Coach Gary Atwell’s Cavaliers, who bounced back from Wednesday night’s loss to unbeaten Ledford, improved to 2-1 in the 2A Central Carolina Conference and 9-3 overall.

North Stanly, coached by Stan Napier, slipped to 1-2 and 7-4.

Hill, a 5-7 junior center, could have easily had a double-double had Atwell not pulled his starters with 6:02 to play. She finished with eight rebounds and also contributed four steals and an assist to the victory.

“To be 5-7 and be able to play a post, she does a heck of a job,” said Atwell. “She’s very physically strong.”

“I didn’t realize how many points I had,” said Hill. “Joyce (Hipps) came to the bench and told me.

Hipps, North Rowan’s junior point guard, also had a big night with 16 points, nine rebounds, two steals and an assist. She hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter.

“I give credit for my points to Joyce and Amber (Hill) for their great assists,” said Courtney Hill, who was 8-for-13 on field goals and 4-for-6 at the foul line. Her previous career high was 18 points against Kannapolis and Lexington last year.

She said Wednesday’s 63-52 loss at home to powerful Ledford bothered her and her teammates, but added, “We had to shake it off. We’ve got a pretty tough conference, but I think we can come out No. 1 if we keep playing solid basketball.”

Atwell said, “I thought it would be a lot closer ball game, because they beat Lexington Wednesday (49-42). I didn’t know how we’d come out and play after playing such a physical game with Ledford on Wednesday. ... We came out playing real well and were able to press, and it gave them a lot of problems. We jumped on them pretty quick. They had a hard time scoring in the first quarter.”

The Cavaliers rolled to an 11-0 lead before point guard Tiana Harris of the Comets hit two free throws with 11 seconds left in the first quarter. It was 26-12 by halftime.

“I’ll hand it to North Rowan,” said the Comets’ Napier. “Courtney Hill really stepped up. We were double-teaming Megan (Honeycutt) and letting the corners go. We held Megan to eight points, but you just can’t cover them all. ... Joyce (Hipps) is having a great year,” he added.

Honeycutt missed double figures for the first time this season. She had scored in double figures 18 straight times prior to Friday. The 5-10 forward still grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked a couple of shots and added two assists and one steal.

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NOTES: North Rowan played without starting forward Tasha Pharr, who was competing in her second indoor track meet of the season. The junior is a track All-American. ... North Rowan went 21-for-60 (35 percent) on field goals and 8-for-13 at the foul line, while the Comets were 12-for-42 (28.6 percent) from the floor and 3-for-6 at the foul line. ... North Rowan had a 37-24 rebound advantage and lost the ball 16 times on turnovers as compared to 26 for the losers. ... Reserve Ashley Bowie had three steals for the Cavaliers. ... Mary Stallings had eight points to lead North Stanly’s scoring. ... No North Stanly player had more than four rebounds. ... North Rowan visits Lexington on Monday, while North Stanly will be at home against High Point Central on Tuesday.

NORTH ROWAN (52) — Honeycutt 8, Tucker 2, C. Hill 20, Hipps 16, A. Hill 2, Witherspoon 2, Bowie 2, Johnson, Dunn.

NORTH STANLY (27) — Harris 4, Russell 2, Peoples 3, Stallings 8, Coley 2, Hayes 2, Terry, Lowder 4, Hinkle 2, Isenhour, Almond.

North Rowan 13 13 16 10 — 52