Girls basketball notebook …
In the strange-but-true category, while North Rowan’s boys have produced the last three Rowan County Player of the Year honorees (Oshon West, Michael Connor and Jalen Sanders), North Rowan’s girls have taken the award just three times since the Post started handing it out annually in 1971.
North’s Lola Jones, who went on to an All-America career at Bluefield State and is in the Salisbury-Rowan Sports Hall of Fame, was honored twice — 1988 and 1989.
North’s Shemieka Brown, who became a member of a national championship team at Shaw, was honored in 2007.
That’s it.
North Rowan’s girls have produced two of the top three scorers in county history in Sophilia Hipps (2,264 points) and Stephanie Cross (2,019), but neither was Rowan County Player of the Year.
Hipps played her first three high school seasons when her Rowan competition included Salisbury’s Shayla Fields, the highest-scoring player in county history with 2,783 points.
When Hipps, who went on to star at South Carolina State, was a North senior in 2006, it appeared to be her time to win the award, but then Salisbury senior Ashley Watkins led a young team to the 2A state championship game. Watkins got the award.
Cross played in the early 1990s when Rowan had an overload of talented girls players.
When Cross was a freshman and sophomore, South Rowan’s Tracy Connor, who was two years older, was the county’s dominant player.
Cross’ junior year, West Rowan senior Andrea Grissett led the Falcons to a regional final and a 26-4 record and was the choice for Rowan County Player of the Year.
Cross’ senior year was more of the same. West senior Wendy Hampton led the Falcons to a 24-3 mark and a 14-0 conference record and won the award.
That was quite an era for Rowan girls basketball, as those all-county teams also included 1995 Rowan County Player of the year Donna Carr, one of the best in Salisbury history.
Connor, one of the best ever to play at Wake Forest; Cross, who starred at Maryland; and Hampton, who did very well at Florida State, are Salisbury-Rowan Hall of Famers.
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So will North’s girls finally have another Rowan County Player of the Year at the end of this season?
Maybe.
With just four weeks left in the regular season, the Cavaliers (10-5) have two of the leading candidates in seniors Aliyah Farmer and Special Washington. Farmer has been a double-double machine since opening night. Washington was the Christmas tournament MVP. Both played very well in Friday’s loss to East Davidson, the No 2 team in 2A.
The other candidates? Well, there’s West Rowan senior Khaila Hall, who has led the Falcons (12-2) to first place in the South Piedmont Conference, and West Rowan sophomore Egypt Alexander, the Falcons’ leading scorer.
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And don’t forget the hottest player in the county. That’s East Rowan senior Shenell Pharr, who has poured in 77 points in her last three games. She’s been almost half of the Mustangs’ offense lately.
Pharr has 710 career points, including 264 this season. She’s averaging 16.5 points per game.
East (9-7) is playing better than it was early. The Mustangs’ last 10 outings have been six wins and four tight losses. Included in that stretch was a Christmas tournament victory against West Rowan.
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West, 9-0 in the SPC, obviously is the most likely Rowan girls team to win a conference championship. The Falcons hold a one-game lead over Hickory Ridge and they’ve won at Hickory Ridge.
4A Mallard Creek is 17-1 and the lone loss was to Hickory Ridge. In other words, that was a very impressive comeback win by the Falcons at Hickory Ridge.
West might be ranked when the new NCPreps.com 3A poll comes out today. It’s been quite a turnaround for the Falcons after going 17-32 the last two seasons.
Hall surpassed 1,200 career points on Friday and ranks sixth in West history.
West senior Taylor Martin surpassed 700 career points in Friday’s win at Robinson. That might be a record for people 5-feet tall.
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North won’t finish lower than second place in the 2A Central Carolina Conference and still gets one more shot at East Davidson. It will be very difficult to win at East Davidson, but a victory by the Cavaliers probably would mean a CCC co-championship.
North Rowan has never won an outright regular-season championship in girls basketball and has only claimed one co-championship.
Washington has 915 career points after scoring 17 against East Davidson on Friday. She’s scored 225 points already this season, more than she scored her entire junior year.
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The new year has not started well for Carson, which hasn’t been the same since the blowout loss to North Rowan in the Christmas tournament final.
The Cougars haven’t been healthy and they’ve dropped four in a row to fall to 10-6. A loss to Cox Mill really hurt, and Carson lost by 20 to surging Central Cabarrus, now the SPC’s third-best team, on Friday. Carson beat Central by 20 early in the season.
Carson has a home game against East Rowan on Tuesday that’s pivotal for both teams.
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While Salisbury has lost four of its last six, the Hornets are still 9-7 for the season and they have lots of winnable games ahead in the CCC. Considering the Hornets were 12-36 the last two years, they can feel good about where they are right now. They could finish as high as third in the six-team CCC.
Freshman Bryanna Troutman averages 13.2 points per game for the Hornets.
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South Rowan’s girls (2-13) played their last three games without freshman Janiya Downs, their leading scorer, but she’s expected to return from a concussion this week.
South had players step up in her absence. Malaysia Williams (18 points) and Riley Corriher (17) posted career highs in a 58-54 loss to East Rowan.
South has lost six in a row, but the rebuilding Raiders have been more competitive than anyone anticipated. Corriher, a sophomore, has averaged 8.6 points per game in her last eight outings.
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Davie’s girls are 10-7 and look like they’re headed for a third-place finish behind R.J. Reynolds and West Forsyth in the 4A Central Piedmont Conference.
Junior Ashlyn Hampton is averaging 15.8 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the field. Freshman Emma Slabach is a 42-percent shooter on 3-pointers and has made 31 this season.
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A.L. Brown’s girls (4-10) haven’t won yet in MECKA play.
The Wonders also missed chances for wins in non-conference games against Salisbury and South Rowan. The Wonders take on Concord on Wednesday in a tossup game.
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Tonight’s schedule: North Rowan at Thomasville. West Davidson at Salisbury. East Rowan at Carson. Northwest Cabarrus at West Rowan. Concord at South Rowan.