Staff report

LANDIS — Northwest Cabarrus’ girls didn’t play great on Friday, but they still won easily at South Rowan, crushing the short-handed Raiders 58-25.

The Trojans (6-1, 3-0) may have missed 10 layups in the first quarter alone, but it didn’t matter much. Their pressure defense, keyed by freshman guard Ava Ibanez, made the methodical Raiders (3-5, 1-3) speed up to an uncomfortable pace and rushed them into countless turnovers.

Marisa Furner did some serious shot-blocking for the Trojans when South did manage to get the ball in the paint, and Furner joined Ibanez and forward McKenzie Ortscheid, who rebounded well, with double-digit scoring.

South’s leading scorer Kynlee Dextraze got her only two points with 3:53 left in the game. The Raiders were down by 27 at that point. South played most of the contest without No. 2 scorer Day Pharr, who appeared to suffer an ankle injury. The Raiders have been playing for a while without senior Hannah Atwell, their steadiest guard and most reliable 3-point shooter.

Meghan Eagle scored South’s only two buckets of the first quarter as the Raiders fell behind 14-4.

South got within 15-10 in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by McKenzie Menius, but the Trojans pulled away for a 28-13 lead at halftime.

Furner scored from close range for a 39-20 Northwest lead to close the third quarter, and Northwest continued to add to its lead in the fourth.

Marjah White came off the bench and made two 3-pointers for the Raiders.

Who are the top tier teams in the SPC? Right now, it’s Robinson, Lake Norman Charter, Northwest Cabarrus and Central Cabarrus. East Rowan lost an overtime game to Northwest, so the Mustangs still have a chance to be a top-half team.

 

NW Cabarrus   14   14   11   19 — 58

South Rowan    4     9     7     5   — 25

SOUTH scoring — Eagle 7, White 7, Menius 5, Dextraze 2, Krieg 2, Carter 1, Morgan 1.