Metamora 63, Lady Potters 56

Thirty-seven seconds into this one, Bob Becker, the Morton coach, called timeout. He had seen already what he had hoped to see not at all. The first time Metamora touched the ball, #22, whose name is Camryn Youngquist, discovered no one defending against her. So she put up a 3-pointer from the left side. Bang!

And “TIMEOUT!”

Becker said it in capital letters with an exclamation point. You know a coach is in a mood when a coach calls TIMEOUT! 37 seconds into a game. After delivering a talking-to to his Potters, Becker returned to his seat. On the way, he could be heard muttering, “Unbelievable,” for he had warned his defenders about #22.

Morton scored the next five points. But at 6:19 of the first quarter, #22 threw in another 3-pointer, causing Becker to look for possible defenders on the bench, and send in two new players who might remember they had been told to be near Miss Youngquist anytime she gets the ball.

Miss Youngquist’s second 3 put Metamora ahead 6-5 – and from there, as Becker would say later, “We dug ourselves a hole.”

How deep a hole? It measured 18-by-1. An 18-1 hole, and I will wait while you look at those numbers again. Yes, unusual numbers, discouraging numbers, 18 and 1, numbers that took shape when Miss Youngquist’s second 3-pointer began a six-minute run in which Metamora scorched the Potters, 18-1, for a 21-6 lead. A holeuva deep hole.

To the Potters’ credit, through the second quarter they climbed up the sides of the hole and were within a point at 25-24. They did it on a 16-2 run with Ellie VanMeenen and Addy Engel scoring six points apiece and Izzy Hutchinson adding a 3-pointer.

It was still a game to be won or lost a minute into the third quarter. Metamora led 30-27. It is one of Becker’s bedrock coaching beliefs that his teams can win if they dominate the first three minutes of the third quarter. But tonight, after Morton opened with an Engel 3, Metamora went on a 9-0 run.

Here, someone (me) could be heard muttering, “Uh-oh,” for Metamora, in those three minutes, showed what happens when one team is bigger, stronger, more physical, and is also very good at moving the ball to where it wants it before a defender gets there. Of Metamora’s next seven field goals that opened up a 46-33 lead late in the third quarter, six came on layups and a put-back. Guess where the seventh bucket came from?

Yep, from way out there, #22 again, and Becker would say, “We let #22 get three rhythm 3’s.” While that was not the least of the Potters’ problems tonight — rebounding may have been — when you lose by seven and you give up nine to #22, that’s a muttering problem.

The Potters got as close as six points only in the last minute when the issue had long been decided.

Metamora is now 6-3 overall, 1-1 in the Mid-Illini Conference. Morton is 6-2, 1-1.

Morton’s scoring:

Tatym Lamprecht 17, Engel 13, VanMeenen 13, Abbey Pollard 6, Hutchinson 6, Ruby Brubaker 1.