When coach James Greene’s South basketball team trailed West Forsyth 19-0 in the first quarter, it was obvious the season was over for the Raiders.

But it wasn’t over as far as the South players were concerned. They battled back to within two points in the fourth quarter before falling 69-59 in the first round of the Central Piedmont Conference Tournament at the Mount Tabor gym.

South, which needed a victory to earn a spot in the state 4A playoffs, finished the season 4-20. West Forsyth, which tied South for last place during the regular season, captured the playoff berth and takes a 5-18 record into today’s 6 p.m. semifinal against top-seeded R.J. Reynolds (15-6).

Freshman point guard Katie Willett teamed up with seniors Jennifer Morgan and Morgan Andrews and sophomore Brittney Gaddy to lead an amazing comeback that saw the Raiders outscore the Titans 51-34 after a miserable start. When Gaddy hit two free throws with 4:36 to play, her team trailed only 53-51.

After that, however, coach T.R. Richards’ Titans outscored South 6-0 in a span of just over two minutes and held on for the victory.

“Like I told the girls tonight afterward, ‘There’s a time and a season for everything.’ It seems like our time was a little bit late,’’ said Greene. “The talent pool was there, but the experience wasn’t. They played a great game tonight.I think the eight kids we’ve got coming back are a great nucleus. They’ve grown up maturity-wise. They played a great game tonight.”

Willett and Andrews led South’s scoring with a career-high 13 points apiece, while Gaddy had a double-double effort of 11 points and 17 rebounds before fouling out with 1:41 to play. Morgan contributed eight points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 6:44 left.

“I think that Katie Willett grew up tonight. She just basically came out of her shell — hustling, defensively and offensively,” said Greene. “She took some things to the basket forcefully.”

Defensively, Willett led South with five steals.

South trailed 19-0 after two free throws by the Titans’ Erin Finn in the first period.

“I was about to fall out over there,” said Greene. “I’m the one that basically put them in that 2-3 (zone). I figured we would just go ahead and let them beat us from outside. They weren’t even looking inside: They were taking those shots.”

Forward Jessica Joyner and point guard Renate DuBose each hit two 3-pointers in that opening quarter to jump-start the Titans.

“I think we came out a little bit unfocused and a little bit brain-dead, but we never did stop, never did give up. It was a great hole for us to work out of,” said Greene.

South beat West Forsyth 69-53 at home on Jan. 14, then the Titans topped South 68-45 on Feb. 1 at Clemmons.

“The time we beat them, we beat them with the zone, and they weren’t hitting too much,” pointed out Greene, who went back to his favorite defense, man to man, at the start of the second quarter.

“They (West) were not handling the ball well, and we put some good pressure on them,” said the South coach, but he noted that the Titans were still able to find their open shots. “We had a couple of flaws in our man,” he said, “but it worked pretty well for us.”

Offensively, Andrews carried South in the second quarter with nine points and two assists as the Raiders pulled within 39-27 at halftime.

Morgan, Gaddy and Willett each had five points in the third period as the Raiders pulled within 49-44.

After a Mandy Yost 3-pointer and Gaddy’s two free throws, South trailed only 53-51.

“When we got it back to two, I thought we were just going to keep on chipping away. We tried to make them break, but they definitely wouldn’t break,” said Greene.

DuBose made two foul shots with 4:10 to play to start the Titans’ 6-0 run. Amber Payne followed with a transition layup. Joyner made two free throws, and it was 59-51 with 2:28 to play. South could get no closer than six after that.

DuBose led the winners’ scoring with 20 points, while Joyner scored 18 and Payne added 13.

South’s comeback was amazing, since Morgan, Andrews and Gaddy each had three fouls in the first half and had to sit out valuable minutes.

“Before they could get out there and really relax and play, they were in foul trouble,” said Greene.

With seniors Morgan and Andrews in foul trouble, Greene had a young team on the floor much of the night.

“Basically, it was the young kids that we finished up with. I think the young kids are finally coming around and taking us to where we want to get. I told them we can’t hardly wait until this summer to start going to camp, going to work and see if we can get ready,” he said of next season.

WEST FORSYTH (69) — Joyner 18, Finn 4, Payne 13, Kiger 2, DuBose 20, Brewer 8, Etchison, Swaim 4, Guthrie.

SOUTH ROWAN (59) — Morgan 8, Andrews 13, Gaddy 11, Yost 6, Willett 13, Sheets 4, Miller 1, Easley 3, Parker, Efird.

West Forsyth 21 18 10 20 — 69