Coach Angie Waddell’s West basketball team had all they could handle for three quarters before pulling away to defeat Central Cabarrus 71-61 here Friday night.

West needed the victory to capture the South Piedmont Conference championship with a 13-3 record, because second-place Northwest Cabarrus edged Piedmont 61-56 in double overtime to finish at 12-4.

West will also be the SPC’s top seed for next week’s conference tournament and the league’s No. 1 team for the state 3A playoffs the following week. If Northwest had tied West for the title, the Trojans would have gained the No. 1 seed by virtue of two regular-season wins over West.

It was the school’s sixth conference title in history and the fifth in eight years, but the first for Waddell in her three years as head coach. Her previous two teams tied for second.

“I’m just happy for the girls. Mainly, I’m happy for Mr. (Henry) Kluttz, our principal. He’s very supportive. And I’m happy for West Rowan. The girls worked really hard. I’m glad for the seniors. It’s always good to end up being No. 1,” she said.

Waddell said she didn’t have to say much to her team, now 18-5 overall, about the importance of the game against Central, which wound up 6-6 in the league (fifth-place tie) and 11-9 overall.

“They pretty much knew what was on the line, and they knew it was their last (regular-season) game,” said Waddell. “They knew what they had to do in order to win. I thought we showed a lot of maturity the second half considering the foul trouble that we were in. It’s hard when the officiating goes not to your advantage, so to speak.”

West had to battle through foul trouble when forward Kate Goodman and center Shameeka Wansley left the lineup with three fouls in the second quarter. Both sat out the third quarter.

West played well without the two starters in the third quarter, but it was still close with the Falcons up 44-41.

“Jenny (Sloop) and Red (Danielle Scearce) stepped up and got our rebounds for us and were open in the post,” said point guard Kari Schenk, who led West’s scoring with 24 points. “We can depend on them just as easily as we can depend on Kate and Shameeka. That (Goodman and Wansley’s fouls) wasn’t that much of a worry. We just knew they were coming in in the fourth quarter.”

Goodman (five points, two steals) and Wansley (seven points, four rebounds) were factors as West broke it open at the end.

Forward Sara Pieper, a major factor all night (17 points, five rebounds and three assists), put the finishing touches on a 9-0 run with two baskets that put West up 55-42 with 5:40 to play.

“This one was hard, because we wanted it so bad,” said Pieper, who played at Kannapolis A. L. Brown as a freshman, then transferred to West. “I’ve never won a championship. ... We just wanted the conference so bad. We wanted it all on our own, and we got it.”

“I wanted it real bad,” echoed Schenk, a senior who won her first conference title as a freshman in the old Yadkin Valley Conference. Two years ago, we came out here and lost to Central and lost first place. Being my senior year, that was my goal to get the conference championship and whatever else, if it comes, it comes.”

Schenk and Pieper played the entire game. They carried the Falcons to a 28-24 halftime lead, scoring a combined 22 points.

“Kari: I was so pleased with her performance. She did not let up one single bit at all. Sara: She played every minute too as well. She did a lot of good things offensively too. Kari did a lot of good things as far as scoring and keeping us in the game defensively,” said Waddell.

Schenk, whose quickness and ballhandling forced Central into a transition game, was 9-for-17 on field goals with two 3-pointers and 4-for-6 at the foul line. Pieper, who consistently hurt the Vikings with a variety of shots in the lane, finished 8-for-14 from the floor and 1-for-2 on free throws.

“The first half you could tell we put pressure a little bit on ourselves,” said Waddell. “It was a tense first half. Central wanted to win just as bad as we did. ... I think we were more relaxed the fourth quarter. It was beginning to show that they were having more fun.”

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NOTES: West shot 50.9 percent from the floor, going 28-for-55, while Central was 18-for-48 (37.5 percent). ... The Vikings kept it close by missing only one free throw through three quarters and finished a sizzling 25-for-28 at the foul line. West was 12-for-21. ... Central had a 27-24 rebound edge. ... Serlethea Smith paced the Vikings with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. ... Guard Kristen McNeely had five steals for the winners.

WEST ROWAN (71) — Pieper 17, Goodman 11, Wansley 7, McNeely 2, Schenk 24, Sloop 4, Scearce 6.

CENTRAL CABARRUS (61) —Van De Venter 6, Smith 18, McLaughlin 9, Miller 9, Morris 4, Johnston, Hardin 7, Killough, Woodward 8.

West Rowan 15 13 16 27 — 71