By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
LANDIS ó South Rowan’s girls staggered through three quarters against Carson on Tuesday, but they turned it up several notches in the fourth for a 44-29 NPC victory.
South’s girls are 7-0 against Carson, but this one was closer than it sounds. The Cougars trailed 34-26 with 4:28 left, before South soph Sam Goins and senior guard Krista Haywood took over.
“That fourth quarter is the way we played when we beat (second-place) Lake Norman Friday,” South coach Jim Brooks said. “Yeah, Carson missed a lot of shots, but I like to think our defense had something to do with it.”
Carson (2-18, 1-14) is making strides on defense. The Cougars are aggressive without the ball. They forced 22 turnovers and held South star Taylor May to seven points.
With Nikki Graham (knee) in street clothes and May, who had 13 rebounds, struggling to find her shot, the fourth-place Raiders (13-8, 10-5) could have been upset. They weren’t mostly because Goins scored a season-high 14.”I’m the youngest on the team, but lately my confidence is really picking up,” Goins said.
Carson shot 1-for-11 in the first quarter, but it forced enough turnovers to lead 6-5.
South hit the glass hard to take a 20-14 edge at halftime.
When Carson guard Demya Heggins (16 points) scored four quick points to open the second half, South’s lead was down to two. The Cougars had three chances to tie, but failed to convert.
South then built a 10-point cushion with Kayla Morrow powering in the paint and Molly Garrett getting a 3-pointer to wiggle in.
Then Goins banked in five buckets in the fourth quarter to keep the Cougars at bay.
“I’m at my best when I let it go and play as fast as I can,” Goins said. “The fourth quarter seems to be my quarter.”Carson finished 10-for-52 from the floor (19 percent).
“We competed for three quarters, but we let it get away in the fourth,” Carson coach Brooke Misenheimer said. “We didn’t shoot well and made ourselves very easy to guard. We settled for passing the ball around the perimeter and didn’t attack.”
carson (29) óHeggins 16, K. Livengood 5, Settlemyer 4, Monroe 2, M. Livengood 2, Khan, Meismer, Brown.
south rowan (44) ó Goins 14, K. Haywood 8, May 7, Morrow 7, Garrett 5, Sides 3, W. Haywood, Roberts. Carson 6 8 7 8 ó 29
S. Rowan 5 15 9 15 ó 44