Lansing Christian vs. Portland St. Patrick – – Girls Basketball – – MHSAA District Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 6, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

In tonight’s second game of this District Semifinal doubleheader, the Pilgrims from Lansing Christian will play the Shamrocks from Portland St. Patrick. For those of you who are interested, here is the play by play of the first game between Fowler and Fulton. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/03/07/fulton-vs-fowler-girls-basketball-mhsaa-district-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-6-2024-by-chuck-krafft/

While we wait for the game to start, I hope you will enjoy this original Christian song from my You Tube Channel. While it is nominally a Christmas song, I hope it has a message that works throughout the year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGipc4NwzN8

St. Patrick enters this game with a 20-2 record. Its losses are to Fowler on the road (they beat Fowler at home) and to Division 2 Power Grand Rapids West Catholic. The Shamrocks are an unusual team in that all five starters have the potential to have fifteen or twenty points, so opponents have to guard everyone.

Laynie Meredith is an incredibly energetic defender on the perimeter. She seemingly never runs out of energy; there is a rumor that even the Energizer Bunny can be sluggish compared to her. She is a threat to steal the ball from anyone at any time. She is also a fine ball handler and passer who is excellent slashing to the basket and can make shots from the three point line.

Rylee Scheurer is a speedy player who will be attending a Division 1 School on a track scholarship next year. She is a fine perimeter defender who is also tall enough to help defend the post. Her height and quickness make her another formidable perimeter defender. She is able to use her speed to get layups and this year she has added an effective three point shot and is capable of going on hot streaks.

Addie Scheurer is another speedy, athletic perimeter defender. She is a fine ball handler and good passer on offense. If she is open, she is an extremely accurate three point shooter who can hit multiple long shots any time in any game. Grace Rockey is a freshman in her second year of starting on the Shamrock varsity. She is a tall athletic player who defends well in the post or on the perimeter. She is a tough rebounder who can get a lot of putbacks. She is effective slashing to the basket to score and also can shoot the three pointer.

Mattie Honsowitz is a tall post player who defends the interior and rebounds really well. On offense, she has great hands and great footwork that allow her to get open shots in the post. She is really good on layups and has an accurate midrange shot as well. Tori Sandborn is a dependable ball handler and perimeter who is a good three point shooter. Hannah Weller is a fine midrange shooter and rebounder. Bella Russman and Megan Myers are good defenders and rebounders in the post.

Lansing Christian brings an 11-12 record into the contest. They beat Webberville in the first round to advance to the semifinal. Here is a play by play of that game. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/03/05/webberville-vs-lansing-christian-girls-basketball-first-round-mhsaa-district-the-bleacher-denizen-march-4-2024-by-chuck-krafft/

Lydia Brogan is an excellent all-around player for the Pilgrims. She is a tough rebounder and defender inside and also has the quickness to defend the perimeter. She is a fine ball handler and passer who is good at scoring on slashes to the basket or putbacks. She also can shoot from the three point line. Ava Mustapha is an excellent perimeter defender who frequently scores on slashes to the basket. Sophia Hazleton is a good defender in the post who rebounds well. She is a fine three point shooter as well.

Alyssa Shank is a tough, determined perimeter defender who runs the point for the Pilgrims on offense. She is a solid passer and ball handler. Sophia Carrillo is a fine defender and rebounder in the post. She also has a knack of finding teammates in position to score and getting the ball to them. Maddie Crawford is a strong three point shooter and perimeter defender.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen who never escaped church league when he attempted to play basketball in the olden days when he was considered to be “young.” While people criticized his shooting range, I’ll defend myself by stating that most people could not shoot the large, heavy stones we had to use for basketball from far away.

St. Patrick wins the opening tap. The Shamrocks miss a ten foot shot from the side. Mattie Honsowitz gets her hand on the ball; Christian retains possession. Christian throws a pass out of bounds. Sophia Carrillo partially blocks a Shamrock twelve footer from the side. The Pilgrims are whistled for carrying the ball. Sophie Hazleton blocks a Shamrock layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and at St. Patrick gets another possession. Addie Scheurer inbounds the ball to Grace Rockey, who is fouled on a layup. She hits two free throws to give St. Patrick a 2-0 lead with 6:55 remaining in the first quarter.

Laynie Meredith knocks the ball away from a Christian dribbler and out of bounds; the Pilgrims retain possession. Laynie Meredith’s tough defense forces a Christian violation for carrying the ball. Lydia Brogan blocks a Shamrock layup. Christian misses an eighteen foot shot from the side. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the wing. Laynie Meredith gets the offensive rebound and is fouled on a driving layup. Laynie Meredith hits two free throws to give St. Patrick a 4-0 lead with 6:18 to go in the quarter.

Alyssa Shank hits a three point shot from the wing to chop the Shamrock lead down to one point. Sophia Carrillo and Sophie Hazleton team up to steal the ball from the Shamrocks. Lydia Brogan is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Christian a 5-4 lead with 5:29 to play in the opening quarter.

St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian takes possession. Christian misses a six foot banked shot off the dribble from the side. St. Patrick commits a double dribble violation. Lydia Brogan passes to Alyssa Shank, who hits a threeball from the top of the key to give Christian a four point lead. Mattie Honsowitz is fouled and hits two free throws to trim the Pilgrim lead to 8-6 with 4:05 remaining in the quarter.

A Christian ball handler drags her foot and is called for traveling. Mattie Honsowitz drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick to tie the game. Rylee Scheurer blocks a Pilgrim layup. Lydia Brogan recovers the ball for Christian. The Pilgrims miss a layup. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing; the rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets the ball back. Laynie Meredith throws in a long threeball from past the top of the key to give St. Patrick an 11-8 lead.

Christian misses a three point shot from the wing and gets some bad news as Alyssa Shank, who already has a couple made three pointers in the first part of the quarter injures her knee and leaves the game. Ava Mustapha gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Mattie Honsowitz steals the Pilgrim inbound pass, but steps on the sideline in the process. Hannah Weller knocks the ball away from the Pilgrims and causes a tie up. The Possession Arrow is studying chess strategy for an upcoming tournament and misses the play; the ball is awarded to Christian.

Grace Rockey gets a hand on the Pilgrim inbound pass and Laynie Meredith picks it up for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Ava Mustapha goes coast to coast with the rebound and hits a layup for Christian. Laynie Meredith is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to give the Shamrocks a 12-10 lead with 1:36 remaining in the opening quarter.

Christian is hit with a traveling violation. St. Patrick misses a jump shot from the offensive rebound. Laynie Meredith grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misfires on a threeball from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball. Tori Sandborn steals a Pilgrim pass. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball. Christian misses a twelve foot shot from the side of the lane. Esther Lee grabs the long offensive rebound for the Pilgrims just as the first quarter buzzer lets us know its here.

After one quarter, St. Patrick has a 12-10 lead.

The Shamrocks inbound the ball to open the second quarter. Grace Rockey passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. Christian has to call timeout to avoid turning the ball over when the fierce Shamrock defense nearly keeps them from inbounding the ball in the required five seconds. Christian throws a pass out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a layup.

Christian misses a three pointer from the top of the key. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Addie Scheurer nearly steals the ball for the Shamrocks, but the Pilgrims recover. Lydia Brogan hits an up and under eight foot shot from the side to cut the St. Patrick lead to 14-12.

St. Patrick misses a threeball from the wing. Christian reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Natalie Adams hits a putback for Christian to tie the game. Grace Rockey is fouled on a driving eight foot shot in the lane and hits one of her two free throws to give the Shamrocks a 15-14 lead with 5:29 remaining in the first half.

Christian misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Grace Rockey is fouled on a drive to the basket. This is the fourth foul on Lydia Brogan, who is probably Christian’s best player. Grace Rockey hits on of her two free throws to boost St. Patrick to a two point lead. Sophie Hazleton hits a three point shot from the top of the key to give Christian a 17-16 lead.

Grace Rockey hits a three point shot from the corner and is fouled. She makes her free throw to complete the four point play. Grace Rockey steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for St. Patrick. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw. Laynie Meredith steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for St. Patrick. She is fouled and makes her free throw to give the Shamrocks a 26-17 lead with 4:04 remaining in the first half.

Rylee Scheurer steals the ball and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Rylee Scheurer knocks the ball away from Christian and Laynie Meredith picks it up for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a fifteen foot shot from the baseline. Rylee Scheurer pulls down the offensive rebound for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. After St. Patrick gets the offensive rebound, the Shamrocks miss a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get another possession.

Natalie Adams steals the Shamrock inbound pass for the Pilgrims. Hannah Weller knocks the ball away from the Pilgrims and Tori Sandborn picks it up for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick turns the ball over. Tori Sandborn knocks the ball away from the Pilgrims and Rylee Scheurer picks it up for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Natalie Adams drives and hits a layup for Christian. Tori Sandborn is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to give the Shamrocks a 29-19 lead with 2:04 left in the quarter. (To be fair, she hit both free throws, but a lane violation negated the second one.)

Christian misses an eight footer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pilgrims get another opportunity. Christian misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Natalie Adams gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a layup. Esther Lee is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Shamrock lead to 29-20 with 1:23 left in the half.

Tori Sandborn passes to Grace Rockey, who is fouled on a layup and hits on of her two free throws for the Shamrocks. Addie Scheurer and Tori Sandborn team up to force a Christian traveling violation. The Shamrocks miss a layup. Tori Sandborn ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is mulling the best way to execute a chess castling move and misses the play. The ball is awarded to Christian.

The Pilgrims miss a twelve foot shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks take possession. Laynie Meredith drives and hits a layup at the buzzer.

St. Patrick has a 32-20 lead at halftime.

Alyssa Shank has 6 points for Lansing Christian at halftime. Lydia Brogan and Natalie Adams each have 4 points. One thing to note is that Christian has committed fifteen fouls in the first half. Lydia Brogan has four fouls; two other starters each have three. Also Alyssa Shank has not returned from her injury; she may not be able to play in the second half.

Grace Rockey has 12 points and Laynie Meredith has 11 points for the Shamrocks at halftime.

As there is no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy these Christian songs from my You Tube Channel.

“Christ’s Army” is an original song. (Even though it sounds like a Beach Boys song, it is original music; the lyrics are also original.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN0-4a2TpaI

“John 3:16” is an original song where my (late) father wrote over half the words not directly taken from the Bible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYixQ0OWsd4

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to open quarter number three. Ava Mustapha and Sophie Hazleton (both of whom are playing with three fouls; Lydia Brogan did not start the second half – – probably because her four fouls) team up to steal the ball for Christian. The Pilgrims miss a jump shot from the free throw line. Esther Lee pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses an eight foot shot in the lane. St. Patrick misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane.

The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another possession. The Shamrocks step on the baseline. Christian misses a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick takes possession. Addie Scheurer passes to Grace Rockey, who is fouled on a layup. Grace Rockey hits two free throws to boost her Shamrocks to a 34-20 lead with 6:41 remaining in the third quarter.

Laynie Meredith ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow is engrossed in chess endgame strategy and misses the play. The ball is awarded back to Christian. Laynie Meredith tries knocking the ball out of bounds, but the ball is again given back to Christian. Grace Rockey knocks a Pilgrim pass out of bounds to prevent a layup. Christian misses a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets the ball.

The Shamrocks miss a ten foot shot from the side. Laynie Meredith grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Addie Scheurer forces a Christian double dribble violation. Esther Lee knocks the ball away from the Shamrocks, but St. Patrick is able to recover. Laynie Meredith is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost St. Patrick to a 35-20 lead with 5:27 to play in quarter number three.

Addie Scheurer knocks the ball away from Christian, but the Pilgrims recover. Christian misses a driving layup. Grace Rockey fakes shooting a threeball and drives into the lane; she hits an eight foot scooped shot for St. Patrick. Mattie Honsowitz steals the ball for the Shamrocks and Lainey Meredith hits a fast break layup to give St. Patrick a 39-20 lead.

The Scheurer connection comes through for the Shamrocks as Rylee and Addie team up to force a Christian over and back violation. St. Patrick misses a layup. Mattie Honsowitz blocks a Christian runner in the lane. Laynie Meredith passes to Rylee Scheurer, who hits a fast break layup for St. Patrick to give the Shamrocks a 41-20 lead.

Christian misses an eight foot shot from the side. Lydia Brogan hits a putback for the Pilgrims. St. Patrick misses a three point attempt from the top of the key. Ava Mustapha passes to Lydia Brogan for a Christian layup. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the corner. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow looks up from its chess game; its king is in check, but the Arrow manages to award the ball to St. Patrick. Laynie Meredith hits a three point shot from the wing to boost the Shamrocks to a 44-24 lead.

Lydia Brogan drives and hits a layup for Christian. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot from the side. Christian throws a pass out of bounds. Grace Rockey drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Grace Rockey blocks a Pilgrim jump shot. Grace Rockey is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws for St. Patrick with just 4.5 seconds left in the quarter. Christian misses a half court shot as the third quarter buzzer announces the temporary end to the proceedings.

After three quarters, St. Patrick holds a 48-26 lead.

Christian has the ball to open the fourth quarter. Grace Rockey knocks the ball away from Christian and Addie Scheurer picks it up for St. Patrick. Abbi Pelle knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Ava Mustapha picks the ball up for Christian. Christian is fouled on a driving layup, but misses two free throws. Christian gets the offensive rebound, but misses an eighteen foot shot from the side. Lydia Brogan hits a putback for Christian and is fouled on the play. She sinks her free throw to trim the St. Patrick lead to 48-29 with 6:14 left on the clock.

Mattie Honsowitz hits a layup for St. Patrick. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. St. Patrick misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Christian misses a three pointer from the wing. St. Patrick misses a layup. Mattie Honsowitz gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. Rylee Scheurer passes to Laynie Meredith, who scoops in a layup to boost the Shamrocks to a 52-29 lead.

Christian misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Juliette Tallon plays tough defense and forces a St. Patrick double dribble violation. Ava Mustapha passes to Esther Lee, who throws in a threeball from the side for Christian. Bella Russman makes a great save to prevent a Shamrock turnover. St. Patrick misses a layup. Bella Russman pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Rylee Scheurer hits a putback for the Shamrocks; she is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 3:28 remaining in the game, St. Patrick holds a 52-32 lead.

Mattie Honsowitz gets the offensive rebound from the missed free throw. St. Patrick misses a layup. Christian misses a threeball from the top of the key. Ava Mustapha is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Shamrock lead to 52-33 with 3:01 left on the clock.

Lydia Brogan (despite her four fouls) draws a charging foul from the Shamrocks. Lily Sandborn knocks the ball out of bounds; Christian retains possession. Laynie Meredith steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Bella Russman passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a three point shot from the wing to boost the Shamrocks to a 55-33 lead.

Christian misses a three pointer from the side. Esther Lee gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Maddie Crawford passes to Lydia Brogan, who hits a three point shot from the side for Christian. St. Patrick misses an eighteen foot shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian gets the ball. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing.

Tori Sandborn saves a pass to prevent a Shamrock turnover. Abbi Pelle knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. Tori Sandborn passes to Megan Myers, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks. Hannah Weller blocks a Christian threeball from the side. Juliette Tallon steals the ball and hits a layup for Christian just before the final buzzer.

St. Patrick wins this game by a 59-38 score and will play Fowler in Friday’s District Final.

Despite missing some time with foul trouble, Lydia Brogan led the Christian scoring with 16 points. Alyssa Shank had two early three pointers and scored 6 points before leaving the game with a knee injury. The Bleacher Denizen wishes her a speedy recovery. Esther Lee and Natalie Adams each added 4 points. Ava Muspha and Sophie Hazleton each put in 3 points. Juliette Fallon tallied 2 points.

Grace Rockey had 23 points to lead the St. Patrick scoring. Laynie Meredith supported her teammate with 19 points. Mattie Honsowitz chipped in with 8 points. Rylee Scheurer scored 6 points. Megan Myers notched 2 points and Tori Sandborn had 1 point.