Tiger girls roll

Michael Kinney
The Norman Transcript

January 09, 2009 01:42 am

— OKLAHOMA CITY — As most of the area residents settled in to watch Oklahoma play for a national championship in football, the Norman High girls were making sure fans didn’t forget it was basketball season.
In the first round of the Lady Jaguar Classic, the second-ranked Tigers thrashed Mustang 66-20 at Westmoore. Though they had the Broncos overmatched from the opening tip-off, NHS coach Matilda Mossman was not impressed with her team’s performance.
“We had a hard time getting into rhythm,” Mossman said. “We missed a lot of shots.”
The Tigers were able to light up the scoreboard, but it was their defense that had the Broncos perplexed. With 4 minutes left in the first half, Mustang had only two points. Chelsea Key, Laren Vanderpool and Kamra King keyed the defensive surge as they pressured the opposing guards all over the court.
The Tigers led 25-6 at half-time.
NHS kept up the pressure in the second half and didn’t let Mustang make things close.
Nikki Woodward scored eight points to lead Mustang. The Tigers’ Jeannie Ramon had a game-high 14 points. Ashley Bruner added 11 and King scored 10.
NHS will face Putnam City North at 5:15 today in the tournament semifinals. The Panthers knocked off No. 8 Sapulpa 52-49 in overtime to secure a spot.
“P.C. North is the hot team right now,” Mossman said. “They beat Edmond Memorial this week and now Sapulpa … two wins against top-10 teams. We have to play much, much better.”
Carl Albert 46,
Westmoore 34
The Jaguars fell behind 11-2 in the first quarter and were on their way to being blown out in the first round of their own tournament. But they were able to get within three points at halftime behind the post play of Kabria Harker and Alex Gary.
However, in the second half, Carl Albert turned its defense up and pulled away late.
The Titans were led by junior Kylie Mayes, who posted 17 points in the victory. Madison Tollison added 14 and Jourdan Clark chipped in 12.
Harker paced the Jags with 10 points. Gary and Emille Walker each scored eight.
“With the exception of the first 5 to 6 minutes, I thought we did pretty good,” Westmoore coach Andrea Guziec said. “We panicked and didn’t do well.”
Westmoore faces Lawton Eisenhower at 2:15 p.m. today in the consolation round.
The Eagles fell to top-ranked Booker T. Washington 57-34. They face the Titans in the second semifinal at 6:45 p.m.

Transcript Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — Norman High coach Wes Clark knew it would be a tall order for his squad, facing a highly-respected McGuinness squad on its home floor.
And the Tigers were almost up to the challenge, pushing the Irish to the edge and then some before finally falling 57-53 in double overtime in the opening round of the McGuinness Classic.
“It was a great effort from the guys. We felt like it would be a real challenge for the guys to go in and start the tournament against the host team on their floor,” Clark said. “It was an outstanding game. I am really pleased with our effort.”
Brock Vorwald showed the way for the Tigers (2-5) with 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Jaques Murray added 14 points and Colton Coale 11 points and five assists.
The Tigers got the final shot of regulation but missed, then played even for the first extra period before good foul shooting at the end gave the Irish the victory.
Clark is pleased with NHS’s improvement. The Tigers dropped their first four games of the season before wins against Norman North before the holiday break and at Moore Tuesday in the first game back.
The Tigers face Edmond North today at 2:30 p.m. in the consolation bracket.
Girls
El Reno Invitational
Norman North 37,
Yukon 36
EL RENO — Mariah Turner’s three-point play in the closing seconds was the difference as North knocked off Yukon 37-36 to advance to the semifinals of the El Reno Invitational.
With her team trailing 36-34, Turner was fouled as she scored a basket with 18 seconds to go. The ensuing free throw put the T-Wolves ahead, and a defensive stop on Yukon’s final trip down preserved the victory.
“It was typical great defense. That’s been our identity all year, just getting after people,” North coach Jeff Blough said.
Turner and Payge Wilson paced North with 11 points each. Kiana Moridi added seven off the bench.
North improved to 6-3 on the season, a big improvement from the 1-8 mark they had at this time last year.
The T-Wolves face Class 5A No. 4 Harrah at 8 p.m. tonight in the semifinals.