TYRO — As they have done so often this season, the North Rowan girls put on an impressive display of grand larceny Friday night to secure a win.
On a night when they experimented with a lot of different line-ups the Cavaliers racked up 25 steals and cruised to a 49-18 conference win at West Davidson.
Now if they could just hit their foul shots they would really be good.
Ten players contributed to the scoring as North used a 13-0 run to end the first half then a 7-0 run to start the second half to put the game away.
In a battle of the first and last place teams in the Central Carolina Conference, North displayed balanced scoring, depth off their bench and, of course, a stifling pressure defense. Their only true flaw on the night, and really all season, was their free throw shooting.
North (10-1, 2-0) went to the foul line 23 times but only connect on six of them.
“It is amazing to shoot as well as we do and miss as many free throws as we do,” Cavalier coach Brian Lytton lamented. “ But we will just have to continue to work on it. We will come around.”
Sophomore forward Aliyah Farmer turned in the most complete effort for the winners with 10 points, six rebounds and five steals. She also keyed the second quarter surge that turned the game around from a slim 10-8 lead to a 23-8 halftime margin.
Farmer scored three buckets, had two steals and a blocked shot to close out the half but also missed three foul shots. “It is just a mental thing but we have to start making them,” she said. “But I knew I had to step up tonight for my team. I have a lot to work on but I think I played pretty well.”
Senior guard Nycieko Dixon actually led the Cavs with 13 points and five steals but she did not play in the first half. The same was true for regulars Special Washington and Ashley Blaire. They were not in the dog house, Coach Lytton just wanted to look at some of his bench players.
“We tried to give some of the other girls a chance and develop our depth,” Lytton said. “I wanted to see what some of them could do and some did really well.”
Farmer was the one constant throughout but when North brought in regulars Dixon, Washington, Blaire and Demeria Robinson to start the second half, everything elevated several notches.
Dixon had five steals and six points quickly as the lead ballooned to 30-8. The Dragons (0-2, 1-12) had one brief surge late in the third but never got closer than 19 the rest of the way. North held them to just three points and no field goals in the final period.
“I tried to prepare my girls because I knew North was going to be quick and athletic, “ Dragon coach Jamie Motsinger said. “But once they were able to steal the ball several times in a row that just got us all out of whack, Their guards are just so quick. They just anticipated our passes.”

NORTH ROWAN (49) —Dixon 12, Farmer 10, Washington 6, Royer 5, Robinson 5, Lingle 4, Allen 4, Russell 1, A. Blaire 1, Mills 1, Liles, Cannon, White.
WEST DAVIDSON (18) — Chrisley 6, Yancey 4, Leonard 3, O. Mast 2, Crisp 2, Dalton,. R. Mast, Hunt, Armstrong.
N. Rowan 6 17 15 11 — 49
W. Rowan 4 4 7 3 — 18