Preview: South Rowan Raiders vs. Lake Norman Charter Knights
South Rowan has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Lake Norman Charter Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Last Tuesday, it was a hard-fought contest, but South Rowan had to settle for a 54-51 loss against Concord. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss South Rowan has suffered against Concord since December 1, 2015.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 66-36, which was the final score in Lake Norman Charter's tilt against Robinson on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, Lake Norman Charter can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 415th, while Robinson is ranked 89th).
Despite the loss, Lake Norman Charter had strong showings from Callie Genece, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds, and Abby Courtney, who scored six points along with nine rebounds and five steals. Genece also posted two+ blocks for the first time this season.
South Rowan dropped their record down to 3-17 with that defeat, which was their eighth straight at home. As for Lake Norman Charter, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last seven matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-16 record this season.
South Rowan came up short against Lake Norman Charter in their previous meeting back in January, falling 53-48. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lake Norman Charter's Caroline Mercuri, who scored 20 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Now that South Rowan knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
