I've made some disparaging comments about ugly basketball, and there were a few games like that Tuesday night. But the Skowhegan-Nokomis game was a gem, decided on Nokomis guard Kara Batchelder's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

It was one of the wilder games you could hope to see. Nokomis frankly outhustled Skowhegan early on, and led 19-6 with about five minutes left in the first half. Skowhegan came right back and by halftime the Nokomis lead was down to 20-18.

The Skowhegan fans thought the score should have been tied at 20 at halftime. In the final seconds of the half, Whitney Jones drove the lane and hit a floater at the buzzer. One official waved off the basket, calling Jones for an offensive foul. To say the Skowhegan fans and coaches were not pleased would be like saying eating a deep-dish pizza with everything is slightly fattening.

I was at the other end of the court, as were the Skowhegan fans (across the court). I agreed with them that Jones didn't commit an offensive foul, but she also took at least four steps without dribbling before she shot the ball. My take was that it shouldn't have been a basket anyway, and Jones didn't come close to fouling out later in the game. So as Chick Hearn would say, "no harm, no foul."

Besides, if Skowhegan fans just focus on that call and the ending (whether Batchelder got her shot off in time was also disputed), they'll overlook some very positive things for the Indians.

For one, Skowhegan made a great comeback after being outplayed for the first 11 minutes. Also, I was very impressed by 6-foot Skowhegan senior Kaley Brown, especially in the second half.

When people think of six-footers, often they automatically expect them to dominate. Well, Brown did in the second half. She really asserted herself and was almost unstoppable in the low post.

Another player who really impressed me was Nokomis guard Mary Badeen. I hadn't seen Badeen play before, and the name didn't ring a bell with me. I was stunned when I saw she's a freshman, because she's the classic case of a freshman who plays with poise beyond her years. Badeen, who stands 5-foot-4, made three 3-pointers in the first half, and the last one at least five feet behind behind the line.