KANNAPOLIS — South Rowan’s girls came into the season talking about defense and walked the walk on opening night.
South won 49-36 at A.L. Brown’s Bullock Gym, a significant victory for the Raiders, who had dropped eight straight to the Wonders.
“I thought it was an exciting way to start the season,” South guard Avery Locklear said. “None of us had ever beaten them. It was a goal, and we got it.”
The most significant stretch for South was holding the Wonders scoreless the first seven minutes. South built an 11-0 lead and the home team never caught up.
“You could tell it was a first game with all the jitters, but we held them to 11 points in the first half,” South coach Jarrod Smith said. “I thought we played confident on defense.”
Locklear didn’t really have a good shooting night, but she’s tough to keep off the foul line and 12 free throws helped her score 23 points.
Cassidy Chipman stroked outside shots and scored 14 points.
Lynsey Corriher had eight points, including two big buckets early in the second half that extended South’s lead.
Chipman and Corriher both had double-figure rebounds.
The other player who was key for the Raiders was 5-foot Sylvetta Bost. Her quickness helped South both beat pressure and apply pressure defensively in the opener for both teams.
“We’ve practiced hard to get to where we are,” Bost said. “We played with each other well, and we were able to get the season off to a good start.”
Aitana Grant scored nine points to lead the Wonders.

SOUTH ROWAN (49) — Locklear 23, Chipman 14, Corriher 8, Bost 4, Hubbard, McLendon, Martin, Figueroa, Stamey, Smith.
A.L. BROWN (36) — Grant 9, Downs 8, McCoy 8, Rodgers 5, Stanback 2, Howard 2, Kituku 1, Grier 1, Vernon, Alexander,

S. Rowan 11 8 15 15 — 49
A.L. Brown 4 7 11 14 — 36