LANDIS — South Rowan’s girls injected some color into a mostly gray season Tuesday night.
The Raiders snapped a nine-game losing streak and earned their first NPC victory when they toppled visiting Statesville 57-35.
“I felt like we did everything we were supposed to do,” third-year coach Jared Smith said after South (4-12 overall) reached the league season’s midpoint with a 1-5 record. “We did our best job defensively. We’ve been able to score a lot in some games but still lose them. I thought we used more energy on defense tonight and that was the difference.”
It wasn’t a pretty game, but South couldn’t complain after winning for the first time in more than a month.
“It’s been rough,” sophomore Avery Locklear said after netting a game-high 16 points. “But tonight we got the win we needed.”
They got it because their defense limited Statesville (2-11, 1-4) to 13 baskets and forced 33 turnovers. And because they used a 12-0 run in the first quarter to build a commanding 13-2 lead.
“It wasn’t a good outing for us,” said Statesville coach Greg Stewart. “We couldn’t rebound. And we turned the ball over when they weren’t even putting pressure on us.”
Sounds like a recipe for disaster — something South is all-too-familiar with.
“We know about that,” Smith said afterward. “But we did a good job tonight of getting turnovers and turning them into points. It’s something we’ve been struggling with, getting turnovers and finishing.”
Smith tried to sell his team the theory that last night’s game — South’s first following an 11-day layoff — marked a new beginning.
“It felt like the start of a new season,” sophomore Cassidy Chipman said. “This game has been a long time coming. So many times we’ve been this close to winning and didn’t pull through. Tonight we played a team game and got it done.”

STATESVILLE (35) — Hairston 9, Arnette 9, Carr 4, Bagley 4, Padget 3, Parson 2, Lewis 2, Mayfield 1, Smiith 1.
SOUTH ROWAN (57) — Locklear 16, Chipman 8, Hubbard 8, Kam.Stamey 6, Davis 4, Martin 4, Bost 4, Honeycutt 4, McClendon 2, Kac.Stamey 1,

Statesville 4 10 8 13 — 35
S. Rowan 17 13 19 8 — 57