By Sean Rinehart
sports@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY ó The East Rowan gym was electric as the Mustang girls did all they could to get their first win on Friday.
They came up just short, losing 52-44 to Northwest Cabarrus.
Karleigh Wike and Kelli Fisher dominated the glass for the Mustangs. They combined for 23 rebounds.
ěI knew it was going to be a fight,î winning coach Kevin Bryant said. ěThey have a couple bigs down low that are hard to guard.î
The Trojans found a way to corral Eastís young post players, as those boards werenít enough for the Mustangs to gain any momentum.
ěWe havenít found a way to win,î East coach Danielle Porter said. ěWe are progressing, and our ultimate goal of where we want to be is on the horizon.î
Winning in any sport is hard, but excessive turnovers make it nearly impossible.
East struggled to have any ball control all night and turned it over 24 times.
ěWeíre a young team, and we really havenít put together a whole game yet,î Porter said.
East managed to fight back in the third quarter, and at one point was down by only five points. Momentum started to shift Eastís way until turnovers got in the way of progress.
While they struggled against the Trojans, it appears there are bright spots ahead for the program.
The Mustangs were led by tenacious underclassmen. Sydney Poole, Lauren Thomas, Wike and Fisher were Eastís leading scorers and all showed flashes of brilliance in a hard-fought effort.
The Trojans put up an aggressive effort, and once they took they lead, they were not about to give it up.
They were led by guard Jasmine Davis, who scored 13 points and was constantly flying up and down the court making good things happen for her team.
Northwest took advantage of Eastís mishaps in ball control and made big shots when given the opportunities.
The Trojans also played great man-to-man defense all night, making it difficult for the Mustangs to get perimeter shots or points in the paint.
ěOur defense really helped set the tone tonight,î Bryant said. ěWe played well. I was proud of our effort, and I thought we battled all night long.î
Northwest faces SPC rival Concord on Tuesday, while East will be at home against NPC foe Carson.
NORTHWEST CABARRUS (52) ó Davis 13, Spears 9, Bost 8, Zeiler 8, Lambert 6, Farrar 5, Swift 3, Jordan, Weiss.
EAST ROWAN (44) ó Fisher 9, Poole 9, Thomas 8, Wike 8, Sides 4, Gullett 3, Fry 3, Gobble, Brown, Rummage, Lowe.
NWC 5 21 13 13 ó 52
E. Rowan 5 10 13 16 ó 44