Staff report

GRANITE QUARRY — It’s been a great season to this point for Rowan County girls basketball.

East Rowan, the county’s surprise team, is 8-1 but still is the likely No. 4 seed in the upcoming Dale’s Sporting Goods Christmas Tournament.

Carson, West Rowan and Salisbury will all go into Thursday road games undefeated.

East’s eighth win came with relative ease at home on Wednesday against 1A non-conference opponent South Stanly.

The Mustangs cruised 50-29.

East didn’t start fast but took control of the game by outscoring the visitors 18-5 in the second quarter for a 28-14 halftime lead.

“We had a slow start and a shaky third quarter, but I still thought we were better than we were on Monday at Mount Pleasant,” East coach Kevin Holland said.

Junior guard Adalie Harrison led the Mustangs with 17 points. She’s scored in double figures in seven straight games and reached 500 career points.

Caroline Houpe scored 10 for East. Zee Winford scored eight, Grace Eagle had seven, and Brooke Mitchell added six.

“Adalie had another strong game,” Holland said. “Caroline probably played her best game of the season. Grace missed a couple of shots she normally makes, but she played hard.”

Mary Spry, a freshman who has been a big factor, got in early foul trouble and didn’t score.

Keeli Crisco led South Stanly (4-5) with seven points.

East had held three straight opponents in the 20s. The only game in which East allowed more than 33 points was a 50-34 loss to Central Cabarrus.

East was 5-20 last season and 4-20 the season before that. The most recent 8-1 start for the Mustangs was by the strong  Danielle Porter-coached 2014-15 club (Kelli Fisher, Shenell Pharr, Shenique Pharr, Amani Ajayi, Kaleigh Troutman, Jocelyn Lowe) that won the Christmas tournament and finished 22-4.

East will try to improved to 9-1 tonight at A.L. Brown (0-6).

S. STANLY (29) — Crisco 7, Hinson 6, Harris 3, Noble 3, Wall 3, Shankle 2, Rummage 2, LeGrande 2, Lee 1.

EAST (50) — Harrison 17, Houpe 10, Winford 8, Eagle 7, Mitchell 6, Miller 2, Honeycutt, Spry, Peeler, Fraley, Fleming, Ali.

S. Stanly     9    5    13    2    —  29

E. Rowan   10  18   11   11     — 50