Same Old News: Morton’s Lady Potters beat Metamora again, this time 50-27.

New News: I can get to Metamora.

From my house, you turn left, right, left and right again to reach Rt. 117. There you go north in the night past cornfields emptied by monster combines. One will come at you raising a dust storm because its right-side wheels are off the road, and in the night’s blackness its blinking lights make it look like a scary Battleship Galactica. You roll through downtown Eureka and its snowflake Christmas lights hung with good cheer. Take a left at Rt. 116 past a farmhouse with Christmas trees downstairs and upstairs. In Metamora take a right on Lafayette Street down to Madison Street and the high school’s parking lot.

At last, after seven years lost in the Mid-Illini wilderness, I now can leave home and get to Metamora. I no longer worry about winding up in Roanoke. I no longer wonder if I should’ve gone left on Rt. 24 at Eureka’s town square. No, no, Christopher Columbus, that gets you to Washington. (I think.)

Anyway, $2 for a hot dog, $2 for water, $2 for a ticket and I’m in the fourth row in Metamora’s spiffy little gym. I’m such an old hand now – hey, I found the place! – I’m expecting to see what I’ve seen every year for seven years. By my count, the Morton High School Lady Potters had won seven straight times at Metamora. With seven more victories in the Potterdome, Morton came to this night having beaten Metamora 14 straight times.

Make it 15.

Morton 50, Metamora 27 was what we have learned to expect,which is to say we don’t expect much of a game because one team is usually better than the other in every respect. The only difference this time was that the Potters usually make their first Metamora game part of a season-opening winning streak, streaks that have reached 13, 11, and 14 in the last three seasons. But tonight the Potters came to Metamora off a 53-45 loss in their fourth game of the year, beaten by Peoria Richwoods last Saturday.

So how would the Potters respond?

They responded by pitching a shutout for a quarter. They led, 10-0, and Morton coach Bob Becker told his team, “Hey, great defense. Anytime you hold ‘em to zero, that’s pretty good.”

Meanwhile, the Potters’ full-court press left Metamora so frazzled it committed nine turnovers in that first period. Lindsey Dullard began Morton’s scoring 20 seconds in with a driving 6-footer. She followed with a layup created by a Tenley Dowell steal. Josi Becker made two free throws. After Dowell dropped in an 8-footer, she converted another steal into a breakaway layup.

It was 10-zip when, from my fourth-row seat, I noticed the Morton coaches laughing.

Shouting to their players simultaneously, they had called out different timing of a play to run at quarter’s end.

Becker: “Run ‘snap’ at 12 seconds.”

Davis: “Run ‘snap’ at 11.”

Becker looked at Davis, Davis looked at Becker, and they broke up. After 18 seasons together, they’re so much on the same page that when they disagree, they disagree by one second.

A desultory, poor-shooting second quarter left Morton with a 19-12 halftime lead. They came to life in the third quarter, beginning it with a 12-0 run. Caylie Jones started with a layup, Dullard followed with back-to-back 3’s (one from the deep left corner, one from the top), Josi Becker added another 3, and Dowell a free throw.

That 12-0 run was the kind of game-decider that was the signature of the Potters’ state championship teams the last three seasons. In less than 5 minutes, they’d thrown in 3 3-pointers that had Metamora reeling. It was, however, Morton’s only bright moment of the night offensively. A team with five or six good 3-point shooters managed only four 3’s against a team it has beaten 15 straight times and is likely to beat another 15 straight times.

Dullard led Morton’s scorers with 12, Dowell had 11, Josi Becker and Caylie Jones 10 each, Maddy Becker 5, and Courtney Jones 2.

Morton is now 4-1 for the season, Metamora is 3-3.