Three key girls games on tap

No question about it, it’s a ladies night in area prep basketball.

Three massive girls games take center stage, two in the 3A North Piedmont Conference, the other in the 4A Central Piedmont.

In the NPC, East Rowan (13-2, 3-1), which claimed huge wins over A.L. Brown and West Rowan last week, can take a giant step toward the state playoffs if it can handle Statesville (13-3, 3-2) at home. But Statesville’s talented inside presence Laquavia Roseboro will be a challenge.

Meanwhile, West Rowan’s girls (11-4, 2-2) will be gunning to get back in the race for one of the NPC’s three playoffs berths when they visit front-running North Iredell. North Iredell (12-2, 5-0) is young and doesn’t look overwhelming, but it’s shown a knack for pulling out tight games. The Raiders have outlasted A.L. Brown, Northwest Cabarrus and East Rowan with strong fourth quarters.

South Rowan (10-6, 2-1) faces a biggie at home in the 4A Central Piedmont Conference when it renews an old rivalry with North Davidson (5-10, 2-1). Both teams are part of a four-way tie for first. Their last meeting was a 64-56 South win in the 1997 CPC Tournament.

Davie County (8-7, 2-1), also tied for first in the CPC, appears to have a gimme at R.J. Reynolds (0-12, 0-3). But the War Eagles have occasionally failed to show up on the road, so don’t log that one in the books just yet.

In CCC girls games, Salisbury (5-10, 3-3) will be a heavy underdog at powerhouse Ledford (16-0, 6-0), while North Rowan (1-14,1-5) has a chance to spring an upset at up-and-down East Davidson (7-6, 3-3).

In NPC boys games, nationally ranked West (15-0, 4-0) takes Showtime to tiny Olin where it figures to toy with overmatched North Iredell (3-10, 1-3). East will have its hands full against an aggressive and athletic bunch of Statesville Greyhounds (7-9, 3-2), as it tries to prevent its losing streak from reaching a dozen.

In the CCC, North (4-12, 1-5) desperately needs a win at East Davidson (2-12, 2-4) to have even a remote chance at a state playoff berth. Salisbury’s boys (5-10, 3-3) can ill afford a setback at Ledford (4-10, 2-4), which is not overly talented but has managed recent victories over North Rowan and West Iredell.

In the CPC, South (8-8, 0-3) stands a decent chance of knocking off North Davidson. The Black Knights (11-5, 1-2) have the better record, but South’s schedule, which includes three losses to West Rowan, has been as tough as any.

The Raiders have been blown away in their first three CPC games and are banged up, but coach John Davis’ teams have a history of putting together a stellar effort when it’s least expected.

Davie (10-3, 2-1) is awfully solid and likely headed for third place. Still, this could be a long night for the smallish War Eagles against the overwhelming size of R.J. Reynolds (13-4, 3-0).