane. Anna McDaniel passes to Megan Zeitz, who hits a layup to trim the Shamrock lead to 17-13.
Izzy Joseph steals the ball for the Aggies. Dansville is assessed with a traveling violation. St. Patrick misses a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Tori Sandborn gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 4:41 to play in the second quarter, the St. Patrick lead is at 17-13.
Dansville misses a jumper from the free throw line. Laynie Meredith passes to Tori Sandborn, who hits a three point shot for the Shamrocks. Megan Zeitz passes to Izzy Joseph, who banks in a three point shot from the wing. (I was not able to hear whether she shouted, “BANK!”) Laynie Meredith drives the baseline and hits a layup to give the Shamrocks a 22-16 lead.
Tori Sandborn knocks the ball away from the Aggies and Bella Russman picks it up for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the corner. A Dansville dribbler steps on the sideline. Megan Zeitz steals the ball for Dansville. The Aggies miss a three point shot from the wing. The Shamrocks miss a three point shot from the corner. Tori Sandborn grabs the offensive rebound for St. Patrick.
Anna McDaniel knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Megan Zeitz picks it up for Dansville. Dansville misses a ten foot banked shot from the side. St. Patrick misses a three point attempt from the side. Grace Rockey gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Dansville commits an offensive foul. Megan Zeitz blocks a Shamrock layup. St. Patrick grabs the loose ball. Addy Scheurer passes to Laynie Meredith, who hits a threee point shot from the side to give St. Patrick a 25-16 lead.
Dansville misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick takes possession. St. Patrick holds the ball for the last shot. The Shamrocks miss a three pointer from the corner and foul on the rebound with 2.2 seconds to play. Dansville inbounds the ball and lets the buzzer make its presence known.
At halftime, St. Patrick has a 25-16 lead.
Megan Zeitz has 7 points for Dansville at halftime and Ryker Graf has 6 points.
Laynie Meredith leads the Shamrock scoring with 12 points at halftime.
I hope you will enjoy a couple tunes from my You Tube Channel during the halftime intermission!
“Amazing Grace” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blOrsQkhhf0
Mark Wilcox and I do a duet in “This Land is Your Land” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9XoJtKIbE
Dansville inbounds the ball to get the third quarter underway. Megan Zeitz makes a phenomenal dribble move and gets to the basket where she is fouled on a layup. She hits one of her two free throws to trim the Shamrock lead to 25-17 with 7:31 to play in the third quarter.
St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the corner. Mattie Honsowitz pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. Grace Rockey grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Laynie Meredth passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Shamrocks. The Shamrock press forces the Aggies to turn the ball over. Addy Scheurer passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to push St. Patrick to a 29-17 lead with 6:25 to play in the quarter.
Izzy Joseph hits a fourteen footer off the dribble from the wing for Dansville. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Grace Rockey gets her hand on the ball and Dansville loses it out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the side. Dansville misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Megan Zeitz steals the ball for Dansville and goes coast to coast to hit a layup to trim the St. Patrick lead to 29-21.
St. Patrick misses a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Mattie Honsowitz forces a tie up. The Possession Arrow organizes a summit which decrees that the ball belongs to St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a three point shot from the side. Dansville misses a six foot hook shot. Alaina Broyles pulls down the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks take possession.
Megan Zeitz knocks a Shamrock pass out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. Grace Rockey passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who is fouled on a five foot shot from the side of the lane. Mattie Honsowitz hits two free throws to boost her Shamrocks to a 31-21 lead with 3:47 remaining in quarter number three.
Grace Rockey knocks a pass out of bounds-Dansville retains possession. Mattie Honsowitz gets her hand on the ball, but Dansville recovers. Ana McDaniel hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Dansville. Megan Zeitz steals the ball from the Shamrocks and draws a foul in the process.
Mattie Honsowitz steals an Aggie pass. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. The Shamrocks miss a putback, but Grace Rockey hits a second putback for St. Patrick. Grace Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup, but gets the offensive rebound. Rylee Scheurer pours in a threeball from the corner to give the Shamrocks a 39-24 lead.
Dansville misses a three point shot from the side. Ryker Graf hits a putback for Dansville. Megan Zeitz steals the ball for the Aggies. Dansville misses a three pointer from the wing. Megan Zeitz blocks a Shamrock layup. Dansville misses a three point shot from the side. St. Patrick misses a layup as the third quarter buzzer sounds off.
With three quarters in the books, St. Patrick has a 39-26 lead.
Dansville inbounds the ball to start out the final quarter. The Aggies miss a three point shot from the side. Ryker Graf hits a putback for the Aggies. Grace Rockey passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. Dansville turns the ball over. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the corner. Megan Zeitz passes to Reeghan Griffeth, who hits a three point shot from the side to cut the Shamrock lead to 41-31.
Addy Scheurer passes to Laynie Meredith, who htis a three point shot from the side for St. Patrick. Laynie Meredith steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for St. Patrick. Anna McDaniel passes to Alaina Broyles, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws. With 5:24 left on the clock, St. Patrick has a 46-33 lead.
Laynie Meredith drives the baseline and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Dansville misses a driving layup. Ryker Graf gets the offensive rebound for the Aggies. Dansville misses a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick takes possession. Grace Rockey is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give St. Patrick a 49-33 lead with 2:38 left in the game.
Laynie Meredith steals an Aggie pass and hits a fast break layup for St. Patrick. Dansville misses a driving layup. Mattie Honsowitz is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to give St. Patrick a 52-33 lead with 1:37 to go.
Mattie Honsowitz gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Tori Sandborn passes to Megan Myers, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. Dansville misses a driving layup. Hannah Weller passes to Tori Sandborn, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. Lily Sandborn steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick runs the last few seconds off the clock.
St. Patrick wins this game by the score of 56-33.
Megan Zeitz and Ryker Graf each scored 10 points to lead the Aggies. Izzy Joseph tossed in 5 points. Reeghan Griffeth and Anna McDaniel each scored 3 points. Alaina Broyles tallied 2 points.
Laynie Meredith had 21 points to lead the Shamrock scoring. Grace Rockey joined her teammate in double figures with 11 points. Mattie Honsowitz put in 8 points and Rylee Scheurer scored 6 points. Tori Sandborn added 5 points. Addy Scheurer had 3 points and Megan Myers scored 2 points.