By Michael Kinney
HARRAH-- It was going to take a near perfect game for Southmoore to upset Norman High Saturday. With a trip to the Class 6A state tournament on the line, the SaberCats would have to raise their game to another level.
And for a half, that is what they did. However, No. 3 Norman turned the tables on Southmoore in the second half on their way to a 60-35 win in the Area tournament at Harrah High.
"When Norman smells blood, they got you," Southmoore coach Mark Harmon said. "They attack and next thing you know, you are down 20. That's what good teams do. They compete, play hard and they have done that for years. They are going to make a deep run in state playoffs."
The loss ended the SaberCats (8-20) season two weeks later than many thought it would have closed out. After a subpar regular season, they found a way to scratch out victories against No. 6 Lawton and defending state champions Del City. They also took No. 4 Edmond Santa Fe deep into the fourth quarter of their regional championship game before falling.
"I'm proud of my team," Harmon said. "Nobody thought we were going to be here today. Nobody did. But we did. And we believe in them. And they believed in themselves."
Unfortunately for Southmoore, they met up with team that not only believed in themselves, but had more experienced talent than they did. NHS (21-5) was playing for its seventh consecutive trip to the state tournament.
Yet, when the game began, it was difficult to tell which squad was making their first appearance at this level.
Southmoore stayed in the game early due to the inside play of Kaylan Haywood and Sidney Cook. They trailed 12-10 after one quarter.
"It was real tough," Cook said. "We came in off a good win off of Del City. We hung with them in the first quarter. They just wanted it more and they rebounded better than us."
The Cats' best chance at taking down Norman started at the point guard. Sophomore Reagan Widener had the task of shadowing Kamra King, who has been the team's barometer all year.
While Widener held King to 10 points, she founds ways to keep her team out of trouble. They committed only seven turnovers in the game.
NHS expanded its lead to 25-16 by halftime.
"Norman is a great team and they have a great coach over there. They are so good defensively," Harmon said. "Every time Cook caught it in the post, she was doubled and tripled team. And everybody else rotated over. They are just so physical. And Kamra King is such a stud. (Jeannie) Ramon is tough inside."
The rest of the game belong to the Tigers. They dominated the boards, on defense and the hustle plays. But more than anything, it was their experience that came to the forefront and shutdown the youthful Cats in the second half.
"I wasn't real happy with our energy coming out of halftime," Harmon said. "It was only a nine point game at halftime. We have overcome bigger than that this year. I would've like our energy to be a little bit better."
Jordan Franks scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards to go with two steals and two assists to pace the Tigers. Ramon had 13 points and five rebounds.
Cook, who was surrounded by defenders much of the game, collected nine points ad four rebounds. Kayla Tucker dropped in seven points.
While Norman prepares for state, the Cats have already started think about next season and what they need to do to make it past this level.
"We have to work on shooting, dribbling, ball-handling," Cook said. "All the fundamentals. We are not really fundamentally sound. And the better team was."
Southmoore should returns its entire starting lineup. They lose senior Rosa Meadows, who had a strong postseason.
"We lose one senior and we get all these guys back," Harmon said. "When three out of your four leading scorers are freshman and sophomores, that can be a bright future. And that's what we will look for in the offseason. We got a taste of it. We are hungry for it. We are going to commit ourselves to getting stronger and faster. We will be ready for next year."
