South guard Madilyn Cherry. Submitted photo.

 

Staff report

KANNAPOLIS — South Rowan’s girls basketball team played its best half of the season and stayed with Northwest Cabarrus for 16 minutes.

The high-powered Trojans broke it open in the third quarter and beat South 86-56 on Tuesday in a South Piedmont Conference opener.

The SPC appears to be a very competitive girls league. Northwest figures to be one of the best teams and might be the best of all.

Northwest (5-0, 1-0) led 40-34 at halftime and outscored South 46-22 in the second half.

“We had a great first half,” South head coach Alex Allen said. “But we have to finish it. They got us in transition in the second half.”

Bethany Rymer scored a career-high 23 for the Raiders (2-4, 0-1). She scored 11 in the first quarter to help South stay in it.

Mackenzie Chabala scored 13, while Madilyn Cherry had nine.

Chaunesse Barringer scored 21 for the Trojans. Leah Zsambecky made five 3-pointers.

‘We fought,” Allen said. “We’re the only team to score more than 43 against them,  so there are some little victories to look at. Those little victories help us continue to progress.”

South      20    14    8    14    — 56

NWC     23     17    22   24    — 86

SOUTH SCORING — Rymer 23, Chabala 13, Cherry 9, Dextraze 6, Everett 2, Bruce 2, Atwell 1.