Gary Atwell’s Cavalier girls shot a sparkling 27-of-49 from the field, including a 15-of-24 performance in the first half.

But it wasn’t any other night. North’s girls were playing High Point Central.

And the powerful Bison were shooting the lights out.

When the offensive showcase was over, North had fallen 85-64 in a Central Carolina Conference barnburner.

“When a girls team scores in the 80’s, it’s a heck of a ballgame, especially when it wasn’t a blowout,” whewed Atwell, whose team fell to 3-2 in league play and 10-4 overall. “It was fun to watch.”

How good were the Bison?

Their first six baskets were all three-pointers. Kenny Carter’s bunch had 12 threes by halftime (in 21 attempts) and finished 14-of-25 from long range.

And although North was on a 70-point pace by intermission, it still trailed by 14, 49-35.

“If they shoot like that every night, we can hand them the state championship trophy right now,” Atwell said.

The scary thing is, High Point Central can shoot like that every night if the Bison put their minds to it.

“I told Gary the way we played all summer was what you saw tonight,” said Carter. “We can shoot it. We can attack with the three.”

The first four minutes of the game were mind boggling.

Carmen Ward, Velinda Vuncannon and Leslie Cook all dropped threes on their first try. Megan Honeycutt scored a couple of buckets and Cook drilled two more long ones. When Vuncannon dropped in another trey, it was 18-10.

But Central couldn’t pull away. Honeycutt scored twice and it was 18-14.

That’s when the game began slipping from the grasp of the third place Cavs. Four straight Central baskets — two on threes — had Carter’s team up 28-14.

“Twenty-eight points ... that’s a pretty good night for some people,” he said.

The shooting bordered on the ridiculous in the second period when Elizabeth Redpath hit two threes and Cook sent one down right at the buzzer for a 49-35 lead.

Atwell still felt good about his team. He stayed in a zone defense, waiting — like everyone else — for the Bison to cool off. They never did.

“We did what we wanted to offensively,” he said. “Defensively, we stayed in the zone. We’re a zone team. We play a hard zone. If they make ‘em, they make ‘em. But the way they shot, you can’t play against that.”

The bright spot for North was again Honeycutt, who had 17 of her 29 points in the first half. She started a 7-0 run late in the second quarter that chewed an 18-point deficit to 11, 46-35. But that would be as close as North would get.

Central started the third quarter on a 16-6 run for a 65-41 advantage and it was all but over.

Freshman Amber Hill tried her best to create some opportunities for herself and her teammates. The diaper dandy scored six in the third and finished with 12.

“Amber played hard and gave me everything she’s got,” Atwell said. “You can’t ask for any more than that.”

Central was on a 100-point pace after three periods, leading 77-52 but Carter decided to slow it down and work on his stalling tactics for much of the final eight minutes. North outscored Central in the fourth 12-8 with Honeycutt getting eight of them.

“I thought Megan played very, very well,” said Atwell of last year’s conference player of the year. “On nights when she’s hot, she can score 25 to 30 points.”

Carter was certainly impressed.

“There’s something about the blue and white that she likes,” he smiled of Central’s colors. “I was talking to Stan Napier at North Stanly and Megan scored eight against them. I think we’re a little better than North Stanly and she scores 29 on us.

“But I would dare to say that all but one of her shots were within two feet of the basket.”

Atwell has already seen enough of Ledford and High Point Central, which improved to 14-2 and 4-0.

“If High Point Central or Ledford doesn’t win the state championship,” I’ll be surprised,” he said.

However, he won’t be surprised if Central shoots the lights out. He has already been given a good dose of Bison bombs.

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NOTES: Tasha Pharr is no longer on the team. ... Courtney Hill added 13 points for the Cavs. ... Central shot 30-of-58 from the field. ... Cook led five Bison in double figures with 21. ... Central has only eight players on the roster. ... Central was also hot at the foul line, going 10-of-14, including 8-of-8 in the third period. ... The Cavs hit just one three. That was provided by Honeycutt. ... North travels to Kannapolis Tuesday for a nonconference game.

NORTH ROWAN (64) — Honeycutt 29, C. Hill 13, A. Hill 12, Hipps 7, Bowie 2, Tucker 1, Witherspoon, Johnson, Dunn.

HIGH POINT CENTRAL (85) — Cook 21, Warren 18, Ward 16, Vuncannon 14, Redpath 12, Hendley 2, Kirby 2.

North Rowan 16 19 17 12 — 64