By Mike London

Salisbury Post

MOCKSVILLE — Those 17-0 runs are usually fatal, but for North Rowan’s girls, Davie County’s blistering first-half streak was just a flesh wound requiring a light bandage.

The quicker, bigger Cavaliers (4-1) shrugged off seven minutes of total Davie dominance and flattened the War Eagles 56-42.

“What happened in that one bad stretch was No. 15 (Davie guard Meisha Fowler) got loose and got hot like she can do,” North coach Mike White said. “But then we started finding No. 15 and played real good defense. It was our best overall effort of the year.”

Shemieka Brown hit five 3-pointers — all from the left corner — and led the Cavaliers with 23 points. She also had nine rebounds.

North’s intimidating post presences — Sierra Ingram, Shavonna Casey and Daquondra Cuthbertson — combined for 21 points, 19 rebounds, nine blocks and lots of smiles.

North’s bulk and spring overwhelmed the War Eagles (3-4) on the glass in the opening minutes for a 13-4 lead.

But an innocent-looking layup by Rebecca Riddle triggered 15 consecutive Davie points to end the first quarter. Fowler scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in a two-minute spree, including a banker from halfcourt to end the period.

When Fowler connected on a jumper to start the second quarter, the Cavaliers trailed 21-13 and appeared to be in trouble.

But Brown calmly hit a 3-pointer to stop the Davie binge, and White called timeout to regroup while Brown’s shot was still settling in the net.

“Coach started fussing at us, so we played a lot harder,” Casey said. “We started playing better on defense and better as a team.”

North stepped up its pressure in the second quarter, and while Davie didn’t turn the ball over frequently, the speed of the game accelerated, and a frantic pace favored the Cavaliers.

Casey’s layup, Brown’s acrobatic spin down the lane, and Cree Turner’s bank shot wiped out Davie’s lead and put North ahead to stay at 22-21.

North dominated the second quarter 18-3 and led 31-22 at halftime.

North’s offense quieted in the second half, but the defense kept coming. Fowler had only one shot attempt in the third quarter and no points as the Cavaliers pulled away.

“We had a lot of blocked shots,” White said. “We’re going to ride our big girls just as far as we can.”

White’s biggest concern was his team would be flat playing a road game between big county matchups with East and West Rowan. His concerns appeared justified during Davie’s run, but then the Cavaliers took care of business.

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NOTES: North’s Cree Turner often matched up with Davie guard Tonesha Turner, her sister. Cree said she “just tried to play her game.” White got a kick out of the sibling rivalry. “Cree’s got bragging rights now,” he said. “She can say, ‘Hey, I beat ya.’ ” … North won the boards 42-34 and held Davie to 23.6 percent shooting.

north rowan (56) — Brown 23, Ingram 9, Casey 7, Cuthbertson 5, Wilks 5, C. Turner 2, Bethea 2, Parker 2, Rice 1, Holshouser, Propst, Parsons.

Davie (42) — Fowler 14, Brown 6, Owens 5, Riddle 4, Garrett 3, Evans 3, Parrish 3, Walker 2, Allen 2, T. Turner, Pratapas.

N. Rowan 13 18 17 8 — 56

Davie 19 3 11 9 — 42

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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com.