HIGH POINT – Playing Southwest Guilford has been anything but a cakewalk for High Point Central this season. Despite owning an 18-3 overall record, the Bison have had a difficult time getting a win in the Cowgirls’ gym.

Southwest defeated the Bison for a second time Tuesday night and now lays claim to first place in the Piedmont Triad 4A.

The Bison started slowly amidst a frigid shooting performance that included 22 missed layups, leading Central coach Kenny Carter to conclude after the game, “If we hit half of our point-blank range shots, we win the game.”

Matters grew worse as Southwest jumped to an 11-4 first-quarter lead courtesy of its stellar post play. Cheyenne Parker scored a game-high 17 points to give Southwest what Central lacked: an assertive inside scoring presence.

“We have enough players on our team that any one of my girls can have a great night,” Cowgirls coach Jessica Bryan said. “A lot of teams try to take (leading scorer Zena Lovette) out of the game, so it’s crucial to have someone like Cheyenne Parker step up.”

As the Bison settled into its halfcourt offense by passing the ball around the perimeter looking for open shots, the Cowgirls took to the paint, exploiting a sizeable height mismatch.

“We may be the smallest team in the state,” said Carter. “There’s a little disparity between a girl that’s 5-7, 140 pounds going to the basket and someone that is five feet tall, so we have to maximize our effort.”

Parker and teammate Shannon Buchanan – who had 13 points – not only combined for 30 points, but also played no small part in holding Arielle Harris – one of Central’s most illustrious scorers and the team’s tallest starter – to three points.

“Size is definitely an advantage,” Bryan said. “Teams think twice before challenging us at the basket.”

The feisty hustle of Central’s backcourt narrowed the margin in the fourth quarter as the Bison closed to within six with three minutes to go, but fell victim to fatigue and fell short in their rally.

Southwest improved to 13-6 overall and 8-1 in the league, while Central fell to third in the Piedmont Triad pecking order behind Northwest Guilford at 7-3.

High Point Central boys 71, Southwest Guilford 57

HIGH POINT – High Point Central’s boys got off to a fast start Tuesday night and easily dispatched Southwest Guilford 71-57 in their Piedmont Triad 4A Conference matchup.

Central’s boys were out and running from the opening tip, as the Bison built a 39-26 halftime lead. They followed the opening act with an even more impressive 24-point effort in the decisive third quarter.

“We’ve been looking better lately offensively,” Bison coach Patrick Battle said. “It was just a matter of if we were going to play defense. We hadn’t been stopping anybody, but I thought we did a good job of that tonight.”

Central’s offense performed as a well-oiled machine Tuesday. After spending the entire first half pushing the tempo in a full-court frenzy, the Bison showed in the second half they could also slow the pace and execute in the halfcourt.

Derek Grant finished with 12 points to lead Central, while Akeem Langham and Shaq Bethea added 10 apiece. Drew Adams and Sam Eberhart both pitched in eight for the Bison.

“I believe everybody has the ability to score,” Battle said. “We just want to put them in good spots. Tonight, everybody did their jobs.”

Central’s 13-point halftime lead quickly ballooned to 26 to begin the third quarter thanks to four treys in the first four minutes of the period from Adams, Langham and Eberhart. On the other end, the Cowboys (7-12, 4-4) had some success in putting points on the board when given the chance, but struggled with turnovers throughout which allowed Central to build its lead with the fastbreak.

Jalen Kitching had a game-high 14 and Greg Bridges added 12 for Southwest.

“We forced a lot of our own turnovers,” Southwest coach Guy Shavers said. “They out-hustled us, they outplayed us. We’re both battling for second place (in the conference). They just wanted it.”