Friday’s girls’ basketball rewind: 24 hours after ACC offer, North Meck freshman shines
It isn’t every day that an ACC school offers a freshman girls’ basketball player, particularly during this NIL and transfer portal era, but Wake Forest made an offer to North Mecklenburg’s Lenise Joseph on Thursday.
Friday night, Joseph led the Vikings to a 69-38 win over rival Chambers, scoring a game-high 22 points.
“It just pushes me to keep working harder and harder, because I don’t want to stop now,” Joseph said of the offer. “Just because you get an offer, it doesn’t mean you’ve got to stop. It means you push harder, so you can get bigger ones and bigger schools and go wherever you want. ... I’m still a freshman. I’m not done. I’m going to keep going and improve my game and keep moving up to the next level.”
With just a week remaining in the regular season, the Vikings find themselves two games behind Mallard Creek. The Mavericks will be favored to win out and take the league title, but Joseph thinks her team will be ready for a third meeting with the Vikings in the Queen City 3A/4A conference tournament later this month.
Mallard Creek beat North Mecklenburg 67-51 and 73-60 in two regular-season meetings.
Joseph, a 6-foot post, hopes for a different outcome if the teams meet for a third time.
“I feel like those last games are in the past,” she said. “Next game, it’s not going to be the same. We’re at a new level. We’ve got a new mindset and we’ll all be locked. The last game, we were shaky, kind of. We weren’t locked in. Next game, it’s 0-0 and we’re going to step it up a notch and hopefully win that game.”
Friday’s #BIG5 top performers
Kiaya Bond, West Cabarrus: In a 59-47 win over Mooresville, Bond had 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Daniyah Burton, Central Cabarrus: In a 58-45 win over rival Concord, Burton had 22 points, 15 rebounds.
Kaylee Carson, Independence: In an 82-36 win over East Carolina, Carson had 21 points, eight steals, two rebounds, two assists and a block. The East Tennessee State recruit surpassed 900 career points in 54 games. Her career average is 16.8.
Amya Graham, South Point: In a 73-62 win over Crest, Graham had 24 points, 12 rebounds. She has 980 career points.
Symphanie Stevens, Lincoln Charter: In a 48-36 win over Christ The King, Stevens had a game-high 20 points, six steals and four rebounds.
Talking Preps: On NIL and high schools
Talking Preps: How will private schools allowing NIL change NC high school sports?
Friday’s girls’ box scores
NO. 2 CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 61, BUTLER 39
Catholic 16 15 16 14 – 61
Butler 12 4 10 13 – 39
CATHOLIC 61 – Blanca Thomas 22, Gracynn Gough 10, Kernodle 8, McKain 7, McArdle 6, Fava 4, Tucker 2, Farrell 2
BUTLER 39 – Joy Park 16, Saunders 9, Hasson 9, Henderson 2, Campbell 2, Stitt 1
NO. 3 MALLARD 65, HOUGH 24
Mallard Creek 18 10 30 7 — 65
Hough 5 9 3 7 — 24
MALLARD CREEK 65 — Biosse 7, J. Stone 4, Elle Stone 26, Booker 6, Young 7, Easterling 6, Robertson 9
HOUGH 24 — Glamobeck 8, Zoerb 3, Law 3, Sabo 2, Jakubecy 4, Puskarich 2, Breault 2
Notable: Mallard Creek junior Elle Stone had 26 points, 10 rebounds, six steals, an assist and a block. Olivia Robertson, a junior, added nine points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists.
Record: Mallard Creek 19-3, 12-0
NO. 4 MYERS PARK 62, OLYMPIC 26
Olympic 7 3 6 10 — 26
Myers Park 13 11 24 14 — 62
OLYMPIC 26 — Char James 12, Smith 2, Ashbourne 6, Shaw 6
MYERs PARK 62 — Jerin Truesdale 20, Amani Barner 16, Thomason 6, Vlohas 2, McDaniel 5, LeXander 5, Evers 2, Reich 1, Lassiter 3, Cannie 2
Records: Olympic 12-9, 3-5; Myers Park 21-1, 8-0
NO. 5 INDEPENDENCE 82, EAST MECKLENBURG 36
Independence 20 21 20 21 — 82
East Meck 11 10 6 9 — 36
INDEPENDENCE 82 — Kaylee Carson 21, Kamryn Kitchen 19, Hannah Moss 14, Sellars 7, Worthey 8, Brimmer 4, Brown 4, C. Moss 3, Muhammad 2
EAST MECKLENBURG 36 — Downer 12, Weisner 8, Marshall 6, Domerch 4, Darling 3, Fatamur 2
Record: Independence 17-5
NO. 6 EAST LINCOLN 72, ST. STEPHENS 53
East Lincoln 13 21 17 21 — 72
SSHS: 20 11 14 8 — 53
EAST LINCOLN 72 — Kiara Anderson 24, Emma Montanari 21, A. Hege 8, L. Pethel, T. Thomas 8, B. Miller 3
ST STEPHENS 53 — Aubrey Gibbs 21, Kennedy Blevins 18, M. Harris 9, A. Rhyer 3, S. Barkley 2
Noteable: For East Lincoln, Kiara Anderson had 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists; Emma Montanari had 21 points, eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks; and Thaniyah Thomas added eight points, five steals, three rebounds and three assists.
NO. 9 NORTH MECKLENBURG 69, CHAMBERS 38
North Meck 21 17 25 6 — 69
Chambers 9 13 8 8 — 38
NORTH MECKLENBURG 69 — Lenise Joesph 22, Boston Bates 15, Hoover 8, Knox 7, Rivera 6, Pimentel 4, Fullenwider 4, Rowe 2, Smith 1
CHAMBERS 38 — L. Wallace 15, Bridges 9, Redman 9, Johnson 2, Kirk 2, Grovner 1
NO. 12 PROVIDENCE DAY 51, CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 42
Country Day 2 11 17 12 — 42
Providence Day 8 9 17 17 — 51
COUNTRY DAY 42 — Blythe 7, Sam Vanderhave 11, Olive Bigham 10, Crane 4, C Smith 3, Turner 3, Starnes 2, Brown
PROVIDENCE DAY 51 — Ramsden 11, McClure 9, Stewart 7, Levine 6, Dennison 6, Swinson 6, Fryans 2, Clark 2
Record: CCDS 16-10
CENTRAL CABARRUS 58, CONCORD 45
Central Cabarrus 17 12 18 11 — 58
Concord 16 12 6 11 — 45
CENTRAL CABARRUS 58 — Kyra Lewis 22, Daniyah Burton 22, Arévalo 6, Pickett 3, Blanchard 3, Duncan 3
CONCORD 45 — Kaylin Williams 15, Myajah Nix 14, Taylor 9, Nebrich 4
Notable: For Central Cabarrus, Daniyah Burton had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Kyra Lewis had 22 points, nine rebounds and six steals.
CUTHBERTSON 42, WEDDINGTON 38
Cuthbertson 12 8 7 15 – 42
Weddington 7 10 10 11 – 38
CUTHBERTSON 42 — Christian Mundy 19, Christian Johnson 8, Ava Beals 6, Riley Willie 6, Alexis Juhl 2, Riley Willie 1
WEDDINGTON 38 — Baily Page 16, Caroline Clark 6, Natelie Poole 5, Sydney Sitren 5, Madison Motto 4, Ella Bergman 2
FORESTVIEW 73, KINGS MOUNTAIN 46
Forestview 20 26 13 14 — 73
Kings Mountain 8 14 14 10 — 46
FORESTVIEW 73 — Megan Baker 15, Tralyn Phillips 13, Molly Forgan 12, Amani Neely 10, Manning 9, Riley 6, Thompson 6, Iyevbele 2
KINGS MOUNTAIN 46 — L. Pettis 12, A. Miller 14, Byrd 7 Martin 5, A. Bridges 3, M. Bridges 2, Diaz-Velez 2 Williams 1
Record: Forestview 15-7, 7-5
LINCOLN CHARTER 48, CHRIST THE KING 36
Lincoln Charter 10 15 18 5 — 48
Christ The King 6 11 12 7 — 36
LINCOLN CHARTER 48 — Symphanie Stevens 20, Kallie Lusk 19, Samantha Ayers 4, Claire David 2, Martha Guinle 2, Taylor Riggenbach 1
CHRIST THE KING 36 — R. Gorman 17, Claire B. 9, A. Gorman 8, Brianna 2
Record: Lincoln Charter 16-5, 9-2
NORTH LINCOLN 47, FRED T. FOARD 44
North Lincoln 8 11 15 13 — 47
Foard 12 13 11 8 — 44
NORTH LINCOLN 47 — Ally Smith 15, Hailey Hagler 11, M. Black 8, A. Black 7, Grice 3, Karr 3
Notable: For North Lincoln, Ally Smith (15 points, three assists), Hailey Hagler (11 points, six rebounds) and Madi Black (eight points, seven rebounds, two assists) sparked the win.
Records: North Lincoln 14-8; Foard 15-7
PROVIDENCE 53, ROCKY RIVER 29
Providence 10 18 18 7 — 53
Rocky River 6 6 4 13 — 29
PROVIDENCE 53 — Delanie Hill 23, Marlee Whitten 4, Julia Skinner 4, Lindsey Nolan 13, Naadiya Khan 2, Emerson Rosen 5
ROCKY RIVER 29 -- E. Overton 2, C. Monetgomy 12, M. Michael 8, T. Jarrett 7
Notable: Providence Lindsey Nolan was recognized for grabbing her 600th career rebound to go with 750 career points. She had a double-double Friday with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Record: Providence 10-11
SOUTH POINT 73, CREST 62
South Point 14 15 23 21 — 73
Crest 7 20 16 19 — 62
SOUTH POINT 73 — Amya Graham 24, Maddie Frank 19, Lexi Birtwistle 16, Toney Milton 3, Lauren French 2, Dajshia Foust 1
CREST 62 — Monica Surratt 18, D. Davis 14, H. Allen 11, K. Hayes 7, Natalie Blackwell 7, N. Freeman 4, Z. Faulkner 1
Notable: For South Point, Amya Graham recorded her 20th double-double of the season with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds. She is 20 points from 1,000 points. Maddie Frank also recorded a double-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Lexi Birtwistle added 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Record: South Point 14-8, 9-3
WEST CABARRUS 59, MOORESVILLE 47
West Cabarrus 16 10 13 20 — 59
Mooresville 9 16 12 10 — 47
WEST CABARRUS 59 — Kiaya Bond 21, Tyler Collins 18, Jillian Simmons 11, White 6, McNeil 3
MOORESVILLE 47 — Gia Lowe 16, Lane 6, Parker 7, Crum 4, Harrell 2, Wise Smith 7, Straub 5
Notable: For West Cabarrus, Kiaya Bond had 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Tyler Collins added 18 points, six assists and four steals. Freshman Jillian Simmons had 11 points, seven steals and two assists.
WEST LINCOLN 43, NEWTON-CONOVER 41
Newton-Conover 8 18 9 6 — 41
West Lincoln 8 11 10 14 — 43
NEWTON-CONOVER 41 — Grayson Rowe 12, Hadleigh Swagger 10, Jaylen Barnes 8, Sara Sain 7, Ashton Rowe 2, Emma Smith 2, Mikayla Ferson, Samiyah Hope
WEST LINCOLN 43 — C. Robinson 17, Z. Owenby 13, C. Varner 5, Q. Avery 4, p. Hood 2, L. Willis 2
Records: Newton-Conovere 6-16, 5-7; West Lincoln 9-13, 6-6
