Super Saturday arrives

21 teams, top talent join host Freedom in scrimmage

By: Tommy Fleming | Morganton News Herald
Published: November 12, 2009

Morganton --

Are you ready for some basketball?
Then the hot spot this weekend is the 6th annual Super Saturday basketball extravaganza hosted by Freedom High.
The Lady Patriots have invited 21 talented girls basketball teams to Burke County for an action packed day of nothing but pure basketball.
In fact, all 22 teams participated in their respective state high school playoffs during the 2008-09 season.
The field includes defending NCHSAA 1A champion Bishop McGuinness (Kernersville), 3A runners-up Forestview, 3A semifinalist T.C. Roberson (now a 4A school) and 3A quarterfinalists Concord and Statesville.
The 4A schools include state semifinalist Butler High (30-2 last season), state semifinalist East Mecklenburg (25-5) as well as South Caldwell, Harding, McDowell, A.C. Reynolds, R.J. Reynolds and Mt. Tabor.
The exceptional field also includes three out-of-state schools — Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), Dorman (S.C.) High and Potters House Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Fla.).
Providence Day High (Charlotte), a NCISAA member, will be participating also. The Lady Chargers have won four of the previous five state 3A crowns.
"We have brought in some good quality teams prior to the regular season getting started. This is exciting as we have players from across the state of North Carolina and three out-of-state schools joining us this season," Freedom head coach Amber Fox said.
"It is going to be a great day of competition where the players get some college exposure. I have a data base of more than 400 colleges that have been invited — including every one in the state of North Carolina."
Fox anticipates somewhere between 60-80 colleges will be represented on Saturday including commitments from North Carolina, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lees-McRae, Mars Hill, Delaware, Memphis and St. Johns.
Each school will be participating in three different events. Each scrimmage will consist of two 17-minute halves with a continuous running clock. The final two minutes of the game will be conducted just like the final 120 seconds in a real contest. Each of the 33 scrimmage games will conducted by certified officials.
"We started with eight teams the first year then moved to 16 teams the third year," Fox said. "We had 20 teams last season and have grown to 22 this time around."
The cost of an all-day bracelet is $5 (kids 8 and under are admitted free) which includes admission to any of the three gymnasiums — the Freedom main gym, the Freedom auxiliary gym and the Table Rock Middle School gym. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. and will continue until approximately 6 p.m.
Freedom, led by senior Chelsea Connelly will collide with Wilkes Central (10:40 a.m.), RJ Reynolds (2:50 p.m.) and Bishop McGuinness (5:20 p.m.). All three will take place in the main gym.
"Our goal for in the Super Saturday scrimmages is to compete in each game while focusing on our defense and rebounding. On offense, I am looking for the girls to focus on running the floor. This will help to point out our weaknesses as we head into the regular season," added Fox. "This is a fundraiser for our program. We use the money raised with our travel expenses, purchasing jerseys and to offset fees sending players to basketball camps."