HICKORY — The fifth-winningest season in North Rowan girls basketball history came to a close against a familiar foe here Friday afternoon.
Undefeated High Point Central topped coach Gary Atwell’s Cavaliers for the fourth time this season by a score of 73-52 in the semifinals of the 2A West Sectional No. 4 playoffs.
North finished 17-9 overall, but six of the losses were to perennial powers, 2A Central Carolina Conference rivals High Point Central and Ledford. The Cavaliers thus were 17-3 against everybody else, which, of course, makes Atwell wonder what his team could have done in another league.
“We think about that, but you don’t have that choice. You see other teams do well in other conferences that you pretty much can play and beat, then you have to play the teams that went to the state tournament every year in your conference. Then you see them in the second round of the sectionals,” said the North coach.
“I think they’re a regional-qualifying team if they didn’t get caught up in the same section as we are,” said veteran central coach Kenny Carter, whose powerful Bison improved to 26-0 heading into today’s 2 p.m. championship game against C.D. Owen.
Sectional 4 included the No. 1 (Central) and No. 4 (North) seeds from the CCC. No. 2 Ledford and No. 3 Lexington are in Sectional No. 3.
Carter, Central’s 15th-year head coach, rated Tarboro and Western Alamance as the two top teams in the eastern part of the state.
“I think North Rowan plays those two teams and beats them, I really do.If they’re in the east, I think they’ve got a shot at getting to the state,” said Carter, whose team is favored to reach the state finals in Chapel Hill for the sixth time. The Bison have won three state titles.
“They’re very athletic. If they get on a roll, they can shoot it,” said Carter of the Cavaliers. “They can play up-tempo; they can play halfcourt. If he had somebody in the paint banging a little bit, I think they’d be much tougher to beat. But they’re so small, you get a lot of second and third shots on the offensive end, which keeps things alive.”
Senior center Courtney Hill, one of North’s two 5-foot-8 starters, had to battle inside against the likes of 6-3 Laura Kirby and 6-1 Krystion Obie. Hill still came away with an impressive double-double — 17 points and 10 rebounds — plus three blocked shots, a steal and an assist.
Central, led by Rachel Stockdale and Nikki Warren with 19 and 12 points, respectively, had defeated North by 39, 31 and 37 in the previous meetings, and playing the Bison again was a difficult task for the Cavs.
“To lose four times, that’s pretty frustrating, by 30 points every time. I mean sometimes you just want to give up, but you can’t give up. It’s easy to give up on them, because you’re down so many,” said Hill.
North trailed the Bison by 38 at 66-28 early in the final quarter, but cut the margin to 19 against reserves late in the game.
“Even though we knew we were going to lose, we still tried to play hard,” said Hill, who got nine of her points in that quarter. Teammate Amber Hill scored eight of her 15 in the final period.
It was the final game for North seniors Courtney Hill, Joyce Hipps(five points, seven assists and five rebounds) and Ashley Bowie (two points, two steals and two rebounds), and Atwell said he hates to see their careers end.
“I hate to see Courtney and Joyce go. They’ve been like my daughters for the last four years. They’re awfully good players. I hope somebody will give them a chance to play in college. I know they’re not very tall, but they play with a lot of heart and they’re athletic,” said Atwell. Both players were three-year starters, and Hipps was the top reserve as a freshman.
“Ashley gives you everything she’s got,” he said of Bowie, who started as a senior. “She’s a good kid, good manners — ‘Yes, sir. No, sir.’ — does the little things that you ask. That’s the way all three of those girls were. That’s going to be missed, because they’ve done more than just play basketball. They were team leaders. They’re just good people.”
Courtney Hill wound up her career with 800 points to rank ninth on the school’s all-time list. Hipps finished at 716 to rank 15th.
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NOTES: The winning season is Atwell’s fifth straight and his ninth in 16 years. Prior to his arrival, the Cavaliers had only winning season in the school’s first 27 years. ... The biggest statistical difference was in turnovers with North losing the ball 27 times and Central only 13, six of those in the final quarter. ... The Bison outshot North on field goals 47.4 to 46.2 percent. Central went 27-for-57, while the Cavs were 18-for-39. ... North was 13-for-18 at the foul line, while the Bison were 12-for-18. ... Each team had 26 rebounds.
NORTH ROWAN (52)— A. Hill 15, Craige 8, C. Hill 17, Hipps 5, Bowie 2, Jones 2, Hendrick 3, Suber, Peterson.
HIGH POINT CENTRAL (73) — Stockdale 19, Kirby 4, Obie 8, Cook 9, VunCannon 5, Martin, Hendley 8, Leach 5, Warren 12, Green, Fulp 2, Gheen 3.
North Rowan 7 8 11 26 — 52
HP Central 20 22 19 12 — 73
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