Elevator

Amanda Dobner, Hickory Grove girls: 20 points, 17 rebounds Friday against Gaston Christian. Dobner is averaging 20 points and 17 rebounds in her past four games. UP

Butler girls: Upset No. 2 Berry 48-45 Thursday behind 19 points from Jaymee Fisher-Davis. Butler beat Providence 59-38 Friday. Fisher-Davis went for 21 points in that one. UP

Stephanie Watts, Weddington girls: Continuing amazing freshman season with 27 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals in 59-42 win against Sun Valley. UP

Local conference championship races: Almost every Mecklenburg County race is going to the wire. UP

Concord boys: No. 2 Spiders won 21st straight with 94-48 win against Mount Pleasant that broke a 23-year-old school record. UP

Friday's Headlines

Hopewell girls upset No. 7 Mallard Creek

Led by 15 points from Sharee' Boyd and a combined 22 from Bryanna Curry and T'Shea Glenn, Hopewell upset Mallard Creek 42-35.

Mallard Creek, No. 7 in the Sweet 16, got 12 points, three rebounds and two steals from Nicole Graham plus 10 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals from Amber Neely. But the Mavericks (17-4, 9-3) dropped one game behind Hopewell (14-7, 10-2) and two behind I-Meck 4A-leading Hough (14-6, 11-1).

No. 14 Charlotte Catholic boys hold off No. 7 Berry

After leading by six points at the end of the first half, No. 14 Charlotte Catholic ran off to a 21-point lead against No. 7 Berry in the third quarter, but the Cardinals scared Catholic before falling 81-76.

Catholic (18-4, 8-2 ME-GA 7 3A/4A) got a big win among 3A teams in the conference, as Berry (17-5, 6-4) and Harding (17-4, 6-4) both lost. The league gets two automatic 3A playoff berths.

South Meck boys win fifth straight, stop Myers Park

South Mecklenburg, No. 13 in the Sweet 16, won its fifth straight game Friday at Myers Park, stopping the Mustangs 71-65. Carrington Kirkpatrick had 28 points for South.

South Meck (18-4, 10-2) took sole possession of first place in the Southwestern 4A. With two games to play, the Sabres have a one-game lead on Myers Park (14-8, 9-3) and Butler (13-9, 9-3).

Friday's Top Performers

Mike Brown and Mark Blackmon, West Charlotte boys: In a 76-48 win against Lake Norman, the pair had great games for No. 4 West Charlotte. Brown, signed with Western Carolina, had 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Blackmon, the N.C. 4A cross-country champ, had 17 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Tonjai Everett, Forest Hills girls: 30 points, 10 rebounds in 63-43 win against Cuthbertson.

Zach Ferguson, Butler boys: 23 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists in 71-61 win against Providence. Brother Riley Ferguson had 14 points and Channing Stribling finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Donte' Clark, Kennedy Charter boys: 21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals in 76-55 win against Crossroads Charter. Jalen White had 12 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals.

Jessica Gaston, West Charlotte girls: 15 points, 13 rebounds, two steals in 63-55 win against Lake Norman. Gabrielle McClain added 20 points, eight rebounds, five steals and five assists.

Alexius Hampton, Harding boys: 20 points, eight steals, five assists in 59-38 win against Olympic. Abrea Harris had eight points, nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals for the Rams

Jaren Hopkins, East Gaston boys: Career-high 19 points in 79-72 win against South Point.

Dre' Howell, Mooresville boys: Junior forward had 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three blocks in 79-78 win against Hough. Raphael Montgomery, a sophomore, had 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Sandra Knox, East Meck girls: Scored her 1,000th point in 81-35 loss to Ardrey Kell. Christelle Shembo had 18 points for the winners.

Maryah Mazyck, Charlotte Christian girls: 15 points, 13 rebounds, nine steals and two assists in 54-26 win against Cannon. The Knights played without star center Gigi Bailey.

Jevon Patton, Highland Tech boys: 31 points, 10 assists, six steals in 59-52 win against Lake Norman Charter.

Brandi Segars, Rocky River girls: 25 points, eight rebounds, three steals in 51-47 win against Independence.

Shaun Stewart, Sun Valley boys: 31 points in 74-53 win vs. Weddington. Sun Valley (18-4) won its 10th straight and the Southern Carolina 4A championship.

Emry Tsitouris, Parkwood girls: 23 points, 16 rebounds in 64-51 win against Marvin Ridge.

Alec Wintering, United Faith boys: 10 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals in 101-65 win vs. Victory Christian. Braxton Ogbueze (19 points, eight assists, six rebounds), Zach Davis (14 points, eight rebounds, five assists), Peter Jurkin (20 points, 10 rebounds), Nehemiah Mabson (14 points, 21 rebounds) and V.J. King (18 points, three assists) also had strong games.