GRANITEQUARRY— Four of the top five scorers for the East Rowan girls basketball team Friday night were seniors.
Could it have been any other way on Senior Night?
In a fitting ending to their careers at home, Emily Rich, Lora Williams, Stephanie Morgan and Julie Alexander were truly senior superlatives, leading East to an easy 67-41 shellacking of Sun Valley.
The regular season finale left East (11-5) as the fourth seed for next week’s South Piedmont Conference Tournament while standing 15-8 overall.
“You always set your hopes higher,” said an elated coach Randy Bingham. “But Lora has been hurt all year and Julie didn’t get going until after Christmas because of a broken hand. I think if Lora ( bad thumb, along with assorted aches and pains) had been well, we could’ve turned four of those games into wins.”
Williams looked mighty healthy against Sun Valley. She had 10 of her 15 points in the first half, when she also grabbed six rebounds and dished out a couple of assists.
And as well as Williams played, she wasn’t even the leading scorer. That honor went to Rich, who scored 16. She hit jumpers, she swooped to the basket for runners in the lane and put back rebounds.
Morgan finished with six rebounds and three assists, scoring six of her eight points in the third quarter. Alexander had back-to-back baskets in the fourth that helped East to a 56-32 lead.
And through it all, the seniors wore huge smiles.
“I couldn’t be blessed with better kids,” Bingham said. “I thought all of them had great games. They’re really a close-knit bunch.”
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NOTES: Senior Night was also a time to say hello to the future and it is bright at East. Emily’s sister Maggie, a freshman, scored 12 off the bench. ... Alexander pulled down eight rebounds. ... East hosts Kannapolis Monday night at 7 p.m. ... Sun Valley finished the regular season 3-13, 4-18.
SUNVALLEY (41) — Burch 12, Cooke 7, Blanchard 6, Speller 5, Hemby 4, Jenkins 3, Osborn 2, McWhorter 2.
EASTROWAN (67) — E. Rich 16, Williams 15, M. Rich 12, Morgan 8, Alexander 6, Haynes 2, Mundy 2, Huffman 2, Shaw 2, McClamrock 2, Cress, Ivey.
Sun Valley 9 9 11 12 — 41
East Rowan 13 21 12 21 — 67
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