Game Log 1/8/2008: Great game tonight

Girls freshman tonight--two great programs from opposite sides of the city. It was a tremendous ballgame in just about every way it could be. My partner, a relative newbie, did fine (although I wish he'd have brought in more subs...I had to watch for that all the time). First half featured exactly nine fouls! We flew through it. The second was about as good. Coaches mostly stayed quiet (one minor chirp from one coach). Players played. It was outstanding ball, and my partner and I were good in it (although it would have been a tough game to screw up).

With about 5 minutes left, the teams realized they were in a tight game, and suddenly the game got a little ragged as players got excited. We were there--calling appropriate travels and fouls. I think I kicked one with two minutes left, unfortunately...I called a player out of bounds on a save, but in retrospect, I'm not sure she was. The problem was that I was too close to the line and the player, so I couldn't see the ball and her feet at the same time. No big whoop.

Then it came...The Weird Situation Late In The Close Game.

Blue, leading by a bucket, has the ball with thirty seconds left. White plays great D. They're out by White's bench with the shot clock ticking down. Here's what I heard:

"TIME OUT!" BUZZ. TWEET!

The tweet was mine. And man, did I sell that call.

"ONE ON THE SHOT CLOCK! TIME OUT BLUE! ONE ON THE SHOT CLOCK! TIME OUT BLUE!"

I'm 99% sure I got it right. I knew the time out was called before the shot clock buzzer, so I gave it to her. (Why the offense would want to call time out in that situation is another question, of course, but not of concern to me.)

I managed that sucker late, checking with table, chatting with partner, showing I was in control. It was WONDERFUL.

White, alas, didn't get a shot off, losing the ball with a few seconds left. Then came what was Almost A Hugely Ballsy And Unpopular Call.

Blue threw the ball a couple of times as White said to foul. White chased the player down, and managed to get a hand on her back. Almost nothing, but in a situation where I know they want to foul, I want to get the first one. It's a damn good thing I did, too, because right as I called that one, White gave the player a two-hand push in the back. I would have had to call that an intentional, and with three seconds left, White would have been enraged (and I would have been right). But the hand on the back saved it.

Best of all...the assignor was there. He said it was a great game and that my feet were a bit in cement. He's right on both counts...I could have worked the arc more as trail. But it was a helluva fun night.

GOOD: Management, call selection, reffed defense
WORK ON: Movement as trail, depth as lead
NEXT: Freshman boys on Thursday.