By David Shaw

sports@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — North Rowan’s girls insist they are ready for the post-season, even if their performance Friday night wasn’t up to par.

The Cavs played like an untuned piano in a 58-48 victory at Salisbury in their CCC regular-season finale. They weren’t the swashbuckling team that steamrolled to a second-place finish in the league standings, but they were good enough to escape unharmed.

“They gave us a run,” senior Aliyah Farmer said after the Cavs (16-6, 8-2) won for the sixth time in their last seven games. “It’s almost as if they wanted it more than us. They seemed to have more intensity than us.”

North never did land a knockout punch like it did when the teams met Jan. 21 in Spencer — a 25-point NR win.

“It was a very ugly game,” winning coach Brian Lytton said. “But we’ll take it. It was like a dogfight, very rough, very physical. But I thought we stayed with it, kept our composure and got a good win.”

Salisbury (13-10, 5-5) played surprisingly well. It used 3-pointers by Maria Capito and Tyzarea Alexander to open a early 6-0 lead, but fell behind when North’s Special Washington beamed in a 3-ball late in the opening quarter.

“We didn’t like how we played early,” Alexander said after scoring a team-high 14 points. “We didn’t get to the 50-50 balls. We didn’t make free throws. We didn’t box out.”

North did. And when Washington buried the second of her three long balls — this one from deep on the right side — the Cavs soared ahead, 25-15, midway through the second quarter. Teammate Aundrea Godfrey, who contributed nine points in the first half, completed a three-point play that pushed North ahead 35-21 with 1:35 hanging on the second-quarter clock.

“North is athletic, but our girls are athletic too,” said SHS coach Lakai Brice. “For once they started believing in themselves, believing they could compete with them. That was the difference tonight. We handled the press very well and we kept fighting.”

Salisbury drew within 42-35 on freshman Bryanna Troutman’s dribble-drive down the lane for a layup in the third quarter. But Washington’s 3-pointer with a minute left in the corner put the Cavs back in control, 47-35.

“That got our momentum going,” Washington said. “After that we had them.”

The fourth period featured a couple of nice plays by Farmer, the game’s high scorer with 19 points. First she drove the right baseline for a layup that provided a 13-point lead. And later — after North put on a four-corners passing clinic and melted about 90 seconds off the clock — she penetrated for a layup, got fouled by Alexander and made the ensuing free throw for a 54-38 North advantage.

Farmer indicated the Cavs will need to be sharper than this in next week’s conference tournament. They’ll open with a semifinal game Thursday at Lexington High School.

“It’s going to be better than this,” she said. “Way better. It’s going to be a show.”

NORTH ROWAN (58) — Farmer 19, Washington 14, White 9, Godfrey 9, Allen 5, Russell 2, Robinson, Lytton, Oglesby.

SALISBURY (48) — Alexander 14, Capito 12, Troutman 12, T.Robinson 3, M.Glenn 3, H.Robinson 2, Phifer 2, J.Glenn.

North Rowan    14   21   14   9  — 58

Salisbury            12   13   10   13  — 48