East, 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the SPC, hit only 24 percent of its first-half field goals and turned the ball over 15 times before doing an about-face in the second half.

“It was a nightmare almost,” said coach Randy Bingham, whose team trailed 17-16 at intermission. “We told them at halftime we could see it coming all week. They hadn’t practiced good all week.”

He explained that East had short practices the previous two days because of a home wrestling match and a fall athletic awards banquet.

East started slowly in the second half, trailing 27-21.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘They’re either going to make it right here or they ain’t.’ These girls don’t quit. They’re as competitive as anybody I’ve ever seen. They hate to lose in practice.”

Senior guard Nicole Loggins, closing in on 1,000 career points, knocked in two 3-pointers to tie it up. Loggins had gone 1-for-8 in the first half, when she did not make a 3.

“She wasn’t in sync. She wasn’t looking at her shot. She was looking at the floor two or three times when she put the ball up, and that’s not like her,” said Bingham. “The second half, she comes out and hits a couple of big 3s. I thought that turned the ball game around. She’s got a knack for doing that.”

Piedmont led one more time before junior forward Emily Rich’s two straight 15-footers gave the Mustangs the lead for keeps. Reserve center Mary Clark Roberts kept her team ahead 35-32 at the end of the quarter with four points.

It was still close at 42-38 before a basket by Loggins and a three-point play by Roberts made it a nine-point game. Piedmont could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Loggins led East’s balanced scoring with 15 points (13 in the second half), giving her 992 for her four-year varsity career. She got a lot of scoring help from point guard Brooke Misenheimer with 10; forwards Rich and Lora Williams and center Stephanie Morgan with eight apiece; and Roberts with seven.

As for the first-half shooting and 28 turnovers for the game, Bingham said, “I just keep telling my girls, ‘That’s the mark of a good team when you can play sloppy and win. Just think of what you are going to do when you do play good.’ We’ve had some good halves this year, but we haven’t had a game yet where I think we played like I think we’re capable of playing.”

He’s hoping his team puts two good halves together in a big home game against West Rowan on Tuesday.

“That’ll be a barnburner,” said the East coach.

Loggins, of course, will need just eight points in that game to reach 1,000 for her career.

“That would be a good game to get it in. Of course, I hope she gets it in the first quarter that night,” exclaimed Bingham.

n

NOTES: Williams, a 5-9 junior who played point guard through middle school, was her team’s leading rebounder with 11 and came up two points shy of her first varsity double-double. ... Misenheimer had only one assist at halftime but finished with a game-high nine, one shy of a double-double. ... Loggins had six steals. ... East was 20-for-52 on field goals (38.5 percent) and 11-for-21 on free throws, while Piedmont went 18-for-56 (32.1 percent) from the floor and 10-for-24 at the foul line. ... Each team had 37 rebounds. ... Piedmont had 29 turnovers, most of them against the Mustangs’ 1-3-1 zone press.

EASTROWAN (56) —Rich 8, Williams 8, Morgan 8, Misenheimer 10, Loggins 15, Roberts 7, Haynes, Alexander, Ivey, Goodnight, Shaw.

PIEDMONT (46) — Hinkle 10, Ellis 10, Smith 8, Ossman 1, Daniels 12, Sexton 1, Taylor 2, Greene, Harrington 2.

East Rowan 8 8 19 21 — 56