By Mike London

Salisbury Post

CHINA GROVE — West Rowan post player Wendi Adams scored a career-high 15 points before halftime as the Falcons beat Carson 65-34 for an NPC victory.

“Wendi dominated and was too much for them to handle,” West coach Bob Blake said. “Our girls were smart enough to pass the ball to her, and if we did miss shots, Wendi got the offensive rebounds.”

Adams accepted heavier scoring and rebounding duties with senior teammate Rhonda Turner sidelined with an ankle injury.

“I felt like I was alone out there without Rhonda,” Adams said. “I wasn’t keeping track of my points or anything, but at halftime, Rhonda told me, ‘Dang, you’ve already got 15 points. Good job.’ ”

Adams shot 3-for-6 from the field and

7-for-8 from the line in the first half and pulled down eight of her 10 rebounds before halftime.

Adams played little in the second half and missed her only field-goal attempt. Blake rested her for the demanding Monday-Wednesday-Friday NPC workload that awaits the Falcons (8-5, 2-2) next week.

West’s Rachel Graham and Brooke Taylor scored 12 points each. Peyton Sawyer and Erin Foster scored eight points apiece and combined for eight steals. Katie Cox played well inside and contributed six points and six rebounds.

Carson committed 27 turnovers and was outrebounded 53-34, but coach Brooke Misenheimer liked a lot of the things she saw.

“I can’t be mad because we played with chemistry, played hard, made good passes and knocked down shots,” she said. “No one likes losing by 30, but when you see improvement, it’s easier to deal with. Tonight, I saw it.”

Carson (0-12, 0-4) trailed 17-12 with five minutes left in the first half, but the Falcons, with Adams constantly marching to the foul line, closed the second quarter on a 12-2 run for a 29-14 halftime lead.

“We ran the same play like three times in a row, and everyone was doing a great job of passing,” Adams said.

Carson’s Mackenzie White didn’t score in the first half, a combination of good defense by Sawyer, butterflies from playing against former teammates, and foul woes.

White rebounded in the second half to score 12 points.

“Mackenzie played with a lot of composure, but she got her third foul in the second quarter, and we had to play several minutes without her really for the first time all year,” Misenheimer said. “But Jennifer Hough came in for her and also played with composure.”

West pushed its lead to 20 points early in the second half and is now

4-1 in its last five outings.

“I was a little concerned about how we’d play because we really needed to get better tonight with the week that’s ahead of us,” Blake said. “We did get better.”

west rowan (65) — Adams 15, Taylor 12, Graham 12, Sawyer 8, Foster 8, Cox 6, Izze 4, Stout, Kraft, Simmons.

carson (34) — White 12, Curtindale 6, Bell 5, Lynn 5, Howell 3, Marshall 2, Hough 1, Cress, Whitley, Stewart, Brown, Beaty.

W. Rowan 13 16 16 20 — 65

Carson 9 5 8 12 — 34

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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com.