Katie Willett threw a birthday bash for all of her friends Thursday in Goodman Gymnasium.
The South Rowan junior got the present she wanted — a victory — and even blew out the candles with the deciding basket in the final seconds of a harder-than-expected 42-36 triumph over winless North Rowan.
It puts the birthday girl and her pals into the 3 p.m. semifinal game today against No. 2 seed West Rowan.
Of the win, Willett responded, “It was a good birthday present, I guess.”
You guess?
Willett bounced back from a scoreless effort in her previous game to score 12 points, steal the ball five times and make the pivotal play with under a minute left.
The scrappy Cavaliers had stayed close to South (6-4) and pulled within 38-36 with 34 seconds remaining on a baseline jumper by Crystal Craige.
After a timeout, South coach James Greene instructed Willett to stay outside.
“He told us to take care of the ball,” Willett said simply.
But with North coach Mike White screaming to foul, the Cavs went man-to-man. Patience Cuthbertson moved out on Willett, who suddenly darted to the basket. North wasn’t expecting it.
“And I wasn’t expecting it either,” said Greene.
But the ball rolled around the hoop before falling in and South led 40-36 with only 18 ticks remaining. Craige missed a shot, Paris Rucker rebounded and fed Mandy Yost for an oh-by-the-way layup as the clock ran out.
When the game was over, everyone was praising the Cavaliers’ effort. White’s team has struggled, to say the least in seven straight losses to start the season.
“I told our girls North Rowan was hitting a lot of shots in warmups,” Greene said. “They played really hard.”
At least, in the second half. The Cavs had only two Craige baskets to show for the first quarter and North scratched out just 10 first-half points. Meanwhile, South scored eight straight points midway through the second quarter, three by Rucker, two by Sade Jordan (off a feed from Willett) and a 3-pointer by Willett. South led 17-10 at halftime.
“It should’ve been more,” Greene said, “but North played this ballgame like they really wanted it.”
White’s pep talk at halftime spurred North Rowan to its best quarter of the season in the third. The Cavs quickly outscored South 13-7.
Craige and Moriah Jones did most of the damage with Kyuanna Foxx chipping with a bucket.
When Craige completed a three-point play, South’s lead was 24-23. When Craige stole the ball and swished a pretty, fallaway jumper, South suddenly trailed 25-24.
“They were sort of iffy — ‘can we do this?’ ” White said of his girls. “But they stepped up.”
The Raider girls then proved something to their coach. They didn’t panic. Instead, they scored nine straight points to take a 33-25 lead.
Yost’s three-point play gave South the lead back and her baseline jumper had the No. 3 seed up 35-28 going into the fourth.
“One thing they are learning is how to close out the game,” said Greene. “They don’t get nervous or upset about anything. They’re focusing when they have to close somebody out.”
But South’s third-quarter flurry didn’t close North out. The game stayed relatively close throughout the fourth period until Willett found herself with the ball in the waning seconds against Cuthbertson.
White understood that it was simply Willett’s night.
“She played well,” he said. “She made the big plays when they needed them.”
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NOTES: Willett celebrated her 17th birthday. ... Yost scored 11 of her 13 points after halftime. ... Jones finished with 11. ... Rucker grabbed 13 rebounds and Jordan had 11. ... North played a consolation game earlier today.
NORTH ROWAN (36) — Craige 15, Jones 11, Cameron 3, Cuthbertson 3, Suber 2, Foxx 2, Hunter, Stallings, Purnell, Hairston, Peterson, Lipscomb, Hendrick.
SOUTH ROWAN (37) — Yost 13, Willett 12, Rucker 9, Jordan 4, Blackwood 4, Mack, Parker, Billings, Russell, Durant.
North Rowan 4 6 18 8 — 36
South Rowan 9 8 18 7 — 42
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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com
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