The Morton Lady Potters (19-1, 8-0) won games #18 and #19 of the season on Saturday, January 14th. Two hard fought wins against two solid opponents that tested the Potters. I’ll talk about those two wins in just a bit, but first I want to point to ‘The Man’ that has cultivated this Morton program into a juggernaut of Illinois high school basketball. On this day, Potter varsity head coach Bob Becker (Coach Becker to most) achieved his 400th win at the helm of the Lady Potter program. 85 of those wins coming in the last 92 games and along with those 85 wins came 2 straight IHSA State Championships and an avalanche of memories.
Coach Becker told his team, after the 400th win, that he looks at the 400 wins as a “milestone”, but it’s those memories with his players, fellow coaches and the teams that fires his passion for coaching he indicated. I don’t think there is any doubt that it’s that unquenchable passion for his teams that makes Coach Becker most unique among high school basketball coaches in the game today and it’s one of the primary things that makes him the best in the business.
Coaching the Potters for 18 years, Coach Becker has developed a keen insight into what it takes for teams to be competitive and play Championship basketball. He has developed a winning tradition and culture that has been passed down from team to team. Asking players to approach games with a “Humble Swagger” and drilling into them the importance of “Sisterhood” are a reflection of his own personality and his passion for this program he has built, with the help of long time assistant coach and friend Bill Davis.
Congrats to Coach Becker, Coach Davis and all the players, coaches and fans that have helped reach this milestone. May #500 get here in record time.
Now for a recap of those two games I refer to in the opening sentence. The Morton Lady Potters (19-1, 8-0) began play in the Martin Luther King Galesburg Classic Tournament Saturday morning. The Potters defeated Lincoln Way Central 54-40 in the A.M. and defeated Normal University High 48-40 in the P.M. for wins #18 and #19 on the season. In fact it was their 3rd victory in under 24 hours.
Coming off of their Friday evening win over Mid-Illini Conference rival Metamora (50-33), the Lady Potters laced them back up Saturday morning for their first game of the MLK tournament vs Lincoln Way Central (LWC). LWC, team from the Chicago suburbs, had some size and muscle in the post and a few guards that could shoot well from the perimeter.
They jumped on the Potters early hitting some early threes and getting the ball inside as well. Before the Potters could wipe the sleep out of their eyes, they found themselves trailing until about midway through the second quarter. Then, they woke up and went on a 38-4 run that turned the lights out for LWC. The Potters did it primarily by cranking up their intensity on both ends of the floor.
The afternoon game was against that all too familiar rival, Normal U-High. You know, that team that the Potters beat in double over time in the State Farm Classic a couple weeks ago. Yes, that one. Well the Potters took control a little earlier this time around, though this time they had someone named Brandi Bisping playing with them. Brandi was cleared to play this week after several weeks off due to mononucleosis, but has been easing back into the rotations until she is 100%.
The Potters jumped out to an 11 point lead early in the game, but UHigh kept clawing and scratching and rebounding their way back into the game. I think I mentioned before that UHigh does one thing exceptionally well, and that is rebound the basketball. They are also a tough team made up of primarily seniors. All 5 of UHigh’s starters from last year are back this year with a lot more experience. Well, not to break the tradition of closely contested contests between the Potters and the Pioneers, the Pioneers cut the lead to 4 late in the game. The Potters took care of the ball, made their free throws and won this one by 8. In regulation.
The Lady Potters started the week 15-1, ranked #1 in the State of Illinois in Class 3A in the most current AP Poll and undefeated in Mid-Illini Conference play 6-0. With 2 Mid-Illini road victories this week, over Washington 49-31 and Metamora, and the two wins on Saturday, the Potters will likely maintain the #1 ranking and their first place position in the Mid-Illini at 8-0. The Potters continue play in the Martin Luther King Tournament on Monday afternoon (January 16th), when they take on the tournament hosts, Galesburg High School in Galesburg at 2pm.
