Game 79: South Fulton @ Havana (Girl's Basketball)

Game 79
(2/1/10)
South Fulton @ Havana (Girl's Basketball)

One of the few games that I travel south of Macomb, with a bulk of my schedule in Galesburg, Monmouth, and the Quad Cities. This allowed me to grab a decent dinner, albeit early, but I scarfed down a couple turkey burgers in a quick 30-minute layover at mi casa.

The destination was reached about 5:15, and I recalled a couple Havana moments. One of my most humorous lost moments began in Havana. It was my first year in Macomb, and the routes to different places just hadn't set into my brain yet. I planned on a trip from Macomb to Flanagan, with a stop over in Bloomington. For some reason, I just went straight on through the stoplight in Havana, where Route 136 cuts to the left, and the other highway takes you into Petersburg. I cruised all the way to Petersburg before I realized I was going the wrong way.

Checking my handy road atlas, I discovered I was WAY out of the way. As I cruised up north to hit Route 136, driving through Mason City, I had absolutely no cell phone signal. This was about 2002 or 2003, and remember, not all areas had cell service? Hard to believe that was just 5-10 years ago! As I pulled into San Jose, I stopped at Casey's and used a pay phone. It had been since childhood, when we would make prank calls on pay phones. I asked the lady at the counter how I worked the thing, and she gave me most annoyed look and said, "You put the quarter in....and dial." Wow...okay. You got me, lady! I arrived at Flanagan for the 2nd round playoff game between the Falcons and the Annawan Braves at halftime.

The second memory of Havana came when I was broadcasting B-PC/A Spartans football. It was a rainy and lightning filled night. We went through three delays, and finally got the game finished. The alternative to waiting was making a return trip to Havana the next day. With the late night filled with delays, I forgot all about my coat in the press box. Not until I returned home did I realize the missing jacket. I phoned Havana High School the following Monday, and sure enough, they found my coat in the press box. So...I did have to make a return trip to Havana after all!

Only one other time have I broadcasted a Havana basketball game, and that was in my BPCBroadcaster days, following the Spartans. The last time I was there, I used the back entrance door that takes you right into the stage area at the gym. Tonight, I used the main entrance.

Havana Athletic Director Butch Howarth met me in the gym and showed me my broadcast location at the top of the bleachers. I was much happier with this set up than the stage. Havana has a small low-power radio station (WDUK) that broadcasts games. They set up on the stage. I dislike any stage setups when broadcasting, preferring the mid-court vantage point.

Worry set in, as I started plugging the equipment in. The Behringer mixer board that I use has problems with the power cord, as they do not have long life spans for some reason, and for some strange reason, I decide keep both my good and bad power cords in my equipment bag. One is labeled with duct tape, and I forgot which was which, sure that the taped one was bad. No power to the board, but power to the laptop. Uh Oh! The last time this happened, I fortunately had the radio equipment in the car. I headed back out to the car, and did not have the station equipment. Fortunately, I did have a three-to-two plug-in adapter, for use with the plug in at my broadcast location.

I tried the other power cord, and voila! The wrong one was plugged in, originally. Havana coach Jerry Wilson stopped up and we talked briefly. He handed me a Lady Ducks Basketball t-shirt. The votes had been tallied just prior to the game, and Havana remains ranked (#3) in the IHSSN Coaches poll. Next week will be the final regular season polls, with Regionals beginning next Monday.

The Junior Varsity matchup was a route, with the hosts defeating South Fulton, 49-19. To start the varsity game, a technical foul was issued to South Fulton. I didn't believe it could be for illegal uniforms, with the IHSA issuing waivers that could be turned in. Apparently, South Fulton didn't turn in a waiver. Coach Wilson didn't want a technical to be assessed, but the officiating crew said they had to call it. Havana did not attempt either free throw, but had posession to start the game. That posession ended up a turnover.

After the game, I talked with A.D. Butch Howarth, who said that they even measured the uniforms before the games. The lettering was 3/4" a the top and bottom, which is not legal. It needs to be at least an inch. The South Fulton jerseys are extremely hard to read as it is, with dark green lettering over purple jerseys.

I called it "Julie Snider Night", because Havana celebrated Senior Night against the Rebels. Julie Snider is the lone senior on the Ducks roster. There were some Havana students who wore black T-shirts, with each of them donning a letter on the front, spelling out J-U-L-I-E.

The Ducks got off to an extremely slow start, turning the ball over seven times in the first quarter. Despite that, Havana trailed by just two points (12-10) heading into the second quarter. Havana started to cut into the deficit through the second quarter. Late in the second quarter, trailing (23-20), the Ducks subbed in sophomore Jessica Patton. On the first posession, Patton showed she had ice water in her veins knocking down a three-pointer to tie it up (23-23). At that point, the Rebels made a slight run themselves, scoring the next four points taking a (27-25) at halftime.

Havana won the third quarter (16-11), and both teams started to get into foul trouble. Just 0:30 into the second half, Ducks sophomore Samantha Ellsworth picked up her third foul. Ellsworth was coming off a 24-point output in a win over Knoxville on Saturday. It was back-and-forth for the next eight minutes, with the Ducks starting to take the momentum down the stretch of the third quarter, and leading by three (41-38) at the end of the third.

The hosts took control of the game in the fourth quarter, making free throws, and not allowing any offensive rebounds. Macy Brown was a load in the fourth quarter, pulling down several rebounds. Brown finished with 14 points, but most importantly, went (10-11) from the free throw line. Krista McClure hit a couple of layups, and Samantha Ellsworth knocked down a three-pointer, as Havana outscored South Fulton 21-10 in the fourth quarter. The Ducks went (11-14) from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. Havana finished (21-28) from the line, while South Fulton went (11-23).

South Fulton committed 15 turnovers, while Havana ended with 14. The Ducks committed just seven turnovers in the last three quarters of the game. Joining Brown in double-digit scoring was Samantha Ellsworth (13), and Krista McClure (11). South Fulton was paced by Carly Beebe (14) and Tiffany Churchill (12).

The Quest File Notes
Game 79
Date: 2/1/10
Result: Havana storms back after slow start, defeating South Fulton 62-48
Miles: 152