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SPENCER — North Rowan’s surrender to one of the state’s premier girls baksetball teams Friday night was swift, decisive and thorough.
The Lady Cavaliers were no match for unbeaten High Point Central in a 74-35 loss.
“It was a good game to learn from,” senior Courtney Hill said outside the quiet North locker room. “And a good game to forget.”
Who could blame her? The Cavs made only two field goals in a first quarter that saw HPC mount a 21-10 lead and North coach Gary Atwell slam a clipboard in disgust.
It got uglier in the second period, when Central denied the Cavs a basket, outscored them 28-2 and built a 49-12 halftime lead.
“Even so, it really didn’t surprise me,” Atwell said after North (2-3 CCC/10-4 overall) suffered its fourth loss in six games. “I knew how well they could play and how much pressure they could put on us. I thought we might handle their pressure a little bit better than we did, but we didn’t. Eventually, the pressure just got to us.”
He was talking about Central’s swarming defense, which routinely double-teamed the ball. Braid that together with North’s dipsy-doodle passing game and it’s easy to see why this one was over quickly.
“We must have had 20 turnovers in the first half,” said North’s Joyce Hipps. “They were hitting 3’s, they were hitting easy baskets and we were turning the ball over.”
Central (5-0 CCC/15-0 overall) placed four scorers in double figures, led by center Krystion Obie’s 18 points. Her fast-break layup and free throw gave the Lady Bison a 62-22 lead after three quarters.
“I was like, ‘Whoa!’ I mean, I knew they were good, we all did. But we thought it would be a closer game,” said Hipps.
In North’s defense, the Cavs played without injured forwards Ahley Witherspoon (sprained foot) and Danielle Suber (sprained thumb), two of their fiercest rebounders. That left only eight players for Atwell’s mix-and-match lineup, half of whom are fighting winter colds.
“We’re having a hard time right now,” he said. “It’s a bad stretch for us physically. We’ve just got what we’ve got right now.”
What they’ve got poses more questions than Regis Philbin. North bore little resemblence to the team that swept its first eight games and advanced to Sam Moir Classic championship game.
“I’m playing two sophomores and a freshman,” said Atwell. “They’re young kids. They’ve got a lot to learn about playing in a tough situation. Hopefully, they’re going to get better every time they get on the floor. That’s the only way we’re gonna be able to take it to the next level.”
The Cavs held their own against Central’s reserves in the fourth quarter. There was Hill’s three-point play midway through the period followed by Moriah Jones’ 3-pointer from the left side. Seconds later Jones made a steal, drove the length of the court and hit a layup. Still, all that did was trim North’s deficit to 35 points.
“Basically, they killed us,” said Hill, who led North with nine points. “They’ve got a bench that can run with our starters. A lot of things hurt us — having our two big girls out. And all the unneccessary turnovers. You can’t do that against a team like them because you know they’re going to score.”
Atwell left the gym disappointed by his team’s careless play but impressed with Central’s all-around game.
“If they’re not the best team in the state, I don’t want to see anybody better,” he said.
NOTES: Hipps, Courtney Hill and Amber Hill each fouled out for North, leaving just five eligible players in the final minute. ... Central made seven 3-pointers — six of them in the first half — led by rangy guard Velinda Vuncannon (4).
HIGH POINT CENTRAL (74) — Obie 18, Vuncannon 14, Cook 13, Stockdale 12, Leach 4, Kirby 4, Fulp 4, Hendley 3, Martin 2.
NORTH ROWAN (35) — C.Hill 9, Craige 7, Jones 7, Bowie 4, A.Hill 3, Hendrick 3, Hipps 2, Peterson.
H.P. Central 21 28 13 12 — 74
North Rowan 10 2 10 13 — 35
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