St. Patrick's Next Generation Inspired by Past in Securing Championship Chance
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2026
EAST LANSING – It’s been nearly 25 years since Portland St. Patrick won its most recent of six MHSAA Finals championships in girls basketball.
The Shamrocks will have the opportunity to add to their rich tradition after knocking off Onekama 49-26 in Thursday night’s Division 4 Semifinal at Breslin Center.
St. Patrick (23-5) will meet Ishpeming on Saturday in the Division 4 Final. Tipoff is set for 10 a.m. The Shamrocks last won a Class D title in 2002, but hadn’t been to a Semifinal in 14 years before Thursday.
Freshman Macie Leonard and junior Gracelyn Rockey were key factors in the Shamrocks earning a return to championship Saturday. The pair combined for 35 points, with Leonard scoring 18 and Rockey adding 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Second-year St. Patrick coach Michelle Smith was a member of the 1999 and 2000 Class D championship teams.
“My mom and Coach and some of the other moms played together and won championships, so our goal was always to be as good as our moms,” Rockey said. “So that’s what we work towards.”
The Shamrocks never trailed Thursday after jumping out to an early 11-2 advantage. They outrebounded the Portagers 39-15.
“Really pleased with the way they played today,” Smith said. “We knew defensively they were a very good team and scrappy, and we prepared to handle their press. I asked them to play with poise, and I think that's what they did. I’m happy with the way they handled the pressure, and our ability to rebound really showed.”
Ava Mauntler knocked down a 3-pointer during the final minute of the second quarter to pull the Portagers within five at 21-16.
However, St. Patrick extended its lead to double digits by holding Onekama to only five points in the third quarter.
St. Patrick ended the quarter with a 9-2 spurt to pull ahead 36-21.
“What worked well for us was they tried to press us, but we looked ahead and really took our time,” Smith said. “We got in positions we needed to be in.”
Leonard was 7-of-11 from the field and drained two 3-pointers.
“As a freshman we put her in big moments at times, and I told her that she’s ready for this,” Smith said. “She was willing to shoot the ball and made some big shots. I thought her and Lily Sanborn’s defense at the top was fantastic.”
The Shamrocks surrendered only 10 points total during the second half and held Onekama to 25-percent shooting from the field.
It was the fifth time in the tournament that the Shamrocks held a team under 30 points.
“Throughout the season our goal is to keep the other team under 30 points,” Rockey said. “It shows that our defense works together well and we are good at communicating.”
It had been nearly 30 years since Onekama appeared in a Semifinal. The team broke through for the first time since 1997 with a Quarterfinal win over Frankfort, which had defeated the Portagers twice in Northwest Conference play.
Onekama, which finished fourth in the league, will graduate only three seniors after concluding the season at 19-8.
“An amazing run, that’s all I can tell you,” first-year coach Dan Mesyar said. “We made a commitment last summer that, #Breslin Bound, on the first day of practice that we wanted to get here. We wanted it. To call it out as a team, and work every day and gut through tough losses and get better. … I’m just so proud of these girls."
“We have now established a standard, and you are not going to see us every 29 years. They’ve set an unbelievable standard.”
Junior Addy Zeller led Onekama with six points.
PHOTOS (Top) Portland St. Patrick’s Gracelyn Rockey pushes the pace as Onekama’s Callie Sinke keeps stride during Thursday’s Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Shamrocks’ Lily Sandborn (4) makes her move into the lane with Addy Zeller defending. (Photos by Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Class C Preview: Revved Up For Rematches
March 14, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The most exciting basketball played at Van Noord Arena this weekend could feature a foursome of Class C powerhouses.
All four semifinalists making the trip to Calvin College in Grand Rapids played in Semifinals last season as well. Today’s first game features a rematch of last season’s Class C championship game – which Detroit Edison won 46-44 over Pewamo-Westphalia.
The second game features two more tournament veterans, Maple City Glen Lake and Ypsilanti Arbor Prep. The Gators finished runner-up in Class B last season and are the only team to beat Edison this winter.
Class C Semifinals – Thursday
Detroit Edison (22-1) vs. Pewamo-Westphalia (25-0), noon
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (20-5) vs. Maple City Glen Lake (23-2), 2 p.m.
Class C Final – Saturday, 4 p.m.
Tickets cost $10 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session (Class C and Class B). All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit and streamed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and the FOX Sports Go! app. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a glance at all four semifinalists. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.)
DETROIT EDISON PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY
Record/rank: 22-1, No. 7
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Monique Brown, seventh season (101-36)
Championship history: Class C champion 2017.
Best wins: 88-56 over No. 2 (tie) St. Ignace, 57-55 (OT) over Class A No. 3 Saginaw Heritage, 71-69 and 64-50 over Class A No. 10 Wayne Memorial, 66-40 over Class A No. 5 Ann Arbor Huron, 62-46 over Class B No. 2 Detroit Country Day.
Players to watch: Rickea Jackson, 6-3 jr. G (22.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.5 bpg); Gabrielle Elliott, 5-10 soph. G (16.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg).
Outlook: Despite its relatively low final regular-season ranking in Class C, Edison is considered by many to be the top team in Michigan regardless of Class. Nearly all of its in-state wins during the regular season were against Class A or B teams, including as well a 70-42 defeat of annual power Detroit Martin Luther King. Jackson likely will be a Miss Basketball candidate next season; Elliott could be the same in 2020. Nine of 12 players are underclassmen, and freshman Damiya Hagemann is another intriguing talent averaging 9.1 points and 8.4 assists per game.
MAPLE CITY GLEN LAKE
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 10
League finish: Second in Northwest Conference.
Coach: Jason Bradford, 10th season (155-54)
Championship history: Class D champion 1978, runner-up 1979.
Best wins: 60-56 over No. 2 (tie) St. Ignace in Quarterfinal, 66-35 over Charlevoix in Regional Final, 52-47 (District Semifinal) and 60-49 over Traverse City St. Francis, 55-48 over Manton in District Final, 53-36 and 48-40 over Benzie Central.
Players to watch: Savannah Peplinski, 5-8 sr. G (15.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.9 spg); Jennifer LaCross, 5-8 sr. F (11.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.1 spg).
Outlook: Glen Lake is back in the Semifinals for the second straight season, its only losses this time to Class B semifinalist and Northwest Conference rival Kingsley. Peplinski, LaCross, junior center Kaitlyn Schaub (9.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and senior forward Allie Bonzelet (10.2 ppg) also started last season. Glen Lake beat league champions in St. Francis (17-4), Manton (18-4) and St. Ignace (23-2) during the tournament, while Charlevoix (19-5) and Houghton Lake (15-8) rounded out a tough postseason slate that should have the team plenty prepared for this weekend.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
Record/rank: 25-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Central Michigan Athletic Conference.
Coach: Steve Eklund, ninth season (180-34)
Championship history: Three runner-up finishes (most recent 2017).
Best wins: 45-30 over Kent City in Quarterfinal, 45-29 over Hemlock in Regional Final, 48-33 (Regional Semifinal), 44-20 and 53-19 over Laingsburg, 59-36 over honorable mention New Lothrop, 64-41 over Detroit Renaissance.
Players to watch: Emily Spitzley, 5-10 sr. G (17 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 65 3-pointers); Hannah Spitzley, 5-10 soph. F (10.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.1 spg).
Outlook: After falling by a basket to Edison in last season’s Final, P-W has been all but unstoppable beating opponents by an average of 40 points and with only Springport (18-5) in the District Final coming closer than 15. Laingsburg’s only losses this season in going 20-3 were to the Pirates. Kent City (22-4), Hemlock (21-4) and New Lothrop (20-3) all were league champions, and Class A Renassiance (16-8) was runner-up in the Detroit Public School League tournament. P-W makes 40 percent of its 3-point attempts; sophomore guard Ellie Droste (9.5 ppg) is another of six players with at least 15 makes from beyond the arc.
YPSILANTI ARBOR PREP
Record/rank: 20-5, honorable mention
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Scott Stine, first season (20-5)
Championship history: Class C champion 2016, Class B runner-up 2017.
Best wins: 61-55 over No. 2 Schoolcraft in Quarterfinal, 54-49 over No. 1 Detroit Edison, 66-65 over Class B No. 2 Detroit Country Day, 48-45 over Clarkston, 60-39 over Goodrich.
Players to watch: Lasha Petree, 6-0 sr. G (20.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 5.4 spg, 42 3-pointers, Mahri Petree, 5-11 jr. G (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg).
Outlook: In addition to being the only team to hand Edison a loss this season, the Gators faced a schedule of nearly all Class A and B opponents. Class A Clarkston (18-5) and Class B Goodrich (20-5) were league champs, and Arbor Prep also avenged an earlier loss to another Class B league champ in Harper Woods Chandler Park (17-7). Lasha Petree was a Miss Basketball finalist this season and scores more than 40 percent of her team’s points, on average. Junior forward Kashyra Jackson is another contributor, averaging 6.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game with a team second-best 16 3-pointers.
PHOTO: Detroit Edison's Rickea Jackson works for an open shot surrounded by Pewamo-Westphalia defenders during last season's Class C Final.