West had lost four of six and 10 of 14 to the Raiders prior to Monday night and had not swept the regular season series between the teams since the 1993-94 campaign. But the Falcons brought their brooms out of the closet, shooting better than 50 percent for the second time in less than a week in a blistering 83-38 triumph over their nonconference rivals.

Both teams came out playing tough man-to-man defense. West was confident and the Raiders revenge-minded after a 64-37 Falcon romp in Landis on Dec. 1.

It was no contest from the start. West (7-3) simply ran by the Raiders. The Falcons jumped out to a 9-2 lead and had the game under control at 19-5 by the end of the first quarter.

Most teams prefer to zone West rather than try man-to-man because it is so difficult to match up with tall shooter Sara Pieper, quick guard Kari Schenk and aggressive forward Kate Goodman, who goes around big people and overpowers little people. But South took its best shot.

“We’ve seen zones all year,” said West coach Angie Waddell. “When South started man-to-man I didn’t know how we’d do. But we were patient, worked the ball around and executed well.”

“We hadn’t run our man plays in so long,” added Goodman. “We were a little rough at first.”

Senior guard Kari Schenk had an amazing first quarter on her way to an amazing game. She had seven points and five assists in the first eight minutes.

“Kari can look everywhere,” said Goodman. “She’s easy to play with, because she lets everybody get a little of the action.”

South’s No. 2 scorer Jennifer Morgan was injured early in the second quarter, ending any chance the Raiders had of staying in the game with high-powered West. Morgan suffered a severe cut on her chin after getting tangled up with Goodman on a fast break and banging her head on the floor. The wound required a number of stitches.

Brittney Gaddy tried to keep South close. The 6-1 sophomore scored 21 points and pulled down 15 rebounds She scored 13 of her points in the second quarter — many after Goodman, who was guarding her, sat down with her third foul.

West led 39-22 at halftime and expanded that edge in the third quarter. West scored 26 straight points in one stretch, racing from a 47-30 lead to a 73-30 edge after holding the Raiders scoreless for nearly 10 minutes. Falcon reserves kept up the onslaught in the fourth quarter as the lead reached the 40s.

The scary thing was that West didn’t click on all cylinders on offense and still scored 83 points. Sara Pieper, who is usually in double figures, scored only two points and starter Kristen McNeely only took two shots. But Ashley Shaver (who started for the first time), Natalie Jones and Jenny Sloop combined for 26 huge points that Waddell hadn’t counted on.

Schenk finished with 22 points, a season high and only one fewer than her career high in last season’s Christmas Tournament. She shot 9-for-12 from the field and added 11 assists.

“Kari was great,” said Waddell, “although it seemed like she was hitting the floor a lot. And Sloop (who had a career high) just had a marvelous game.”

Goodman finished with 16 points. Schenk and Goodman equalled the Raiders’ point production, as South got only 17 points from people other than Gaddy.

“We’ve been so inconsistent, but we showed again that we have loads of potential,” said Waddell, whose team has been on a down-up-down-up roller coaster ride in its last four games. “It says a lot for our offense and defense, to score that many points and to hold them down like that.”

Greene, who was on the winning side of many similar lopsided games last season, took the loss in stride.

“We’re young and against a team like West youth is going to show,” he said. “But we’re not going to stop working. The kids will catch on to what we’re doing and we’ll get South Rowan back on top where it belongs.”

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NOTES: Goodman says that her new, shorter haircut has increased her vertical jump. “I’m lighter now,” she said. ... Neither team had broken 70 points in this series in the ‘90s, prior to last night. ... Gaddy has been in double figures six straight. ... Goodman has scored nine or more points in her last seven. Schenk has reached double figures in nine of 10 games.

SOUTH (38) — Morgan 2, Gaddy 21, Sheets, Andrews 2, Blewitt 4, Willett 2, Parker, Miller, Efird, Yost 5, Khan, Roberts, Easley 2.

WEST (83) — Goodman 16, Pieper 2, Wansley 5, Schenk 22, McNeely, Scarce 5, Honeycutt, Rabon 2, Sloop 12, Moore 4, Jones 7, Shaver 7.

South 5 17 8 8 — 38