Friday’s girls’ high school basketball rewind: No. 5 Mallard Creek routs No. 9 North Meck

Mallard Creek’s girls’ basketball team looks a whole lot different when junior Elle Stone is playing.

Stone played her third complete game of the season in Friday’s 67-51 win over North Mecklenburg, No. 9 in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16.

No. 5 Mallard Creek (8-2) looked like the team that was ranked No. 1 in the preseason rankings and not like the one that went 4-2 when Stone missed time with an ankle injury.

“We’re just so much different when she’s out there,” Mallard Creek coach Karlyn Dixon said. “On defense, she contests so much in the paint, and then she gets out running the lanes (on offense). She makes it so much easier on everybody else.”

Stone — a preseason All-Observer regional pick — had 12 points, 12 steals, five rebounds and four blocks Friday. Mallard Creek (8-2, 3-0 Queen City 3A/4A) led North Mecklenburg 36-28 at halftime, but blew the game open with a 23-10 push in the third quarter.

Mavericks point guard Lili Booker, a Cannon School transfer, and Olivia Robertson also played big roles in the win. Booker had 32 points, six steals and four assists. Robertson had 11 points, 10 blocks and five rebounds.

Mallard Creek has long been an N.C. girls’ basketball state power, but the Mavericks have never reached the championship round. With Stone, the team’s best player, getting back to full strength, Dixon thinks her 2023-24 Mallard Creek team has a real chance.

“We had to take a couple lumps, to learn some things and figure out some things with Elle out,” Dixon said. “But with all the pieces we have, I think we’re working towards something special.”

NC/SC scoreboard

Friday’s #BIG5 top performers

Kyliah Brown, South Mecklenburg: In a 61-35 win over Palisades, Brown recorded her first career triple-double. She finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals.

Kate Lesniak, Lincoln Charter: Lesniak made four straight 3-point shots in a 78-19 win over Langtree Charter. She finished with a career-high 14 points.

Chloe Moss, Independence: Moss had 18 points, on 8-for-12 shooting, and eight rebounds in a 73-25 win over Garinger.

Olivia Robertson, Mallard Creek: Robertson had 11 points, 10 blocks, five rebounds in a 67-51 over No. 9 North Mecklenburg.

Charlotte Tune, Charlotte Latin: Tune turned in a game-high 25 points in a 68-35 win over Metrolina Christian.

Friday’s box scores

NO. 1 INDEPENDENCE 73, GARINGER 25

Independence 27 18 19 9 — 73

Garinger 6 13 0 6 — 25

INDEPENDENCE 73 — Chloe Moss 18, Kaylee Carson 18, Kamryn Kitchen 11, Sellars 7, Brimmer 7, Worthey 6, H. Moss 2, Brown 2, Muhammad 2

GARINGER 25 — Williams 10, Kelly 6, Patterson 4, Garris 2, Garvin 2, Gargin 1

Notable: Independence’s Chloe Moss scored 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.

Records: Independence 8-1; Garinger 8-2

NO. 2 CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 62, ROCKY RIVER 20

Rocky River 6 4 2 8 — 20

Catholic 11 13 22 16 — 62

ROCKY RIVER 20 — Jarrett 8, Montgomery 7, Overton 5

CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 62 — Blanca Thomas 21, Gracynn Gough 10, Kernodle 9, Hoefling 8, McKain 5, Shea 3, Byron 2, Tucker 2, Fey 2

Records: Catholic 7-0; Rocky River 3-5

Notable: For Charlotte Catholic, Blanca Thomas, a UNC recruit, had 21 points, five rebounds and three blocks. In Tuesday’s win over No. 1 Independence, Thomas had 26 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

NO. 5 MALLARD CREEK 67, NORTH MECKLENBURG 51

Mallard Creek 14 23 17 — 67

North Meck 17 11 10 13 — 51

MALLARD CREEK 67 — Elle Stone 12, Lili Booker 32, Olivia Robertson 11, Alana Biosse 11, J. Stone 4, Young 3

NORTH MECK 51 — Lenise Joseph 18, Bates 9, Knox 8, Rivera 5, Pimentel 4, Fullenwider 3, Reid 2, Hoover 1, Davis 1,

Notable: Mallard Creek junior Elle Stone (12 points, 12 steals, five rebounds, four blocks), senior Lili Booker (32 points, six steals, four assists), junior Olivia Robertson (11 points, 10 blocks) and senior Alana Blosse (11 points, four rebounds) led the Mavericks.

Records: Mallard Creek 8-2, 3-0

HIBRITEN 59, NO. 8 EAST LINCOLN 48

Hibriten 9 12 22 16 — 59

East Lincoln 20 4 10 14 — 48

HIBRITEN 59 —Emma Poarch 13, Aamori Patterson 12, Jada Brown 12, Karlee Starnes 11, Parker Boggs 6, Mckenzie Collins 5

EAST LINCOLN 48 — Emma Montanari 11, Abbie Hege 11, Kiara Anderson 10, Nevaeh Atkins 10, T. Thomas 6

Notable: East Lincoln’s Abbie Hege had a double-double (11 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals, block)

Records: Hibriten 7-0; East Lincoln 6-1

NO. 10 HICKORY RIDGE 51, SUN VALLEY 43

Hickory Ridge 14 20 7 10 — 51

Sun Valley 13 14 7 9 — 43

HICKORY RIDGE 51 — M Gidney 18, Leathers 16, S. Gidney 11, C. Woodward 4, Johnson 2

SUN VALLEY 43 — Robinson 18, Vaughn 10, Henry 7. Meaders 4, Grant 2, Bradley 2

Records: Hickory Ridge 6-1; Sun Valley 5-5

NO. 11 ARDREY KELL 69, BERRY 9

Ardrey Kell 26 15 15 — 69

Berry 3 2 3 1 — 9

ARDREY KELL 58 — Molly Burns 22, McCoy 8, Glahn 8, Stone 6, Fleck 6, Kennan 4, Collin 4,Washington 4, Riley 4, Adarkwah 2

BERRY 9 — Parker 3, Brynlee 3, Bella 1, Janavia 2

WEST CABARRUS 59, NO. 13 MARVIN RIDGE 40

West Cabarrus 18 10 13 16 — 59

Marvin Ridge 10 15 9 6 — 40

WEST CABARRUS 59 — Kaiya Bond 18, Rayana Minard 15, Tyler Collins13, Simmons 7, White 6

MARVIN RIDGE 40 — Cadence Douglas10, Lenahan 3, Edwards 3, Robitaclle 7, Chepul 7, Shindler 8, Allessandro 2

Notable: For West Cabarrus, sophomore Kaiya Bond (18 points, 12 rebounds, two steals), Rayana Minard (15 points, seven assists, five steals) and senior Tyler Collins (13 points, four steals, five rebounds, two assists) had big games.

Records: West Cabarrus 3-4, 0-0; Marvin Ridge 6-1; 0-0

No. 14 CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 58, CARY ACADEMY 12

Country Day 25 12 16 5 — 58

Cary Academy 3 2 2 5 — 12

CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 58 — Margaret Blythe 13, Olive Bigham 13, Vanderhave 9, C Smith 8, Turner 7, Britton 3, Crane 2, Starnes 2, Brown 1

CARY ACADEMY 12 — Surafeal 6, McMahon 4, Leachman 2

Records: Country Day 8-3; Cary Academy 4-4

ALEXANDER CENTRAL 63, SOUTH IREDELL 47

South Iredell 9 9 10 19 — 47

Alexander Central 14 22 17 10 — 63

SOUTH IREDELL 47 — Kayden Johnson 28, Fink 1, Schramm 7, Jones 2, Winterhalter 3, Bradford 4, Johnson 2

ALEXANDER CENTRAL 63 — Jarrett 8, Herman 1, Jordan 3, Meredith Wike 10, Adams 4, Taylor Roseman 11, Haas 4, Brashear 1, Jack 9, Hammer 6, Burch 6

Records: Alexander Central 10-0; South Iredell 2-7

Notable: South Iredell’s Kayden Johnson had 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting and was 8-for-9 on free throws. She also had seven rebounds, three blocks and an assist.

CHARLOTTE LATIN 68, METROLINA CHRISTIAN 35

Charlotte Latin 20 11 24 13 — 68

Metrolina Christian 10 5 14 6 — 35

CHARLOTTE LATIN 68 — Charlotte Tune 25, Neely Hume 18, Alison Archibald 11, Hyder 7, Bean 3, Hutchinson 2, Piotrowski 2

METROLINA CHRISTIAN 35 — Alaina Griffin 22, Carlson 8, Crowe 2, Lederer 2, Harter 1

LINCOLN CHARTER 78, LANGTREE ACADEMY 19

Lincoln Charter 21 22 24 11 — 78

Langtree 0 4 7 8 — 19

LINCOLN CHARTER 78 — Kate Lesniak 14, Symphani Stevens 14, Martha Guinle 11, Tyler Beller 10, Lillie Merrill 9, Taylor Riggenbach 6, Kaylyn Cherry 6, Kallie Lusk 6, Abigal Wrenn 2

LANGTREE ACADEMY — F. Chambers 19

Notable: Lincoln Charter sophomore Kate Lesniak had a career-high 14 points, including four made 3-pointers in a row. Freshman Abigal Wrenn scored her first varsity points.

Record: Lincoln Charter 5-4, 2-1

PIEDMONT CHARTER 45, CHERRYVILLE 42

PIEDMONT CHARTER 45 — Lyric Brown 14, Aubree Cammer 9, J. East 6, Houser 6, Faris 5, E. East 3, Berry 2

SOUTH MECKLENBURG 61 , PALISADES 35

SOUTH MECK 19 15 10 19 — 61

PALISADES 3 4 13 15 — 35

SOUTH MECK 61 — Makailah Davis 24, Brown 14, Hensley 9, Kluttz 9

PALISADES 35 — Tynilla Simpkins 16 Chavis 6

Notable: South Meck’s Kyliah Brown had her first career triple-double (14 points, 10 rebounds, 10 steals). Teammate Makailah Davis shot 53 percent from the field and had a game-high 24 points.

WEDDINGTON 55, COX MILL 50

WEDDINGTON 55 — Ella Bergman 16, Caroline Clark 12, Bailey Page 12, Sitren 7, Motto 2, Poole 2, Townshend 2, Brosterous 2

Records: Weddington 6-3; Cox Mill 4-3

This weekend’s schedule

Saturday

Phenom Hoops Ish Smith Showcase

(at Central Cabarrus High)

Central Cabarrus vs. Hickory Ridge, 10 a.m. (girls)

Rabun Gap School (GA) at United Faith Christian, 11:30 a.m.

Covenant Day vs. Davidson Day, 1

Concord Academy at Mooresville, 2:30

Weddington vs. Gaston Christian, 4

Forsyth Country Day vs. The Burlington School, 5:30

Carmel Christian vs. Concord Academy, 7

Central Cabarrus vs. Hickory Ridge, 8:30

Battle for the Crown (girls)

(at United Faith Christian)

Greenville (SC) vs. Northside Christian, 3:30

Legion Collegiate (SC) vs. Salisbury, 5

South Mecklenburg vs. United Faith Christian, 6:45

Charlotte Catholic vs. Quality Education, 8:30

NC-SC Invitational (boys)

(at Indian Land High)

South Pointe vs. N.C. Good Better Best, noon

Victory Christian vs. Indian Land, 4:30

Nonconference

Asheville School at SouthLake Christian (boys, 1:30)

Cannon School vs. Montclair (NJ) Immaculate Conception, in Jimmy V Showcase in Raleigh, 4:30 (boys)

Charlotte Country Day at Trinity School of Durham/Chapel Hill (girls, 11:30 a.m.; boys, 1)

Fort Mill at Christ Church Episcopal (girls, 3:30; boys, 5)

Greater Cabarrus Stallions at Chatham Home School

High Point Wesleyan at Providence Day (girls, 1:30)

Independence at Millbrook (girls, 1)

PHOTOS: North Meck at Mallard Creek doubleheader