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It may sound odd with a 24-point difference, but the game Jan. 24 was not as close as the score would indicate.
The Morton girls basketball team throttled Limestone, 48-24, to move closer to its third Mid-Illini Conference championship in the last four years.
The first half was a nearly flawless performance for the Potters, who held the Rockets scoreless for the first 7 minutes, 20 seconds on their Pack the Place Night.
“When we guard like that, I think we can play with anybody,” MHS head coach Bob Becker said.
Morton used crisp ball movement and laser-accurate shooting at Vern Woosley Gymnasium to lead 19-0 in the first quarter.
The girls learned later that night they ascended to No. 2 — the school’s highest ranking ever — from the fourth spot in the new Associated Press Class 3A state poll.
“I love it — it’s super exciting,” said Lexi Ellis of the lofty standing. “That makes us work that much harder as a team.”
Ellis made her first five shots to score all of her 12 points in the opening half.
Morton’s Cortney Allenbaugh had a game-high 14 points. She missed only once from the field.
Allenbaugh scored on an Erin Tisdale assist, then fed Sarah Livingston at the 7:20 mark. After a Kate Byrne steal and basket, it was already 6-0 with just more than a minute expired.
Livingston and Byrne chipped in eight points apiece on the evening.
Limestone did not get a shot off for nearly three minutes and it was 11-0 by that time after an Ellis 3-pointer.
Allenbaugh boosted the Potters to 5-of-5 from the floor at the five-minute mark and forced the Rockets to stop play.
The timeout did little to slow the guests. Ellis hit back-to-back shots 24 seconds apart against a slow-to-react Limestone defense.
Allenbaugh’s third hoop of the period capped a stunning beginning.
Reilly Dunne got the Rockets on the board, finally, with 40 seconds left after a steal.
They added another bucket, but Morton ran off nine points in a row to start the second quarter.
Ellis started and ended the sequence with jumpers, while Byrne and Tisdale added to the onslaught.
Field goals by Byrne and Allenbaugh increased the Potter advantage to 32-6 at halftime as Limestone endured another drought of 4 minutes, 15 seconds leading into the break.
The first-half numbers were astonishing.
For Morton: 14-of-21 (.667) shooting and three players with at least eight points.
It may sound odd with a 24-point difference, but the game Jan. 24 was not as close as the score would indicate.
The Morton girls basketball team throttled Limestone, 48-24, to move closer to its third Mid-Illini Conference championship in the last four years.
The first half was a nearly flawless performance for the Potters, who held the Rockets scoreless for the first 7 minutes, 20 seconds on their Pack the Place Night.
“When we guard like that, I think we can play with anybody,” MHS head coach Bob Becker said.
Morton used crisp ball movement and laser-accurate shooting at Vern Woosley Gymnasium to lead 19-0 in the first quarter.
The girls learned later that night they ascended to No. 2 — the school’s highest ranking ever — from the fourth spot in the new Associated Press Class 3A state poll.
“I love it — it’s super exciting,” said Lexi Ellis of the lofty standing. “That makes us work that much harder as a team.”
Ellis made her first five shots to score all of her 12 points in the opening half.
Morton’s Cortney Allenbaugh had a game-high 14 points. She missed only once from the field.
Allenbaugh scored on an Erin Tisdale assist, then fed Sarah Livingston at the 7:20 mark. After a Kate Byrne steal and basket, it was already 6-0 with just more than a minute expired.
Livingston and Byrne chipped in eight points apiece on the evening.
Limestone did not get a shot off for nearly three minutes and it was 11-0 by that time after an Ellis 3-pointer.
Allenbaugh boosted the Potters to 5-of-5 from the floor at the five-minute mark and forced the Rockets to stop play.
The timeout did little to slow the guests. Ellis hit back-to-back shots 24 seconds apart against a slow-to-react Limestone defense.
Allenbaugh’s third hoop of the period capped a stunning beginning.
Reilly Dunne got the Rockets on the board, finally, with 40 seconds left after a steal.
They added another bucket, but Morton ran off nine points in a row to start the second quarter.
Ellis started and ended the sequence with jumpers, while Byrne and Tisdale added to the onslaught.
Field goals by Byrne and Allenbaugh increased the Potter advantage to 32-6 at halftime as Limestone endured another drought of 4 minutes, 15 seconds leading into the break.
The first-half numbers were astonishing.
For Morton: 14-of-21 (.667) shooting and three players with at least eight points.
For Limestone: 3-of-17 shooting (.176) and 13 turnovers.
“That was a pretty high level of play that first half, things were clicking and we made nice reads,” said Becker.
A Livingston assist to Allenbaugh with 5:50 left in the third quarter gave the Potters their biggest lead of the night, 38-8.
Livingston, who had six points in the frame, and Abbie Cox both bumped the margin back to 29.
The Rockets’ deep reserves connected on some shots in the fourth period, but that did little to ease the pain of being Morton’s latest M-I victim in decisive fashion.
Jessica Armour, who was just 2-of-9 from the floor, paced Limestone with a mere six points.
As the Potters steamroll nearly everyone they play, they still can get better as the postseason nears.
“We always have to challenge ourselves and work on something new,” Ellis said.
MHS 65, Washington 25
The Potters added another bad loss to a tough January for the Lady Panthers.
Morton (23-2, 10-0) has won 15 consecutive games in conference play.
This season, the Potters have won their 10 contests by an average of 23.6 points per game.
Washington is 2-5 this month and overall has lost 12 of its last 16 games.
Morton was ahead 16-1 after one quarter and 34-11 at halftime at Torry Gymnasium.
Livingston and Lady Panther Emily Heuermann shared game scoring honors with 14 points.
Ellis contributed nine points for the Potters and Byrne and Carly Crocker eight apiece.
Abbie Cox had six points for Morton, and two others produced four.
Reminder: The five Morton seniors — Allenbaugh, Ellis, Tisdale, Crocker and Liz Schultz — will be honored Thursday before the varsity tip-off against Canton.
The Potters’ final home game is Feb. 10, which is the same night as Morton’s boys showdown at Washington.
With a victory Tuesday vs. Dunlap, Morton would clinch the outright conference title by defeating the Lady Giants, who entered the week with three M-I wins in a row.
Postseason: Morton is a No. 1 seed in the 3A East Peoria Regional.
The Potters will face either fourth-seeded East Peoria or No. 5 seed Pontiac in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Feb. 15.
The other matchup features No. 2 seed Washington against third-seeded Metamora.
The regional final is set for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17.
