A disciplined defensive effort and the highly anticipated return of an injured star propelled the North Iredell Raiders to a 54-38 victory Tuesday over the East Rowan Mustangs. The win couldn’t have come at a better time, with North Iredell currently in second place in conference play, just one game behind the Carson with just two weeks left until the tournament.
The Raiders led for nearly the entire game, using a strong defensive performance to frustrate the Mustangs in the frontcourt.
“We knew they had a size advantage, so we double-teamed them in the post to stop the lobs to their forwards,” North Iredell coach Tami Ramsey said.
North Iredell guards Mariah Johnson and Stacey Lunsford methodically worked the ball into the post on the opposite end of the court, creating scoring opportunities for forwards Brooke Redmond and Ali Robbins, who contributed seven and eight points, respectively.
The highlight of the evening was certainly Bri Johnson’s return from an ACL injury she sustained last summer. She saw limited action, as Coach Ramsey wanted to ease her back into the lineup.
“We wanted to get her in for about three minutes of each quarter and not push her too hard,” Ramsey said. “I probably went over that a little bit, but Bri really wants to get back out there and play.”
Johnson was clearly excited about getting back onto the court.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” she said. “I loved getting back out there with my team.”
Even with her playing time reduced, Johnson led the way for her team offensively, pouring in 17 points, the first of which came only ten seconds after she checked into the game.
Johnson’s recovery has been assisted by trainer Derone McNeill, who was optimistic about her role increasing in upcoming games. “At this point, it’s more of a matter of conditioning rather than her knee. There’s a difference between practice speed and game speed, and as she is able to play more and get back into game shape, she’ll see more time.”
That’s welcome news for the Raiders, who have three games left in their regular season, the last of which will be at Carson. If the Raiders can duplicate Tuesday’s performance, they’ll be strong contenders for a share of the top seeding heading into the conference tournament.
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