Norman High’s girls basketball team hosted a super scrimmage at the NHS Gym Saturday, a six-hour event that featured some of the top teams in the state.

Besides the Tigers, perennial state title contenders themselves, the scrimmage field included other Class 6A contenders Midwest City, Del City, Tulsa Union and Enid.

The largest class in the state wasn’t the only one represented at the scrimmage, though. Washington, Woodward, Claremore-Sequoyah and Bishop McGuinness rounded out the field.

“It was a day of great competition,” NHS coach Matilda Mossman said. “There were some great athletes here today. We had great parent involvement, them running things. Our kids were great helping out.”

The regular season begins Tuesday, Nov. 27, at Lawton. But the Tigers have been on the court for a while now.

Saturday’s scrimmage let them know a little more about themselves and where they’re at as the regular season approaches.

“Every scrimmage was competitive, so hopefully our kids learned that when they practice every day you need to create the right habits,” Mossman said. “When you play good teams, they can exploit your weaknesses. And if you haven’t made it urgent to correct those things in practice, they show up in games.”

Mossman was happy with the level of competition Saturday. Having her squad match up against some of the better teams in the state gives NHS players and coaches a better idea of what to work on.

“When you play teams that you just blow out, it doesn’t teach you much,” Mossman said. “But when you play teams that hurt you when you make a mistake, you learn a lot. I’ll take quality competition any day.”

The Tigers were one win short of advancing to the state tournament last season. They made it to the state semifinals in 2005-2006 and won the state championship in 2004-2005.

This year they bring back two major scoring threats — senior guard Sasha King and junior forward Ashley Bruner.

But Saturday’s scrimmage allowed Mossman to see some other people contribute. Namely, senior Lacy Ramon, as well as Ramon and King’s younger sisters.

“Our two freshmen, Kamra King and Jeannie Ramon, were outstanding today,” Mossman said. “We know we have seven or eight players that are going to contribute on a nightly basis, and it’s just a matter of matchups to decide who’s going to play more.”

Jeff Johncox

366-3535