Mallard Creek girls start No. 1 in Sweet 16, and the Mavericks don’t mind the pressure

This isn’t the first time that Mallard Creek High School’s girls’ basketball team has started No. 1 in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 girls basketball poll.

But with four starters back, plus an all-state transfer from Cannon School, this might be the Mavericks’ best chance yet at winning an elusive first N.C. 4A state championship.

“Being No. 1, that’s going to bring a big target on our backs,” said head coach Karlyn Dixon, starting her third season. “I feel like the girls are up for the challenge. But you’ve got to get one percent better every day. That’s our motto.”

Mallard Creek was 24-5 last season. The Mavericks upset North Mecklenburg to win the Queen City 3A/4A conference championship, ending the Vikings 19-game win streak, and lost to eventual N.C. 4A state finalist Lake Norman in the second round of the playoffs.

Back from that team are four starters: first team All Charlotte Observer pick Elle Stone, a 5-foot-11 junior guard; 5-8 sophomore Jazmeen Stone, Elle’s sister; 6-3 junior Olivia Robertson; and 5-10 sophomore My’Asia Young.

Before they moved to Charlotte last year, the Stone sisters were seen as two of the best young players in California. Their father, JT Stone, is the head coach at Harding High School.

“I feel like we’re very, very good and we’re capable of being great,” Elle Stone said. “I feel from last season, things are definitely changing, like we got a little smaller, with two seniors graduating, but carrying on, everybody is connected. And we’ve got a true point guard now. I don’t have to play it it anymore. That’s going to be such a big help.”

Stone and the Mavericks hope the final piece to their championship puzzle is point guard Lili Booker, a 5-6 senior with impressive end-to-end speed. Booker was a private school all-state pick at Cannon School last season. She helped the Cougars to a 24-5 record an appearance in the NCISAA 4A state final.

“I’ve been watching Mallard Creek play since I was in the second grade,” Booker said, “and it seems like every year, they get close and can’t pull through. Hopefully, this is the year when all the pieces fall in line.”

Booker, who said she’s been close to Mallard Creek coach Dixon since she was in fifth grade, thinks the Mavericks’ strength will be their versatility.

“Last year, the team was really good and they had some really good pieces,” she said. “I wanted to be able to play with that and be able to play as a (point guard) with other high-level players. Everyone on our team can get a bucket and everyone can get a stop. It’s not just one or two, either. It’s all 12 of us to be honest.”

Dixon said Booker should be the antidote to a problem the Mavericks have had in recent years, solving ball pressure, and she should be able to the ball to the Mavericks scorers where they like to get it. Dixon said Booker also be a problem for the other teams’ ball handlers on defense.

So if there was one major weakness to Mallard Creek’s team, and Mallard Creek’s chances for the 2023-24 season, Booker scratches that off.

Dixon said the expectation now is to win — and win big.

“It’s like championship or bust,” she said. “Winning state has been on the prayer list. You can accomplish a lot of things along the way, but that’s the feeling we have; that’s the pressure we want on us, and we really, really want to see it through.”

Preseason All-Observer girls’ basketball team