Lake Norman girls’ basketball has a target on its back going into 2025-26 season
Lake Norman High girls basketball coach McKenzie Graham knows that her team enters the 2025-26 with a target on its back.
After all, the Wildcats are defending state champions that have played in two state title games in the previous three seasons, advanced as far as the fourth round in four straight seasons and won 52 straight conference regular season games
It’s just that with one returning starter back from last year’s 30-1 team that won the Class 4A title, some see Lake Norman in a rebuilding mode.
After major N.C. High School Athletic Association created eight classifications this season, a preseason poll sponsored by The Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh has the Wildcats picked third in Class 7A — and behind two teams they beat on their way to last year’s Class 4A title in No. 1 McDowell (2025 Western N.C. 4A runner-up) and No. 2 Marvin Ridge (2025 Western N.C. 4A semifinalist).
To Graham — The Charlotte Observer’s girls’ coach of the year for 2024-25 — that just creates an opportunity for her program to prove itself again.
“We always talk about the ‘next man up’ mentality and we’ve been pretty fortunate that we’ve had a lot of people waiting for their turn,” Graham said. “And this summer and fall, they’ve come out and proved themselves.
“So when you look at stat sheets and scorebooks from last year, it looks like we lost a lot. But we’ve turned a lot of heads this summer and fall.”
The Wildcats’ lone returning starter is 5-foot-10 Naval Academy commitment Kelsey Rhyne.
Rhyne enters the season with 1,300 career points and 531 career rebounds. She also was her team’s MVP in a 72-65 state finals loss to Cary Panther Creek when she was a freshman.
“Kelsey is a very vocal leader and she’s going to hold you accountable at all times,” Graham said of Rhyne, who averaged 14 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.4 steals last season. “She was a starter on our varsity team in her freshman year. She has gained a lot of experience and exposure early. Her skill set has continued to grow.
“She’s still an unbelievable shooter from the outside and this year she’s going to take on the task of guarding the best scorer for the other team.”
Other key returnees are senior Rayana Minard (2025 state championship game MVP, 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 steals, 2.3 assists), senior Kaiya Bond (6.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 steals), senior Kaylee Ellis (1.0 points, 1.5 assists) and sophomore Finley Sherrill (4.0 points, 2.6 rebounds).
The top newcomers are a pair of transfers from Indian Trail’s 1 of 1 Prep Academy - senior Jeta North and sophomore Ellie Smith.
Just last weekend in a preseason scrimmage at Providence Day, Lake Norman won exhibition games against 2025 N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Class 4A champion Concord Cannon School, 2025 NCISAA 3A champion Sanford Grace Christian and 2025 NCISAA 4A semifinalist Providence Day.
“So we had pretty good showing this past weekend,” Graham said. “We’ve some time to mesh and come together. But we still have a long way to go and these preseason scrimmages are showing that to us.
“We know there’s definitely a target on our back wherever we go.”
