West Coast move to Charlotte beneficial for Elle Stone, Mallard Creek girls’ basketball

After she averaged more than 20 points per game as a freshman at Santa Barbara High School four years ago, Elle Stone and her younger sister, Jazmeen, moved across the country from Southern California to join family in Charlotte.

They’ve actually found two families as Elle and Jazmeen Stone are now two of the top players for the highly-ranked Mallard Creek High School girls basketball program. Today, Elle has been named a finalist for the N.C. Ms. Basketball Award for the state’s top player.

“My sister and I came here at first without our parents,” Elle Stone said of the move three years ago. “We were staying with our grandma and our aunt and uncle. So we already had a family. But as a soon as we met everybody on the (Mallard Creek) team, we felt like we had another family. That made it a much easier move.”

On the court for the Mavericks, the Stones have helped coach Karlyn Dixon’s team to a 24-5 record and second-round playoff appearance in 2023, a 26-4 record with a league title and third round appearance last season and a 13-2 record (5-0 in the Queen City 3A/4A Conference) with No. 2 N.C. Class 4A and No. 3 Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 rankings entering Friday’s home game against Chambers.

Along the way, both have been highly-recruited players — with Elle Stone committing to Delaware in September and Jazmeen Stone receiving attention from multiple schools.

“Having those two come in has really helped continue the tradition and competitiveness and legendary program that’s always been at Mallard Creek,” said Dixon, who is in her third season as Mavericks’ head coach.

The Mallard Creek program has been one of the best in the area and state since the school opened in the summer of 2007.

Before Dixon became head coach, the Mavericks’ former coaches were current Mecklenburg County Schools athletic director Ericia Turner and legendary local coach Clarence “C.J.” Johnson, who died last April after suffering a stroke.

In the program’s 17-year history, those three head coaches have guided the Mavericks to 344 victories, five league titles, 24 playoff victories, 15 playoff appearances with five Elite 8 advances highlighted by Western N.C. 4A runner-up finishes in 2011, 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Elle Stone says her expectation this season is to add a state title to the Mavericks’ rich history.

“Our goal is to get a ring,” Elle Stone said. “I definitely think we can prove that we’re the best team.”

The Stone’s parents have been in Charlotte since December 2022 when their father J.T. Stone was hired as Harding High’s head football coach. After two seasons with the Rams, J.T. Stone is now teaching special education at Hickory High School. (J.T. Stone’s younger brother Julyan Stone is a four-year NBA veteran who played 23 games for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2017-18 season.)

Elle Stone enters Friday’s game bearing down on 1,500 overall career points and has nearly 1,000 points in her 2 1/2 seasons at Mallard Creek.

She’s also looking forward to the future at Delaware, which will be joining Conference USA in her freshman year of 2025-26.

“My top two finalists were Furman and Delaware,” Elle Stone said. “I’m very grateful to all the coaches that devoted time for me and offered but Delaware just made sense for me and my family.

“It’s not too far away. And everything at Delaware is set up for what I want in my future. The coaches were amazing and Delaware has power five (conference) resources so that was a real deal-maker for me.”