The Cavs played their turbo-charged brand of ball and raced off with a 55-36 win over host South Rowan.

“We got the tempo we wanted,” Atwell said after North (3-2) beat the Raiders for the second time this season. “We were hoping to turn it into a track meet and we did that. We made it a fast game.”

North also applied an air-snuffing press defense that forced 36 South turnovers, including 20 in the first half. The Raiders went more than 13 minutes without making a basket over one stretch.

“We tried to pressure the ball and force mistakes,” said the Cavs’ Joyce Hipps. “And we ran the court, wearing them down. There aren’t too many teams that can keep up with us when we’re playing up-tempo.”

South (2-5) certainly couldn’t. The Raiders led only once — when Theresa Blewitt’s free throw gave them an early 3-2 edge. North later used an 11-0 run to construct a 23-6 lead with 2:30 remaining in the first half.

“To beat a team like North,” said South coach James Greene, “you’ve got to play aggressively on both offense and defense. None of it was there for us tonight.”

North wielded several weapons, most notably all-county forward Megan Honeycutt. The senior tossed in a team-high 17 points, including eight from the foul line.

“We moved the ball around and hit good shots,” she said afterward. “When we run our offense like that it’s easy to outsmart people and really get it going.”

Teammate Tasha Pharr got it going as well. The junior speedster pumped in 13 points and has reached double figures in each of North’s five games. After receiving congratulations from teammates, she offered a slightly different perspective.

“I think the key was our patience,” she said. “We were more patient than usual. We looked inside more and tried to get better shots. We are a quick team, but we need to learn to play with speed and patience at the same time.”

South’s leading lady was power forward Brittney Gaddy. The 6-foot-1 sophomore repeatedly got open for lob passes from Jennifer Morgan, which led to close-range bank shots and layups. Gaddy topped all scorers with 19 points, giving her an even hundred this season.

“The team makes her look good,” said Greene, whose team had its two-game winning streak curbed. “She is definitely our go-to person and when we get her the ball inside, she converts.”

Atwell indicated the Cavs need to work on denying the interior pass, but had overall praise for his team.

“We did a lot things right,” he said. “We’re doing a good job. They’re a smart bunch that works together and takes advantage of whatever you give them.”

NORTH ROWAN (55) — Honeycutt 17, Pharr 13, C.Hill 8, Hipps 5, A.Hill 4, Bowie 3, Witherspoon 3, Tucker 2, Johnson, Dunn.

SOUTH ROWAN (36) — Gaddy 19, Miller 6, Blewitt 4, Yost 3, Andrews 2, Easley 2, Khan, Roberts, Parker, Efird, Morgan, Sheets.

North Rowan 14 14 13 14 — 55