“Watch No. 10! Guard No. 10! Stay with No. 10!”

The Vikings girls tried to do all three in their first-round South Piedmont Conference tournament opener at East Rowan Monday night.

They tried — but they couldn’t do it.

No. 10 belonged to Nicole Loggins, who burned Central for a career-high 29 points in East’s 67-58 victory.

It propels the Mustangs (18-7) into the next round against cross county rival West Rowan Wednesday night at Kannapolis. And the Mustangs can’t wait.

“That’s who we wanted to play,” said senior point guard Brooke Misenheimer. “West and East are such big rivals. We’re excited.”

There was nothing exciting about the first five minutes of Tuesday’s game for Randy Bingham’s club. East missed its first nine shots and trailed 3-2. The Central press was giving the Mustangs trouble.

But that’s when Loggins, who admittedly has been in a long shooting slump, decided to take over.

She bombed a 3-pointer, made two steals and dribbled through the press with ease to feed her teammates for two assists. Behind Loggins, East went on a 15-0 run and led 17-5 after one period.

“Central always gives us fits,” Loggins said. “They’re aggressive. I just had to have the mentality to go to the basket and take control.”

The second quarter was Loggins’ best of the year. She scored 13 points in those eight minutes, dished out two more assists and had a couple of steals. When she hit back-to-back 3-pointers to end the half (her third and fourth), East was up 38-20.

“Nicole had one of her best games, especially in the first half,” Bingham said. “She bailed us out.”

Misenheimer was also a big key, mainly due to her passing. She had six assists by halftime and finished with eight.

Loggins, Lora Williams and Emily Rich were the benefactors of those assists, along with Mary Clark Roberts and Julie Alexander.

“As a point guard, you’re obligated to look to your teammates,” Misenheimer said. “My coaches have gotten on me in the past for passing too much but I love it. It was working tonight.”

East was practically flawless after the first five minutes. The early futility left Bingham shaking his head. Then, the Mustangs left him clapping vigorously by draining 19 of their next 24.

“That’s the way they are,” said Central coach Angela Morton. “They’re streaky shooters. When they’re on, they’re on.”

For about four minutes in the first quarter to the middle of the second, we couldn’t play much better,” Bingham said. “Our press was forcing turnovers.”

“That’s good for us,” said Loggins. “We normally don’t do as well in the first half. We’re a second-half team.”

Loggins scored three of East’s first four third-period baskets, one coming on her fifth 3-pointer. She had 25 points in the first 24 minutes.

“I felt like Nicole had an up-and-down season,” said Morton, “but great players play big in big games. She proved that tonight.”

Central proved something too in the second half. It might be the team to beat next year.

With only one senior, the young Vikings began beating East’s defense for easy baskets. Behind sophomore point guard Evan Miller, a flashy lefty, and Serethea Smith, Central outscored the Mustangs 38-29 over the last 16 minutes. They clawed within eight, 52-44, at the start of the fourth quarter but East went on a 6-0 run, four of the points by Rich. But turnovers in the fast-paced game prevented East from blowing it open.

“I tried to calm them down,” Bingham said. “They’re going 100 miles per hour all the time. They’ve always run and run and run and run. But there comes a time when you don’t have to run. You need to use a little clock and look for a good shot. Then, if you get beat, so be it. But we were playing right into their hands.”

Loggins’ last basket gave East a 67-53 lead and sewed things up.

“I have been inconsistent,” Loggins said. “But I’ll tell you what. I’ll be consistent the rest of the way. That’s a promise.”

“Nicole’s back,” Misenheimer grinned. “She’s more than back.”

So here’s some advice from Central Cabarrus for future Mustang opponents in the postseason.

Watch No. 10. Guard No. 10. Stay with No. 10.

n

NOTES: Loggins also had six steals and six rebounds. ... After going 27-of-39 from the foul line in its previous game,. East was 9-of-24 against Central. … Williams had nine rebounds. ... Central shot 13-of-21 from the field in the second half and finished 19-of-40. ... East shot 28-of-56 but only 9-of-26 after halftime. ... Bingham says to watch out for Central next year. “They’re going to be the team of the future.” ... West has beaten East, the three-time defending tournament champ, twice this season.

CENTRALCABARRUS (58) — Smith 16, Miller 14, Morris 9, Hardin 7, Van De Venter 5, Woodward 5, McLaughlin 2.

EAST ROWAN (67) — Loggins 29, Rich 11, Williams 11, Misenheimer 7, Roberts 5, Alexander 2, Morgan 2, Haynes.

C. Cabarrus 5 15 22 16 — 58