WALLBURG — North Rowan’s girls basketball team impressed few observers in its
ho-hum 43-29 stroll past North Stanly on Tuesday night in a first-round game in the 2A
Central Carolina Conference Tournament, but the way junior guard Joyce Hipps figures it,
maybe that’s not a bad thing.“We had a real bad game in our first game against Davie in the
Christmas Tournament,” said Hipps. “But we came back and won the championship
(against East Rowan).”
Fair enough. So does third-seeded
North Rowan (15-6) now have Friday’s semifinal opponent, Ledford, the tournament host
and No. 2 seed, right where it wants them?
“Maybe,” said Cavalier
coach Gary Atwell, attempting, but failing to smile. “But it’ll be tough to beat
Ledford (22-2) in its own gym. I just hope we’re a lot more ready to play than we
were tonight.”
This was the last game on
Tuesday’s dance card and didn’t get going until after 9 p.m., which meant both
teams had to sit around forever and a day. The Cavs, who have already clinched a state
playoff spot, handled the delay better than the sixth-seeded Comets, who needed a win to
keep their season going. North Rowan jumped ahead 8-2 in a hurry, getting inside scores
from Amber Hill, Courtney Hill, Megan Honeycutt and Toya Tucker.
It was 17-6 by the end of the
first quarter and the Cavs were in complete charge at 26-10 by halftime. In that first
half, the Cavs’ pressure defense held the Comets (10-12) to four field goals and
forced 13 turnovers.
“There’s not a lot you
can say,” said disappointed Comet coach Stan Napier. “We tried every offensive
set in America, but we just couldn’t create any shots. North (Rowan) has great
athletes, better athletes than we’ve got.”
Atwell got a scare when his
leading scorer, Honeycutt, picked up her fourth foul while pressing with 6:20 to play in
the third quarter, but her teammates hardly missed a beat when their leader went to the
sidelines.
Tucker quickly dropped in her
second 3-pointer of the game and point guard Hipps moved inside to play the post, where
she proved to be mobile, agile and versatile. Hipps immediately scored on a nice pass from
Melissa Dunn, converted two free throws and even tossed in a sweet reverse layup.
“That’s probably the
first time Joyce has played the post,” said Atwell, “but she can do just about
anything she wants when she’s got a basketball in her hands.”
“I like it better
inside,” chuckled Hipps. “I hope I can play in there some more.”
By the end of the third quarter
Hipps joined Honeycutt with four fouls, but it was obvious by then that North Stanly
wasn’t going to be able to make a move, no matter how much foul trouble the Cavs got
in. The Comets just couldn’t score against North Rowan’s tight zone. By the end
of the third quarter, it was 40-19.
The lead reached 24 points with
4:26 left in the game when Honeycutt tossed in her only second-half basket. Shortly after
that, Atwell figured it was high time to rest his starters for Ledford.
North Stanly then finished the
game with a 10-0 run against Cav reserves to make the final look a bit more appetizing.
Napier had to say sad goodbyes
after the contest to five seniors —Tiana Harris, Mary Stallings, Nikki Russell,
Charlesa Peoples and Emily Winfree — a quintet that was sometimes overmatched, but
never stopped battling.
Atwell, on the other hand, was
already thinking about Ledford. Maybe that’s why he said, “Hello there, Wilt
Chamberlain” to a grinning Hipps when she emerged from the locker room.
Atwell might need his point guard
to get 100 points and a couple of dunks if the Cavs are going to stop Ledford.
n
NOTES: Honeycutt finished with 13
points, six rebounds and three steals. She has verbally committed to play basketball at
UNC Greensboro. … Hipps scored 11, while Ashley Bowie had a solid game off the bench
with three assists and three steals. … North lost to Ledford 63-52 and 50-39 in
earlier games, so an upset isn’t out of the question, especially if Honeycutt stays
out of foul trouble and Tucker keeps zinging 3s.
NORTH STANLY (29) — Harris
10, Coley 3, Hayes, Stallings 4, Peoples, Russell, Lowder, Hinkle, Winfree 8, Isenhour 2,
Terry 2, Almond.
NORTHROWAN (43) — Bowie,
Craige 2, Bowers, Dunn, Honeycutt 13, C.Hill 4, Tucker 8, Johnson, A.Hill 5, Hipps 11.
North Stanly 6 4 9 10 — 29
North Rowan 17 9 14 3 — 43 |
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