Lansing Christian at Portland St. Patrick – – CMAC Co-Girls Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 7, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft
Tonight, the Bleacher Denizen’s journey takes him to Portland St. Patrick. (Some day, I hope to figure out how to get the gravitas to legitimately refer to my journey as an “odyssey.” I will totally pass the “cool test” at the point.)
Last week, I was able to get up to Ferris State to watch a couple CMAC athletes play college basketball. Lydia Meredith, a former St. Patrick All-State player plays for Saginaw Valley. Mia Riley, the former Fowler All-Stater plays for Ferris. Your Bleacher Denizen went up to Ferris and wrote this article!
Since we are doing a game between two Christian schools, I thought I’d sneak in a couple religious songs from my You Tube Channel as we wait for the game to start.
This is a choral nearly a capella piece sung in German with a four part harmony (five in places) that was sung by the men’s choir at St. Lorenz in Frankenmuth (where I grew up). This is my best memory of the harmonies that they sang.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgCQdBGfNGs
And on the completely opposite side of the musical spectrum, this is a rock song based on John 3:16 where my late father helped write over half the lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYixQ0OWsd4
Today, St. Patrick’s Shamrocks will be hosting the Pilgrims from Lansing Christian. Lansing Christian enters this game with a 3-1 CMAC record and they are 4-1 overall. St. Patrick has a 2-2 record in the league and is 2-3 overall. However, I’ll note that Mattie Honsowitz, who is one of the best Shamrock players was out with an injury suffered in last year’s district final. She has been back in action for a game or two now.
St. Patrick Coach Michelle Smith provided information about her Shamrock players when I covered one of their games earlier this year.
Grace Rockey is a sophomore who has been playing varsity basketball since eighth grade and thus, unlike most sophomores already has two full years of varsity basketball behind her. She is an athletic marvel who is quick and graceful enough to defend the perimeter while also being big and tough enough to rebound and defend inside. Her offensive game is similarly versatile as she is great slashing to the basketball, handles and passes the ball well and is a threat from the three point line.
Mattie Honsowitz is an excellent defender and rebounder in the post. On offense, she has great hands for catching passes and rebounds as well as excellent post footwork that allows her to get open to shoot her excellent mid-range and in-close shots. Macie Smith is a strong mid-range shooter who can defend either the perimeter or the post. Megan Myers is a good post scorer.
Naomi Hass is a quick, relentless perimeter defender. Bella Russman defends and rebounds well in the post. Lily Sandborn runs the point and is a good perimeter defender.
Lansing Christian’s Coach Jason Salsbury had this information about his Pilgrim players.
Lydia Brogan is an excellent all-around athletic player who can defend the entire floor well, whether on the perimeter or near the basket. On offense, she can overwhelm opponents with her athletic ability on her way to the basket and is also a threat from the three point line.
Ava Mustapha is coming back from an injury. She is an excellent perimeter defender who can slash to the basket. Sophia Carrillo is a strong rebounder and defender in the Pilgrim post. Natalie Adams is a speedy perimeter defender. Esther Lee is a good scorer in the post. Alyssa Shank is an agressive perimeter defender who runs the Pilgrim point on offense. She can slash to the basket and is a threat from the three point line.
Sophia Hazelton is a fine three point shooter. Juliette Tallon is a speedy perimeter defender. Payton Korrey is another three point shooter. Abbi Pelle is a fine post defender who has a great basketball IQ and is always in the correct position on Pilgrim plays. Grace Reusser, who will not play tonight because of an injury is a strong defender in the post who blocks a lot of shots.
It is now time to review the events of this game through the (hopefully clear) perspective of an aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the ancient times when he was actually considered to be “young.” He was making a lot of shots from all over the court before the powers that be banned him from using the six foot funnel that safely guided his shots into the basket. Alas, there was little or no playing time after that debacle, but it WAS fun while it lasted.
St. Patrick wins the opening tap, but quickly loses the ball out of bounds. Christian misfires on a threeball from the corner. Sophia Carrillo snares the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Natalie Adams passes to Ava Mustapha, who throws in a threeball from near the top of the key to record the game’s first three points.
Alyssa Shank blocks a Shamrock six foot shot from the side of the lane. The loose ball goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets another opportunity. The Shamrocks miss a driving layup. Christian misses an eighteen foot shot from the side. Sophia Carrillo snags the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Sophia Carrillo passes to Alyssa Shank, who banks in a threeball from the top of the key to give the Pilgrims a 6-0 lead.
Macie Smith is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for St. Patrick. Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Sophia Carrillo hustles down the long offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Grace Rockey steals a Shamrock pass. LIly Sandborn hits a ten footer off the dribble for the Shamrocks. Christian misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side. The Shamrocks miss a driving layup. Macie Smith is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to cut the Pilgrim lead to 6-4 with 4:29 remaining in the opening quarter.
Christian misfires on a triple try from the wing. Ava Mustapha dashes out to midcourt to grab the long offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Mattie Honsowitz purloins a Pilgrim pass in the lane. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. (For clarity, this was actually a Shamrock player and not the Saint, himself!) Christian throws a pass out of bounds. A St. Patrick player reciprocates and throws a pass out of bounds.
Grace Rockey knocks a Christian pass out of bounds; the Pilgrims retain possession. Christian misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Ava Mustapha ties the ball up. The Possession Arrow and its Spring Beautification Committee admire her hustle and award the ball to Christian. Christian is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 1:10 to play in the first period, the Christian lead remains at 6-4.
St. Patrick misses a six foot banked shot from the side of the lane. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. Sophia Hazleton gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a threeball from the side. Esther Lee shows great hustle chasing the rebound down the sideline, but the ball goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks take possession. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Mattie Honsowitz blocks a Pilgrim layup. St. Patrick is not able to shoot before the buzzer brings the first quarter to a half.
After one quarter, Lansing Christian has a 6-4 lead.
St. Patrick inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. The Shamrocks lose a pass into the lane out of bounds. Grace Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Ava Mustapha quickly steals the ball back for the Pilgrims. Lydia Brogan drives and hits a reverse layup for Christian to boost the Pilgrim lead to 8-4.
St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get another opportunity. The Shamrocks miss a twelve foot shot from the baseline. Bella Russman grabs the offensive rebound for St. Patrick. St. Patrick misses a layup. Grace Rockey blocks a Pilgrim layup. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the side. Lily Sandborn dives and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow and its Beautification Committee are having a difficult discussion about draperies and miss the play; the ball is awarded to Christian.
Mattie Honsowitz blocks a Pilgrim layup. St. Patrick misses a layup but gets the offensive rebound. The ball soon gets loose and is tied up. The Possession Arrow and the Beautification Committee interrupt their discussion about the best material for the draperies and award the ball to St. Patrick. Sophia Carrillo knocks a Shamrock pass out of bounds to prevent a layup; Lansing Christian takes possession.
The Pilgrims miss a three point shot from the wing. St. Patrick misses a running banked hook shot; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get another opportunity. St. Patrick misses a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Mattie Honsowitz purloins a Pilgrim pass and passes to Naomi Hass, who hits a layup to trim the Christian lead to 8-6.
Macie Smith knocks the ball away from Christian, but the Pilgrims are able to recover. Macie Smith ties up the ball. The Possession Arrow and the Beautification Committee are having an animated discussion about the proper way to iron draperies and miss the play; the ball is awarded to Christian. Mattie Honsowitz knocks the ball away from Christian, but the Pilgrims are able to recover. Christian misses a layup.
Esther Lee knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Natalie Adams picks up the ball for Christian. Christian misses a driving layup. Natalie Adams pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims and passes to Ava Mustapha, who hits a layup to give Christian a 10-6 lead.
Alyssa Shank steals the ball for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a fast break layup. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian takes possession. Mattie Honsowitz blocks a Christian layup. Christian recovers the ball, but commits an over and back violation in the chaos. St. Patrick commits an offensive foul. Christian misses a three point attempt from the top of the key.
St. Patrick msises a driving layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get another opportunity. Naomi Hass goes into the lane and hits a six foot hook shot to cut the Pilgrim lead to two points. Christian misses a jumper from the free throw line. Abbi Pelle snags the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Christian is assessed with a traveling violation. St. Patrick misses a half court heave as the second quarter buzzer makes its presence known.
At halftime, Lansing Christian holds a 10-8 lead.
Noami Hass leads the St. Patrick scoring at halftime with 4 points.
Ava Mustapha has 5 points and Alyssa Shank has 3 points for Lansing Christian.
St. Patrick inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Bella Russman drives the baseline and hits a layup for the Shamrocks to tie the game. Lydia Brogan passes to Alyssa Shank, who hits a three pointer form the wing to give Christian a three point lead. Grace Rockey is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to cut Christian’s lead to 13-12 with 6:56 to play in the third quarter.
Christian misses a three pointer from the side. Esther Lee pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Lily Sandborn knocks the ball away from Christian, but the Pilgrims are ab le to recover. Lydia Brogan passes to Esther Lee, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws. With 6:29 to play in the third quarter, Christian has a 14-12 lead.
Lily Sandborn passes to Grace Rockey, who spins and hits a layup for the Shamrocks to tie the game. Christian misses a jump shot, but gets the offensive rebound. The Pilgrims miss a threeball from the wing. Esther Lee blocks a Shamrock layup. St. Patrick recovers the loose ball. Grace Rockey is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give St. Patrick a 16-14 lead with 5:17 to play in quarter number three.
Grace Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Mattie Honsowitz passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. Lily Sandborn passes to Mattie Honsowitz, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to boost the Shamrocks to a 19-14 lead with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
Christian drives and dishes the ball out of bounds. Ava Mustapha blocks a Shamrock shot; Lily Sandborn grabs the loose ball and is fouled on a layup. Lily Sandborn hits two free throws for the Shamrocks. Christian misses a threeball from the wing; the rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets the ball. St. Patrick loses a pass out of bounds. Grace Rockey gets her hand on the ball, but Ava Mustapha is able to recover the ball for the Pilgrims. Christian misses a twelve foot shot in the lane. Grace Rockey is fouled and sinks two free throws to boost St. Patrick to a 23-14 lead with 2:02 remaining in the third quarter.
Lily Sandborn knocks the ball away from Christian, but the PIlgrims recover. Christian is fouled, but misses two free throws. Lily Sandborn is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for St. Patrick. Christian is fouled on the rebound, but misses two free throws. With 1:20 to play in the third quarter, St. Patrick has a 24-14 lead.
St. Patrick misses a threeball from the side. Lily Sandborn gets her hand on a Christian pass, but the Pilgrims recover. Ava Mustapha drives and hits an eight foot banked shot from the side for Christian. St. Patrick misses a three pointer from the side. Bella Russman pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a fifteen foot shot from the side.
Christian is fouled on the rebound, but misses two free throws. Esther Lee blocks a Shamrock layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and St. Patrick gets it back with 2.4 seconds left in the quarter. Lydia Brogan gets a hand on the inbound pass and neither team can get possession of the ball before the third quarter buzzer breaks things up.
After three quarters, St. Patrick has a 24-16 lead.
Christian inbounds the ball to begin the fourth quarter. Macie Smith and Lily Sandborn double team the Christian ball handler and cause a tieup. The Possession Arrow and its Spring Beautification Committee finally agree on appropriate ironing procedures and award the ball to the Shamrocks. Lily Sandborn drives from the side and hits a layup for St. Patrick to give the Shamrocks a 26-16 lead.
Christian misses a three point shot from the wing. Sophia Carrillo gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Sophia Carrillo is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to trim the Shamrock lead to 26-18 with 6:47 remaining on the clock.
Macie Smith inbounds the ball to Grace Rockey, who throws in a threeball from the side for St. Patrick. Macie Smith gets her hand on a Pilgrim pass, but Christian is able to recover. Christian misses a layup. Sophia Carrillo (who else?) gets the offensive rebound for the Pilgrims. Alyssa Shank hits a ten foot shot in the lane to trim the Shamrock lead to 29-20.
Esther Lee blocks a Shamrock layup. Grace Rockey steals Christian’s outlet pass. Grace Rockey passes to Macie Smith, who hits a fifteen foot shot from the wing for the Shamrocks. Christian misses a shot in the lane. Lily Sandborn is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws to give her Shamrocks a 32-20 lead with 4:20 left in the game. (One of the Pilgrim starters fouled out on the play.)
Natalie Adams passes to Esther Lee, who drives and hits a layup for the Pilgrims. Lydia Brogan blocks a Shamrock fifteen foot shot from the side. There is a scramble for the loose ball and it is tied up. The Possession Arrow interrupts its meeting with its Spring Beautification Committee to award the ball to the Pilgrims. They must have appreciated Lydia Brogan’s fine defense! Alyssa Shank passes the ball to Esther Lee, who hits a layup to trim the Shamrock lead to 32-24.
Macie Smith passes to Grace Rockey, who hits a three pointer from the corner for St. Patrick. Lily Sandborn steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Macie Smith is foueld on a layup and hits two free throws to give St. Patrick a 37-24 lead with 2:54 to go.
Lily Sandborn steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Mattie Honsowitz drives and hits a layup for St. Patrick. Christian bounces a pass out of bounds. St. Patrick loses control of the ball, but Megan Myers picks up the loose rock and is fouled on a layup. Megan Myers hits one of her two free throws to boost the Shamrock lead to 40-24 with 1:49 left to play.
The rebound goes out of bounds and Christian takes possession. Ava Mustapha is fouled on a twelve foot shot from the side and hits one of her two free throws for Christian. St. Patrick misses a layup. Macie Smith grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Alyssa Shank steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. She hits one of her two free throws to shave the Shamrock’s lead to 40-25 with 54.9 seconds to go.
Lily Sandborn is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for St. Patrick. Christian misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and St. Patrick takes possession. Natalie Adams knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. Marian Davlin is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for St. Patrick with just eight seconds to go. Christian does not shoot before the final buzzer ends the game.
Portland St. Patrick wins this game 42-26.
Alyssa Shank led Lansing Christian’s scoring with 9 points. Ava Mustapha supported her teammate with 8 points. Esther Lee scored 5 points. Lydia Brogan and Sophia Carrillo each had 2 points.
Grace Rockey led the St. Patrick scoring with 16 points; all in the second half. Lily Sandborn chipped in with 9 points. Macie Smith scored 6 points. Naomi Hass had 4 points, all in the first half to help keep St. Patrick close. Mattie Honsowitz added 3 points. Bella Russman put in 2 points. Megan Myers and Marian Davlin each tallied 1 point.