The improbable is not the same as the impossible. But it’s close. Look, over there in the deep left corner. The freshman Abby VanMeenen stands unguarded. Of course she’s alone. No one defends against a 6-foot center deep in a corner. Besides, she’s a freshman who has never put up a 3-point shot that mattered. But there she is, with the ball, alone, and now it matters.

It mattered because the Potters were about the be run out of the building. They were down a dozen, 44-32, in the first seconds of the fourth quarter. Normal Community’s defenders, long, tall, and quick, have made the team a Class 4A state championship contender, coming in on a 10-game winning streak, losers once in 17 games. They thought it was OK to let the big kid play way out there.

What VanMeenen did, left alone, was shoot the thing.

She shot it from behind the arc, way far away from a big’s safe place in the paint, way out there where the little people play. And . . .

. .. BANG!

Impossible, no. Improbable, maybe not. For in the next six minutes, Abby VanMeenen, rookie, did veterans' stuff. At 45-37, she did a spin move in the paint and banged it in off the glass. At 45-39, again. At 47-39, again.

Now it was 47-41, with 2:08 to play, and from there everything happened everywhere all at once with the vice of time closing on everyone, confusion everywhere, teenagers throwing themselves into loose-ball pileups, coaches screaming TIMEOUT!, and one reporter scribbling into his notebook. . . .

“47-43, Iz pass to AVM, LU."

Meaning Izzy Hutchinson got the ball to Abby VanMeenen for a layup. And then . .

“B says stay the course defensively. We’re going jumping and trapping. I’m OK if you get beat, but foul before they shoot.”

Meaning the Potters' coach, Bob Becker, during a timeout, cast the game as a game of seconds, moments, heartbeats even.

At 1:36, VanMeenen again. Driving into the paint. Strong. Up. Bodying into a defender. Gets the two and a free throw. The Potters were down one, 47-46. The scribbler’s note . . .

“Holy cow.”

From there, in the frenzy of a chaotic last 60 seconds, the ball changing hands twice, both teams with a chance to win the State Farm Holiday Classic, neither could get another decent shot. Normal Community closed it out with four free throws, all in the last 21 seconds.

So, a loss by five points? There was only a heartbeat of difference. Down 12 late, the story can get dark. Or not. You can fold. Or not. You can create a better story, a Vince Lombardi story. The old football coach said his Green Bay Packers never lost. Sometimes they just ran out of time to win. Works for this one, too.

It’s December, and both teams will live to play again, but winning the State Farm traditionally has been a suggestion of what can happen in March, in the state tournaments, when it’s win or go home.

“We are a great team,” Bob Becker said afterwards. He stood outside his team’s locker room. His Class 3A team had played four straight nights against 4A teams, losing by a heartbeat only to the best of them. "Our kids put it all on the line. They left it all on the floor. They’re gassed, their bodies are hurting. But they never quit, and that’s the sign of a champion.”

The Potters had won 10 straight. Now 14-4, they next play Friday at Dunlap.

Abby VanMeenen led Morton’s scoring tonight with 18, her career high. Addy Engel had 16 (and was named to the all-tournament team). Izzy Hutchinson had 4, Payton Hays 3, Katie Brock, 2, Ellie VanMeenen 2, and Anja Ruxlow 1.