Fowler vs. Portland St. Patrick – – Girls Basketball – – MHSAA District Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 8, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight is the highly anticipated showdown between the two top girls’ basketball teams in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference. These two teams have dominated the conference for the past few years. Thus far, Fowler has been winning these showdowns in the tournament, but St. Patrick has an excellent team this year. I generally don’t do predictions; for this game, either of these excellent teams could come out on top. When they played each other during the regular season, each team won at home.

While we wait for this game to start, I hope you will enjoy this instrumental version of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” from my You Tube Channel. This features trumpeter extraordinaire John Ricker (and me I suppose.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MxOus8t44

The Fowler Eagles finished in second place in the CMAC with a 16-2 record and is 20-3 overall. Fowler reached this game by beating Fulton in the District Semifinal. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/03/07/fulton-vs-fowler-girls-basketball-mhsaa-district-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-6-2024-by-chuck-krafft/

Grace O’Hare is a senior who defends really well either on the perimeter or in the post. She is a fine passer and ball handler as well. She has a nice midrange shot and also scores a lot on putbacks. Fellow Senior Rebecca Smith is a strong inside defender and rebounder who gets her share of putbacks as well.

Izzy Halfmann is a freshman with the basketball IQ of a much more experienced player. She is an excellent defender on the perimeter; she is also tall enough to help inside. She is a fine ball handler and passer who can score on slashes to the basket, putbacks and the occasional three point shot. Katie Spicer is a really creative scorer and passer who seems to invent a new move to score a basket any time she needs it. She also is a solid three point shooter.

Brooke Weber has an excellent basketball IQ. She gives Fowler another player who is tall enough to defend in the post and quick enough to be a problem for opponents on the perimeter. She also has a good three point shot. Selena Stump has a beautiful three point shot and can get hot at any time. Elizabeth Hufnagel is a spirited perimeter defender with a never ending supply of energy.

St. Patrick’s Shamrocks won the CMAC with a 17-1 record and were 16-2 overall. Their only league loss was to Fowler. They got to the final game by winning this semifinal game over Lansing Christian. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/03/07/lansing-christian-vs-portland-st-patrick-girls-basketball-mhsaa-district-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-march-6-2024-by-chuck-krafft/

Laynie Meredith is a quick, athletic defender who never runs short of energy. On offense, her quickness enables her to get to almost any place she wants on the floor. She is great slashing to the basket for points or getting steals. Her defensive skills also give her a lot of opportunities for fast break layups.

Rylee Scheurer is a tall, athletic defender who can defend anywhere on the court. When she defends on the perimeter, her height and quickness make it difficult for opponents to run their offense. She has also become a really good three point shooter; she also gets her share of baskets off steals. Addie Scheurer is a quick perimeter defender as well. She is a smart ball handler and passer who has a great shot from the three point line.

Grace Rockey is a freshman in her second year of varsity basketball. She is an excellent all-around player who gives the Shamrocks another player quick and agile enough to defend the perimeter and tall enough to defend and rebound in the post. On offense, she is a fine ball handler who slashes to the basket well. She is also a big threat from the three point line. Mattie Honsowitz is a tall player who defends the post and rebounds well. She has great hands and great footwork; she knows how to use these to free herself for layups and accurate midrange shots.

Tori Sandborn is a quick perimeter defender who does not make many mistakes when she handles the ball. She is also a pretty good three point shooter. Hannah Weller is a solid perimeter defender and midrange shooter who rebounds well. Bella Russman and Megan Myers are dependable rebounders and defenders in the post.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the semi-clear lenses of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in ancient times. He learned that coaches frown on players who share the ball with opponents. Your Bleacher Denizen simply thought he was being inclusive when he shared the ball with everyone, but many basketball coaches see things differently.

St. Patrick wins the opening. The Shamrocks miss a three point shot from the side. Grace Rockey hits the floor to steal the ball for the Shamrocks. Fowler ties the ball up; the Possession Arrow and its Quilting Bee Committee are impressed by the Eagle hustle and award the ball to Fowler. Fowler misses a sixteen foot shot from the side. Izzy Halfmann dives and steals the ball for the Eagles. Addie Scheurer gets her hand on the ball, but the Eagles recover. Grace O’Hare hits a three point shot from the wing to give the Eagles the first three points of the game.

Brooke Weber blocks a St. Patrick layup. Izzy Halfmann hits a fast break layup for Fowler. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. Grace Rockey blocks a Fowler fast break layup; the ball goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Fowler misses a layup. Rebecca Smith knocks the ball away from St. Patrick to a Fowler teammate. Fowler misses a jump shot from the free throw elbow.

St. Patrick misses a fast break sixteen foot shot from the wing. Fowler loses the ball out of bounds. St. Patrick throws a pass out of bounds. Fowler commits an over and back violation. Rebecca Smith blocks a Shamrock layup. Izzy Halfmann drives and scoops in a layup to give Fowler a 7-0 lead.

St. Patrick misses a threeball from the side. A Fowler dribbler steps on the baseline. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Laynie Meredith blocks an Eagle fast break layup. Rylee Scheurer hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the baseline to give St. Patrick its first two points. Fowler has a 7-2 lead.

Fowler misses a layup. Rylee Scheurer drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Elizabeth Hufnagel passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Fowler. Grace O’Hare knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Brooke Weber picks it up for Fowler. Fowler misses a fast break layup. St. Patrick fouls on the rebound. Mattie Honsowitz knocks the ball away from Fowler, but the Eagles are able to recover.

Fowler misses a three point attempt from the wing. St. Patrick misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble. Tori Sandborn grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the side. Grace Rockey ties the ball up in the lane. The Possession Arrow and her fellow quilters are impressed with Ms. Rockey’s aggressive defense and award the ball to the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Addie Scheurer grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Laynie Meredith passes to Addie Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the side to cut the Fowler lead to 10-7.

Katie Spicer throws in a threeball from the wing for Fowler. Rebecca Smith steals the ball and passes to Katie Spicer, who hits a three point shot for Fowler. Laynie Meredith drives and dishes the ball to Tori Sandborn, who hits a three point shot from the corner for St. Patrick to trim the Eagle lead to 16-10.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Rebecca Smith blocks St. Patrick’s long heave at the buzzer. (Actually the ball was heaved at the basket, not at the buzzer. Sometimes basketball cliches can be baffling.)

After one quarter, Fowler has a 16-10 lead.

Fowler has the ball to open the second quarter. Tori Sandborn knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Fowler misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side. St. Patrick misfires on a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get another opportunity. St. Patrick misses a driving reverse layup. Fowler misses a driving layup. Grace O’Hare hits a putback to boost the Eagles to an 18-10 lead.

St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Fowler misses a twelve footer off the dribble in the lane. Grace O’Hare grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup and fouls on the rebound. Elizabeth Hufnagel knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick gets another opportunity. St. Patrick misses a jump shot from the free throw line. Fowler commits an offensive foul bringing the ball up the court. Brooke Weber knocks the ball away from St. Patrick. Izzy Halfmann picks it up for Fowler and hits a fast break layup to boost the Eagle lead to 20-10.

Laynie Meredith drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Addie Scheurer hits the floor to tie up the ball for St. Patrick. The Possession Arrow takes a break from cutting quilting squares and decides to award the ball to the Shamrocks. Grace Rockey drives and dishes the ball to Mattie Honsowitz, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks to trim the Fowler lead to 20-14.

Grace Rockey knocks the ball away from Fowler and to a Shamrock teammate. Rylee Scheurer is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Fowler lead to 20-15 with 4:13 left in the second quarter.

Rylee Scheurer intercepts an Eagle pass. Laynie Meredith passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the wing for St. Patrick. Fowler misses an eight foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Laynie Meredith passes to Rylee Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the side for St. Patrick to tie the game at 20-20.

Grace O’Hare drives and hits a six foot shot for Fowler to retake the lead for the Eagles. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Bella Russman fights for the offensive rebound and Fowler loses the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick takes possession. Grace O’Hare blocks a Shamrock layup. Grace O’Hare passes to Brooke Weber, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Fowler a 25-20 lead.

St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Fowler misses a three pointer near the top of the key. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Katie Spicer passes to Paige Thelen, who hits a layup for Fowler. Laynie Meredith is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two layups for St. Patrick. With 50.5 seconds to go in the quarter, Fowler’s lead is at 27-21.

Paige Thelen passes to Brooke Weber, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws for Fowler with 9.4 seconds remaining. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the corner. Fowler misses a long heave as the second quarter buzzer announces the end to the half.

At halftime, Fowler has a 29-21 lead.

Rylee Scheurer has 8 points to lead the St. Patrick scoring.

Katie Spicer has 9 points and Grace O’Hare has 7 points for Fowler.

As we have no halftime entertainment, I hope you will enjoy a couple tunes from my You Tube Channel.

I know it’s not Fourth of July, but I hope you will enjoy this rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” There are a lot of cool effects including a big explosion near the end. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h03U4bj79fs

Here’s a solo piano version of “Feed the Birds” from “Mary Poppins” from my Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2KWzZEUZA

Fowler inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Eagles miss a driving layup. St. Patrick misses a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Addie Scheurer hits a three point shot from the wing for the Shamrocks to trim the Eagle lead to 29-24.

Fowler misses a twelve foot shot in the lane and fouls on the rebound. Katie Spicer blocks a Shamrock threeball from the side. The loose ball goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get it back. Addie Scheurer inbounds the ball to Grace Rockey, who hits a layup to cut the Fowler lead to 29-26.

Tori Sandborn knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler retains possession. Rylee Scheurer knocks the ball away from Fowler; Elizabeth Hufnagel recovers it for the Eagles. Fowler misses a driving layup. St. Patrick misfires on a threeball from the side. Fowler misses a fifteen foot shot from the side. The rebound is tied up and the Possession Arrow finishes stitching up the side of the quilt and awards the ball to St. Patrick.

Paige Thelen blocks a Shamrock layup. Katie Spicer is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Laynie Meredith passes to Grace Rockey, who spins and hits a layup for the Shamrocks. She is fouled on the play and makes her free throw to chop the Fowler lead to one point at 30-29 with 4:45 remaining in the quarter.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. St. Patrick fouls on the rebound. Elizabeth Hufnagel drives and hits a layup for Fowler. She is fouled on the play and sinks her free throw. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Tori Sandborn knocks the ball away from Fowler and Grace Rockey picks it up for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a three point shot from the side. Rebecca Smith drives and hits a layup to give Fowler a 35-29 lead.

Izzy Halfmann blocks a Shamrock six foot shot from the side. Fowler commits a traveling violation. St. Patrick is fouled, but misses two free throws. Grace Rockey knocks the ball away from Fowler and Laynie Meredith picks it up for St. Patrick. Laynie Meredith passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks. Elizabeth Hufnagel is fouled and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 37-31 lead with 2:31 left in the third quarter.

Laynie Meredith drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Elizabeth Hufnagel drives and hits a layup for Fowler. St. Patrick misses a shot. Rylee Scheurer pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Bella Russman gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the wing. Fowler misses a layup. Rebecca Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Elizabeth Hufnagel hits a ten foot shot from the side to give Fowler a 41-33 lead.

Laynie Meredith hits a three point shot from the top of the key for the Shamrocks. Fowler misses a three point shot from the corner. Grace Rockey is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to trim the Fowler lead to 41-37 with 26.3 seconds remaining in quarter number three.

Izzy Halfmann passes to Brooke Weber, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Fowler. St. Patrick is called for traveling. Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key as the buzzer blares.

After three quarters, Fowler has a 44-37 lead.

Fowler inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. Katie Spicer is fouled on a driving hook shot and hits two free throws for Fowler. Grace O’Hare knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Elizabeth Hufnagel picks it up for Fowler. Katie Spicer is fouled on a fast break layup and hits one of her two free throws to push Fowler to a 47-37 lead with 7:17 left in the game.

Layne Meredith passes to Rylee Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the wing for the Shamrocks. Grace O’Hare passes to Brooke Weber, who hits a three point shot from the side for Fowler. Addie Scheurer inbounds the ball to Grace Rockey, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to shave the Fowler lead to 50-42 with 6:27 left on the clock.

Fowler misses a layup. Rebecca Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a threeball from the corner. Rebecca Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Rebecca Smith passes to Elizabeth Hufnagel, who hits a ten foot shot from the side of the lane for Fowler. Laynie Meredith drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Fowler’s lead is now at 52-44.

Addie Scheurer tips the ball and Fowler ends up committing an over and back violation. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Katie Spicer is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 54-44 lead with 4:32 remaining in the game.

St. Patrick misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Laynie Meredith knocks the ball out of bounds; Fowler gets another possession. Grace Rockey knocks the ball out of bounds and Fowler gets it back again. Fowler is fouled, but misses two free throws. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Izzy Halfmann is fouled and hits one of her two free throws boost the Eagle lead to 55-44 with 2:46 remaining in the game.

Katie Spicer blocks a Shamrock layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another possession. Addie Scheurer inbounds the ball to Grace Rockey, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for St. Patrick. Addie Scheurer knocks the ball away from Fowler and Tori Sandborn picks it up for St. Patrick.

The Shamrocks miss a threeball from the wing. Addie Scheurer gets the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Izzy Halfmann knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. Addie Scheurer passes to Laynie Meredith, who banks in a three point shot from the wing to cut the Fowler lead to 55-48.

Fowler is fouled, but misses two free throws. Rebecca Smith ties up the rebound. The Possession Arrow and the Quilting Bee Crew award the ball to St. Patrick. Katie Spicer knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Rebecca Smith grabs it for Fowler. Laynie Meredith steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses an eight foot shot from the side. A St. Patrick player fouls out and sends Izzy Halfmann to the line. Izzy Halfmann hits one of her two free throws to push the Eagles to a 56-48 lead with 1:37 to go.

Laynie Meredith drives and hits a reverse layup for St. Patrick. Elizabeth Hufnagel is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Layne Meredith is fouled and hits two free throws for St. Patrick. Izzy Halfmann is fouled and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 59-52 lead with 1:03 to play in the game.

Addie Scheurer passes to Rylee Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the wing for St. Patrick to cut the Fowler lead to 59-55.

Katie Spicer is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Fowler. Rebecca Smith snags another big offensive rebound for the Eagles. Katie Spicer is fouled and hits two free throws to give Fowler a 62-55 lead with 44.7 seconds to go.

Izzy Halfmann knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Katie Spicer is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for the Eagles. Izzy Halfmann blocks a Shamrock driving layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another opportunity. Laynie Meredith throws in a threeball from the wing to cut the Fowler lead to 63-58.

Katie Spicer is fouled and hits one of her two free throws with 11.9 seconds left in the game. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Fowler rebounds the ball as the final buzzer sounds.

Fowler wins the game by the score of 64-58 and will play Muskegon Catholic Central in the Regional Semifinal Monday.

Laynie Meredith led the St. Patrick scoring with 20 points. Rylee Scheurer contributed 14 points and Grace Rockey chipped in with 13 points. Addie Scheurer scored 6 points. Tori Sandborn added 3 points and Mattie Honsowitz had 2 points.

Katie Spicer led four Eagle double figure scorers with 20 points. Elizabeth Hufnagel added 12 points. Brooke Weber scored 11 points. Isabella Halfmann tossed in 10 points. Grace O’Hare put in 7 points. Paige Thelen and Rebecca Smith each notched 2 points.