The State Farm Holiday Classic (SFHC) has always been a tournament that tests most every team. The ‘Large School Girls Bracket’ competition is among the best in the Midwest and this year has been no exception. It is a 3-4 day gauntlet of games against formidable teams and tournament play seems to bring out the best in all teams. For one thing, all the teams have at least 4-6 weeks of games before the tournament begins. Teams have had the chance to get to know who they are as a team, work on their deficiencies and fine tune their chemistry. In other words, even those teams that struggled out of the gate are given new breathe when the tournament begins, so you can throw out the seed # in front of their name when tournament play begins.
Like most teams, the Lady Potters had 4-6 weeks to prepare. They pretty much steamrolled through the first 11 games of the season, making good opponents look out of their league. The Potters looked as if they had it all figured out and the last quarter of most of those first 11 games was reserved for peacefully enjoying the last remnants of popcorn in your bag, without any fear of indigestion. So the Lady Potters were poised and ready to pounce on anything that SFHC could throw at them.
Then, much like last year… adversity hits right before the tournament. For the second year in a row, the Potters lose an All-State, do everything player just prior to the tournament. Last year, it was Chandler Ryan with a season ending injury a couple weeks before the tournament and this year Brandi Bisping is diagnosed with mononucleosis just days before the tournament. These just aren’t any star players, these are two players that will likely be mentioned forevermore as all-time Lady Potter greats.
I don’t know how that conversation between Coach Becker and the Potter players went when he told them they would be entering the SFHC without Brandi Bisping. My guess is that most teams would immediately walk to the closest corner and curl up in the fetal position. Knowing this Potter team, I think their reaction was more like, “Oh, that’s too bad for Brandi, who do we have first?” That’s the mentality of this team. What they weren’t 100% prepared for was the fact that they were going to need to reinvent themselves, by adjusting to the loss of their superstar. Think of it this way… if the Potters are your dominant hand, Brandi Bisping is the thumb. Cut off the thumb on your dominant hand and see how functional your hand is (sorry Brandi for calling you a thumb, but I meant it in the most respectful way). You get my point though don’t you?
In the Lady Potter’s case, they have the added hurdle of, well being the 2x Defending State Champion, which means everyone wants a shot at the Champ (cue Marlon Brando’s voice in ‘On the Waterfront’). So Morton entered their first contest against the Normal West Wildcats, probably thinking that this game would go much the same way as the past 11 games did. Apparently they forgot that they were without their “Thumb”. I don’t know how many turnover the Potters had against West, but it had to be a season high. The Potters had not allowed more than 40 points all year, and in this game they allowed 59 points. Fortunately, the fingers found a way to win the game without their thumb and were able to score 62 points to win the game by 3. Kassidy Shurman caught fire and drained 4 treys and the Potters hit 9 treys in all to fend off the upstart Wildcats. Even in defeat, the Wildcats looked like they had just won the Superbowl (losing to Morton by 3).
Game 2 was the Tigers from Wheaton Warrenville South. A Class 4A school with over 2,000 students from the Chicago suburbs. The Tigers had just cleaned the clock of the team Morton was seeded to play (Geneseo), beating them handily. A scrappy team, with a pretty decent strong left handed guard/forward and a couple of quick guards that passed the ball well. Should be a cakewalk right? Wrong! The Tigers were mean and scrappy and were not going to back down the Defending 3A State Champions. They were in it to win it and decided to zone the Potters the entire game. The Potters defense did step up and only allowed 32 points, but the tough zone confused the Potters and they seemed hesitant to get the ball into the heart of the zone. 7 three pointers (4 again by Shurman) saved the day and the Potters again battled their way to another 3-point victory.
Game 3 was against the #4 ranked team in the latest AP Class 3A State rankings. A familiar team to the Potters, the Normal University High Pioneers (UHigh). The Potters and Pioneers have played each other now 6 times in the last two and half years and half of the Potters have played with half of the Pioneers in the summer. The teams know each other well and the coaches know each other well. Morton entered the game 13-0 and UHigh 11-0. The game was the typical Battle Royale that has become expected when these two team meet up with one another. The Potters defense contributed to the Pioneers’ poor shooting and the Lady Potters showed a lot of grit, determination and mental focus in battling through a series of obstacles throughout the game. Morton lost the rebounding battle (what UHigh does best), but ended up winning the nail biter in the second overtime by guess how many?… Correct, 3 points. Heroics and miscues from every Lady Potter, but Tenley Dowell led the way in scoring for the Potters.
Next up is the SFHC Championship game vs the Rock Island Rocks (14-1). The Rocks are one of the top couple of teams in Class 4A this year and feature the #4 ranked sophomore guard in the nation in Brea Beal. They have 6′-4″ coming off the bench and lightning quick guards that know how to put it in the basket. I would estimate they have at least 5 Division 1 prospects on the team. The Potters Play the Rocks at 6:30pm tonight (Dec 30th) at the Shirk Center on the Illinois Wesleyan campus in Bloomington/Normal. Come cheer on the Potters if you can as they look to win their first SFHC Championship ever. They may not have their ‘Thumb’ back yet, but they are getting some help from some additional fingers and are learning how to win regardless.
