Game 10: Lewistown vs. North Fulton (Girl's)

Game 10
Lewistown vs. North Fulton (Girl's)
Fulton County Tournament
(11/18/10)

Greg Bennett has to be one of the busiest coaches in the state of Illinois. Not only is his girl's basketball team hosting the Fulton County Tournament, but he spends his afternoons as the defensive coordinator of a Semi-Finalist football team. Bennett practices with the football teams, followed by girl's basketball practice, or like tonight, a game.



When I arrived in the gym, I was met by Lewistown softball coach Joey McLaughlin. It took me a second to realize who he was, as he has grown out a Fu Manchu.

I mentioned time management in the previous blog entry. When strapped for time, it's very crucial that even the most trivial things in life get done in a timely fashion, because every minute counts.

That includes bathroom breaks. Remember the afternoon cups of joe? The bottle of water? It all hit me just before tip-off of the nightcap between Lewistown and North Fulton.

My first realization that I needed a bathroom break was with just over 4:00 on the pre-game clock. I thought that may be stretching it before getting on the air, so I should wait it out. Bad idea.

By the time the clock reached under 2:00, I realized I had made a mistake. This will be a long two quarters of basketball, no matter how fast it goes by. The first quarter went by reasonably fast, even with my nervous dancing and standing and sitting to make myself more comfortable. By halftime, it was a tie game at 25-25, and I quickly made my way to the men's room. I must not have been the only one holding it in, since I had to wait once inside. Since I feel compelled to share my bathroom break stories, I will make time to mention that a great magazine to have in the lavatory is Psychology Today. A great read. At any rate, that's enough bathroom talk for one blog.

North Fulton was hitting from the outside, and they finished with seven three-pointers. Of course, since I follow the Galesburg girl's the entire season, that's a low watermark. But...the Wildcats didn't attempt 60 three's tonight, either.

The teams battled through the third quarter, and Lauren Baker hit a three-pointer for North Fulton to tie the game at 41-41 heading into the final frame. Lewistown jumped out to several leads in the 4th quarter, but North Fulton kept chipping into that lead.

The Indians were helped out my a flagrant foul in the final few seconds that sent Rachel Bull to the free throw line. She made both free throws to give Lewistown a three-point lead. Bull finished with a game-high 15 points. She was later fouled and made a free throw to set the final score at 53-49. Kristyn LeGrande scored 14 points for the host Indians. Nichole Cattron led North Fulton with 14 points.

Instead of driving through towns like Maquon, Rapatee, Fiatt, and Fairview, I opted for the trip through Cameron, London Mils, Blyton, and New Philadelphia.

Did You Know: If I kept my pace for the week one schedule of broadcasts, that I would broadcast 288 high school basketball games this season?

By the Numbers
Miles Driven: 372
Players Watched: 245
Teams Seen: 20
Towns Driven Through: 14
Games Broadcasted: 10
Technical Fouls: 3



Game 10 Miles: 36