By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
SPENCER ó North Rowan’s girls took a step in the right direction, but another win will have to wait.
Symphony Roberts scored 19 points and Teaunna Cuthbertson had 11 as North put together an impressive rally before falling 60-53 against visiting Central Davidson on Friday night.
The Cavaliers (3-18, 1-11 CCC) trailed by 14 points early in the second half and were still behind by 12 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. They trimmed their deficit to five points later in the quarter and twice pulled within two in the game’s final two minutes.
“You see that improvement, and you’d like to get that win,” first-year North coach Tony Hillian said. “Overall, I’m proud of our young ladies. They’ve worked hard and continued to fight even though we’re going through a pretty tough season.
“I appreciate their effort and all their contributions to get this started where we’re going, and we’re not stopping.”
Roberts made a pair of free throws to cut Central’s lead to two with 1:48 left, and left-handed Jazmine Charles (game-high 22 points) responded by making a right-handed bank shot for a 55-51 edge.
Roberts hit two more free throws, and the Cavs fouled Tyesha Reid with 37.9 seconds left. She went 2-for-2 at the line to practically seal the win.
“It was a little tight there,” Central coach Kevin Hudson said.
“They’re so much improved from the first time we played them it’s amazing. We knew it’d be tough, and it was. It came down to the wire, and we held on.”
Roberts hit three of her four 3-pointers in the second quarter, and Abril Ellis provided a boost by making two 3s in the third period.
North used a 9-2 run to slice away at a 40-28 deficit. Teaunna Cuthbertson scored inside to draw the Cavs within six, then converted a steal into a fastbreak layup.
The Spartans were ahead 42-37 after Ellis made a 3-pointer late in the third quarter, and they took an eight-point advantage to the fourth.
Quon Cuthbertson was on the bench with four fouls until she returned with 4:44 remaining. Cree Turner made a 3-pointer five seconds later to pull North within 47-44.
Quon Cuthbertson twice cut into six-point deficits by scoring inside, but the Cavs never could get over the hump against Central (9-12, 5-7).
“We’ve gotten a lot better from the start of the season, and I don’t have any complaints,” Hillian said. “We missed a couple shots, but everybody played a good game.”
CENTRAL DAVIDSON (60) ó Charles 22, Ch.Tysinger 10, Reid 8, Tuttle 5, Guterman 5, Ca.Tysinger 4, L.Beck 2, Baldwin 2, Oxendine 2, Hall, E.Beck.
NORTH ROWAN (53) ó Roberts 19, T.Cuthbertson 11, Q.Cuthbertson 8, Ellis 6, Brown 3, Turner 3, Smyre 2, Gregory 1, Bethea, Rhinehart.
C. Davidson 13 16 16 15 ó 60
North Rowan 5 14 18 16 ó 53