By Sean Rinehart
sports@salisburypost.com
CONCORD ó Opening night to the 2011-2012 basketball season did not disappoint on Monday evening. South Rowanfought hard all night in a 38-33 win at Central Cabarrus.
ěI saw a lot of those girls grow up a lot tonight,î said head coach Jarrod Smith, who was very proud of his team after such a hard fought victory to open up the season.
In the first quarter, senior guard Lauren Miller went down with a sprained ankle, but the Raiders did not let that little bit of adversity stop them. That was not the only issue South Rowan had this evening. Late into the second half, freshman stand out Avery Locklear, who led the team with 13 points, had to spend some extended time on the bench due to cramping in both legs.
ěI was proud of my team tonight; with Miller going down and Avery cramping, the team worked together to get the ball down the court and win the game,î said Smith.
Locklear, who was all smiles after her first varsity game, admitted to being a little nervous but was proud of her teamís effort.
ěWe played great tonight,î said Locklear. ěWe really played as a team.î
Another pivotal piece to South Rowanís victory was senior guard Alexa Allison. Allison contributed 11 points to her teamís effort and was all over the court making plays.
ěI thought we worked well as a team tonight, but I still think we can play better as a team,î said Allison.
Not everyone who makes an impact has to score a lot of points. Coach Smith was very excited about the play of his senior forward Kayla Corriher, who scored 5 points but definitely made her presence felt all night.
ěI canít say enough about Kayla. She is everywhere on the court getting rebounds, and she plays great post defense,î said Smith. Both teams spent most of the game in some variation of a zone defense. Central Cabarrus was relying on passing and key perimeter shooting to score their points; South Rowan, however, was looking to attack the basket at every opportunity.
ěIn my three years coaching, this is the first team Iíve had that has really attacked the basket hard all night,î said Smith.
One thing the Raiders cannot have happen again is the inconsistency at the free throw line. South Rowan shot 22 of 43 from the stripe, which Coach Smith admitted is something that needs to be fixed.
ěIt got ugly for about 5 to 7 minutes there,î said Smith. ěThe game wasnít pretty, but weíll take it.î
SOUTH ROWAN (38) ó Locklear 13, Allison 11, Jones 6, K. Corriher 5, L. Corriher 3, McConneaughey, Register, Deal, Miller, Coley, Honeycutt, McCoy.
CENTRAL CABARRUS (33) ó Hagans 8, Thompson 8, Powell 5, Hubbard 5, Helms 4, Polk 2, Baker 1, Blakely, Brindle, Davis, Smith, South.
S. Rowan 13 5 9 11 ó 38
C. Cab. 10 3 8 12 ó 33