Staff report

CONCORD — East Rowan’s girls basketball players skipped off Coach Bo Court at Rimer Gym like they were 6-year-olds headed to the playground to jump on the swings, ride the see-saws and goof around on the monkey bars.

Tuesday’s 54-42 win against second-seeded Northwest Cabarrus in the semifinals of the South Piedmont Conference Tournament really did feel that good because the Trojans had meant nothing but frustration for the third-seeded Mustangs. East’s two toughest losses of the season had been to Northwest, in overtime at home and in a game the Mustangs let slip through their fingers at Northwest. That was the night 1,000-point scorer Mary Church couldn’t have hit the team bus with a basketball.

Northwest (20-5) saw the real Church, a more accurate Church, in Chapter 3. She made three 3-pointers.

The problem Northwest presents for East is basically Mackenzie Ortscheid, a forward who is too skilled for East’s bigs to handle and too tall for their small people.

Ortscheid was a handful again, but East fought her mostly with the feisty guards — Sadie Featherstone sets the bar high for feistiness — and could live with Ortscheid getting 16. She got eight at the foul line.

East (21-5) got double-figure scoring from Church, Kady Collins and Featherstone, the three girls they have to get double figures from to beat a good team, but the player of the game was Lily Kluttz. Kluttz handled Northwest’s defensive pressure. She made steals. She got the ball to the hot hand. She scored seven in the third quarter when Church and Featherstone were quiet. That made all the difference.

The game also showed again that head coach Bri Evans trusts everyone in an East uniform. Aniyah Marshall doesn’t play a lot, but she was on the floor at a crucial time, and she confidently made a huge jump shot. She also made the skip pass to Church for the 3-pointer that was the backbreaker.

Izzy Stepp also deserved flowers. She didn’t score, but she was so combative that she ticked the Trojans off. She got under their skin. You want her on your team.

East came out hot and led 7-0. Kori Miller scored the game’s first two. Isis Smith blocked Northwest’s first shot.

Northwest answered with 10 straight, including a pair of 3-pointers by young guard Ava Ibanez.

East was sputtering at the end of the first half. The Trojans scored the last eight of the half. Ibanez drove the length of the floor, right through a mass of Mustangs, for a layup with one second left in the half for a 28-21 Northwest lead.

Everyone had seen the act before. Northwest brings out the worst in East. East brings out the best in Northwest. But this time the Mustangs changed the narrative in the third quarter.

Down eight at 31-23, East’s comeback started quietly with two free throws by Collins. Then Kluttz made a 3-pointer. Kluttz also made the bucket for 32-all. Collins dialed long distance for the 3-pointer that gave East a 35-32 lead at quarter’s end. East won the quarter big – 14-4.

East smashed the Trojans in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Kluttz got the ball to Church for a quick release 3-pointer that provided a six-point lead. Marshall’s big bucket made it 42-34. Kluttz got the ball to Collins for another 3 and an 11-point lead. Church’s 3-pointer from the top brought rain indoors and screams of joy from every East fan who had made the trip to Concord. It was 48-34. There were four minutes left, but it was over.

Savannah Wise took a football shot late in the game — no Chief hit anyone that hard in the Super Bowl — but she’s OK. She contributed a 3-pointer in the second quarter. and her defensive length and speed are important to the Mustangs.

Church was in a major collision as well and wasn’t out there at the end, but she felt well enough to pound the air with her fists from the bench.

“They’re all going to be OK,” Evans said. “And that locker room was one of the happiest I’ve ever seen.”

East will have to come back down to Earth to compete in Friday’s 6 p.m. championship game at Concord.  Top-seeded Robinson, led by 6-foot-3 guard Camri Hobbs, is a powerful team and has beaten the Mustangs twice.

East Rowan    13    8    14   19   — 54

Northwest       14  14    4     10   — 42

EAST scoring — Collins 13, Church 11, Featherstone 11, Kluttz 9, Wise 4, Smith 2, Marshall 2, Miller 2.