By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
LANDIS ó West Rowan’s girls added a solid ballhandler, a superior defender and a proven scorer on Friday.
Senior Peyton Sawyer regained eligibility at the start of a new semester and made her season debut in a 49-38 NPC victory at South Rowan.
“I love this, I’m so happy to be back, and I wanted to make up for lost time,” Sawyer said. “But this was about the team, not about me. I just wanted to help us win.”
Sawyer’s 10 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks were helpful, and the difference she made in West’s confidence and intensity were priceless. Sawyer took a lot of pressure off sophomore Ayana Avery, who poured in 24 points.
The Falcons (7-9, 4-7) played as well as they have all season. Mila Simmons and Allison Parker also had their moments.
“Coaching is all about players,” West coach Erich Epps said. “Peyton earned her right to come back and play. She’s one of the top players in our conference, and she will make a difference.”
South senior Taylor May, 10th in South history with 885 points, had 23 points and 15 rebounds in a losing cause. The Catawba signee looked as if she might break every record in the book when she scored all 12 of South’s first-quarter points and added seven rebounds.
But West did a better job denying May the ball after the first quarter and Desere Cross and Parker worked to box her out.
“Taylor’s a great player, but we finally slowed her down,” Epps said. “And we were lucky to catch South on a night Nikki Graham was cold.”
It was dead-even in the first half, but Avery gave West separation when she drilled four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the third quarter.
“Call it what you want, that was the ballgame right there,” South coach Jim Brooks said. “We did a good job on Avery, but then we let up for just a little bit. And Peyton goes very hard. That wasn’t a big shock. We knew it was coming.”
Fourth-place South (10-8, 7-5) welcomed Kayla Morrow back from a shoulder injury, but Sawyer’s savvy and Avery’s shooting were a tough combination.
“Peyton helped me a lot,” Avery said. “We’re way quicker with her out there. She gives us more teamwork and more speed.”
west rowan (49) ó Avery 24, Sawyer 10, Simmons 7, Parker 6, Watkins 2, Cross, Dutton, Moose, Calloway. south rowan (38) ó May 23, Graham 6, Morrow 4, Goins 4, W. Haywood 1, K. Haywood, Sides, Garrett.
W. Rowan 12 9 22 6 ó 49
S. Rowan 12 8 7 11 ó 38