By Jeff Johncox
OKLAHOMA CITY -- No one really expected it to be a blowout.
Norman High and Sapulpa have had some big games in recent years, and though Friday's Lady Jaguar Classic semifinal meeting wasn't as important as the 2007 and 2008 state semifinal contests (both won by the Chieftains), it was still supposed to be one of those benchmark games that showed where each program sat in the Class 6A heirarchy.
Well, the Tigers proved they belong at No. 2, and the Chieftains showed why they're in rebuilding mode, as NHS ran away with a 68-40 victory at Westmoore.
"I think the first 16 minutes was maybe as dominating as we've played all year," NHS coach Matilda Mossman said. "Everything was functioning, our defense became our offense and we didn't do much wrong that entire first half."
This isn't the first chance NHS has had to earn some revenge for those semifinal losses, or the 2008 Lady Jaguar Classic loss to Sapulpa in the championship game.
Last year, the Tigers beat the Chieftains in the fifth-place game of the Fort Smith (Ark.) Tournament of Champions.
But Friday's victory was a much different kind of win.
It sent a message.
On the way out of the gym, a Carl Albert fan (the Titans play NHS in the championship game today at 6 p.m.) shook her head as she walked out at halftime, with NHS up 38-11, and said "Oh, man, we have to play Norman."
"We knew Sapulpa was good, and we knew we had to come out and play hard," said Tiger guard Kamra King, who scored a game-high 24 points, 12 in the first quarter. "We knew we had to keep it up all game, and we did ... We just never lost our momentum. It was a very good game."
The Tigers dominated from the start, defensively, offensively, on the boards and even off the bench.
NHS (10-1) outscored Sapulpa 18-4 in the first quarter, and once again, Jeannie Ramon was all over the stat sheet.
Ramon finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, eight blocked shots and five assists, and Chelsea Key added 12 points and four assists.
"We scored a lot of points and shared the ball well," King said. "Our key was stopping them in transition, and we did exactly that."
The Chieftains (2-2) got a few things going in the third quarter as April Glisson came off the bench and scored nine of her team-high 11 points in the period.
But it was way too little, too late, and for the third straight game NHS was able to get the entire bench extended playing time.
Now the Tigers get ready for the Titans, who have some post presence and will likely put up a bigger fight.
"Tonight, we were the bigger team," Mossman said. "Tomorrow, (Carl Albert) will be the bigger team. We just have to make adjustments and do what we do."
Jeff Johncox 366-3535 jjohncox@normantranscript.com
