Saturday’s rewind: No. 3 Mallard Creek girls blitz No. 8 Concord Academy at the Lynch
As she gets into Year 5 of her high school coaching career, Mallard Creek’s Karlyn Dixon thinks she’s learned a pretty important lesson.
At a place where state championship runs are the expectation — but haven’t yet become the reality — Dixon said she wants to make sure that she, and her team, enjoy the process.
“Every team wants to be there at the end,” Dixon said after Saturday’s 70-49 win over Concord Academy at the George Lynch Invitational at Myers Park High School. “But what we’ve been talking about is putting the building blocks together and putting the pieces together and hopefully, when we get to the end, we’ll be there.
“But honestly, this is just about enjoying our time together. We’ve got six seniors, and it’s been emotional watching them grow. I mean, we want to have fun, too. If you get caught up into trying to make it to the end, you can miss all the awesome moments in the middle.”
And that means celebrating hard after a win like Saturday’s.
After a slow start, Mallard Creek (3-0) ramped up its intensity after halftime, and zoomed past a Concord Academy team that has won two state championships in the past five years and was ranked No. 8 in The Observer’s preseason Sweet 16 poll.
Mallard Creek outscored Concord 23-5 in that decisive third quarter.
The Mavericks got big games from several of those seniors the coach talked about: Kiara Anderson, signed to Georgia Southern, had 21 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists; My’Asia Young, signed to Western Carolina, had eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals; and Camri Hobbs, also signed to Western Carolina, had eight rebounds and five rebounds.
Brianna Easterling, committed to Coker College, and Avari Tendall (University of Lynchburg in Virginia) had good moments as well. And uncommitted senior Jazmeen Stone added 16 points, three rebounds.
“I think we’ve just been talking about every game being a big game,” Dixon said. “Our schedule is a tough one. We don’t have a home game until mid-December. We’ve on the road, and we’re playing against good competition, and there’s no game to slack off. So that’s something we’ve been harping on in practice, and in conversations, and in film. But this is a big win.”
In her fifth season, Dixon is 92-23, closing in on her 100th win, and her first team was 14-10. She’s steadily built on a program built by the late CJ Johnson, and Dixon seems to be capable of guiding Mallard Creek to its ninth 20-win season in 11 years.
As she alluded to, the schedule is intentionally difficult to prepare Mallard Creek for the playoffs. Just this week, the Mavericks beat Concord Academy, No. 8 in The Observer’s preseason poll, and No. 4 Marvin Ridge (1-1), which was a fourth-round playoff team last season in North Carolina’s largest public school classification.
Ahead are games with 2025 N.C. 4A semifinalist McDowell and NY power St. Mary’s and Virginia power Menchville.
“It’s definitely exciting,” Dixon said. “They got two big wins this week, and it’s an exciting experience, and we’re going to enjoy this one today, and then we’ll get back in the lab because we’ve got (preseason Sweet 16 No. 16) Myers Park Tuesday at Myers Park.”
Saturday’s #BIG5 top performers
Kiara Anderson, Mallard Creek girls: In a 70-49 win over Concord Academy, the senior point guard had 21 points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds. Mallard Creek improved to 3-0.
Micah Gunter, Greensboro Day: In a 61-55 win over Tennessee Collegiate at the George Lynch Invitational, Gunter had 29 points, including five made 3-point shots, plus four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Logan Johnson, Carmel Christian: In a 53-51 win over Asheville Christian, Johnson had a team-high 28 points, including four made 3-point shots. He also had seven rebounds at the George Lynch Invitational at Myers Park.
Lenise Joseph, North Mecklenburg girls: In a 79-49 win over North Lincoln at the George Lynch Invitational, Joseph had a team-high 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals.
Ty Lange, Cardinal Gibbons: In a 76-53 win over Garinger at the George Lynch Invitational at Myers Park, Lange had 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.
CHAMBERS STOPS NEW HANOVER AT THE LYNCH
In a battle of teams that reached the N.C. 4A Western and Eastern Regional championships last season, Chambers ran past Wilmington New Hanover at the George Lynch Invitational.
Chambers got big performances from QJ Young and Zyon White in a decisive 80-66 win Saturday. The Cougars were down by 16 in the first half but staged a furious rally and led by as many as 20 in the second half.
Chambers, which lost to North Mecklenburg in the western regional final last season, improved to 3-1 on the season.
New Hanover, which lost to North Mecklenburg in the past two state finals, dropped to 1-1.
In Saturday’s game, Chambers’ Young had 26 points, four steals, four assists and three rebounds. White had 24 points, three assists, two steals and two rebounds.
New Hanover’s Kellum Brown had 28 points, 10 reboundsand four steals.
CONCORD ACADEMY STOPS PROVIDENCE DAY AT THE LYNCH
Concord Academy 74, Providence Day 59: The Eagles (7-0) trailed early in the first quarter before taking a 15-point win over Providence Day (0-4).
Cruz Miller led Concord Academy with 22 points, including 11 in a second quarter that saw the Eagles outscore the Chargers 20-8. Lincoln Raper added 16, Mata Vidakovic 13 and James Mineland 12 for the winners. Zeke Battier’s 14 points led Providence Day.
The Chargers’ first four opponents to date are a combined 26-1 and the only loss being a Christ School win over Davidson Day.
Saturday’s boys’ box scores
CARDINAL GIBBONS 76, GARINGER 53
GIBBONS 76 — Nicholas Ercolino 10, Bostian 3, Saenz 2, Ty Lange 15, Whit Gaddy 11, Whitney 9, Will Yardley 14, King 2
GARINGER 53 — Henderson 7, Brown 2, Soup 8, Spence 2, Jadrian Dixon 11, Hunter 5, Aaron Lawler 12, Jefferson 4, Chappell 2
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 53, ASHEVILLE CHRISTIAN 51
ASHEVILLE CHRISTIAN 51 — Garrett 4, Markly 6, Pierce 4, Ian Bailey 31, Rogers 5
CARMEL 53 — Wood 8, Griffin 5, Logan Johnson 28, Gerould 2, Myles Vicks 10
Notable: Asheville Christian’s Ian Bailey had 31 points. He also had seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
CHAMBERS 80, NEW HANOVER 66
CHAMBERS 80 — Jackson 7, QJ Young 26, Grier 5, Zyon White 24, Gill 6, Michael Curtis 12
NEW HANOVER 66 — Kellum Brown 28, Waddell 2, Dylan Fortun 11, Ballard 4, Madden 2, Jazir Wright-McGhee 13, Witherspoon 6
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 74, CARY ACADEMY 52
Charlotte Country Day 26 20 9 19 - 74
Cary Academy 14 13 17 8 - 52
COUNTRY DAY 74 - Nolan Lowery 17, Hunter Blythe 14, Joe Youakim 13, Emery Roberts 11, Philip Brosseau 7, Peter Richardson 6, Hobs Mulford 2, Jabari Spruill 2, Henry Apostolopoulas 2
CARY ACADEMY 52 - Williams 18, Tweedy 13, Murphy 9, Howell 5, Chang 3, Hines 3, Shearin 1
CHRIST SCHOOL 67, ACADEMY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 63
CHRIST SCHOOL 67 — Kingston Whitty 21, Tyler Jones 18, Petty 5, Micah Goodlow 11, Ellis 3, Hatch 3, Robinson 4
ACADEMY FLORIDA 63 — Martay Barnes 19, Baez 3, Fisher 2, Martinez 2, Mbengue 6, Symon Ghai 18
CONCORD ACADEMY 74, PROVIDENCE DAY 59
Concord Academy 19 20 17 18 — 74
Providence Day 18 8 19 14 — 59
CONCORD ACADEMY 74 — Cruz Miller 22, Agyeman 8, Lincoln Raper 16, Boyer 3, James Mineland 12, Mata Vidakovic 13.
PROVIDENCE DAY 59 — Zeke Battier 14, Deuce Haynes 10, Aidan Scriutsky 10, Columbus Parker 10, Bradley 3, Tyree-Rodriguez 3, Williams 9.
GREENSBORO DAY 61, TENNESSEE COLLEGIATE 55
GREENSBORO DAY 61 — Marty Grant 10, Juergens 6, Micah Gunter 29, Duggins 7, Adigun 9, Robinson 2
TENNESSEE 55 — Mason Wiliams 16, Givens 5, Miles 3, Lincoln Vinson 12, Vital 2, Sanders 2, Jackson 5, Gibson 8
MYERS PARK 87, OLYMPIC 51
MYERS PARK 87 — Mack Walters 17, Thomas Vickery 11, Jamison 4, Cash Hall 20, Azevedo 5, Ayo Awosanya 17, Chisholm 2, Burns 4, Hudson 2, Lima 2
OLYMPIC 51 — Hadley 2, Ross 8, Jaden Hardnett 18, Givens 3, Cota 5, Small 2, Smiley 3, Gibbs 4, Wilson 1, Kearney 4
MOORESVILLE 73, INDIAN LAND 57
MOORESVILLE 73 — Jordan Walton 19, Nolan Ericson 11, wilson 9, Eian Bailey 17, Taurean McKinnon 10, Schaen 3, Cornelius 2, Holmes 2
INDIAN LAND 57 — Annett 3, Jayden Ellison 13, Henighan 3, Bigsby 8, Wood 4, Brent Michael Terrell 12, Williams 8
Notable: For Mooresville, Tauren McKinnon had 10 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Teammates Jordan Walton (19 points, five rebounds, three assists) and Eian Bailey (17 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals) also had good games. Brent Michael Terrell had 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal for Indian Land.
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 69, JACKSON DAY 58
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 69 — Gannon Parker 21, Trey Guess 13, MJ Littlejohn 8, J. Fleming 8, D. Quinn 8, W. Spatola 6, R. Henderson 5
JACKSON DAY 58 — Clesca 3, Malachi Lewis 11, Gbenyon 4, Jaida Thomas 9, Ross 8, Davis 6, Hector Daus 6, Crank 7, Herrera 4
Records: Westminster 6-0; Jackson Day 5-1
Notable: Championship game of The Run To The Rock Classic (RTTR). Tournament MVP Gannon Parker.
Saturday’s girls’ box score
CENTRAL CABARRUS 45, MOUNT PLEASANT 39
CCHS: 13 12 15 5 — 45
Mt Pleasant 9 10 7 13 — 39
CENTRAL 45 — Myajah Nix 27, Felecity Arévalo 10, Pickett 3, Fofana 3, Duncan 1, Moss 1
MOUNT PLEASANT 39 — Makenzie Clutter 16, Leonard 15, Uroletta 4, Overbay 2
Notable: Myajah Nix had 27 points and 13 rebounds for Central.
MALLARD CREEK 70, CONCORD ACADEMY 49
Mallard Creek 18 9 23 20 — 70
Concord Academy 19 9 5 16 — 49
CONCORD ACADEMY 49 — McDermott 7, Collins 2, Fomond 4, Smith 5, Justice Alexander 11, Jada Powell 18
MALLARD CREEK 70 — McGuire 2, Young 8, Jazmeen Stone 16, Kiara Anderson 21, Karpeh 6, Faison 5, Tendall 2, Gomillion 2, Hobbs 8
NORTH MECKLENBURG 79, NORTH LINCOLN 49
NORTH MECKLENBURG 79 — Stephanie Mobley 19, Wyke 2, Newton 8, Autumn Lacy 13, Johnson 2, Spindle 4, Morgan Knox 10, Lenise Joseph 21
NORTH LINCOLN 49 — Grice 1, Burch 8, Ally Smith 28, Cipriano 2, Pruitt 7, Black 3
Notable: Ally Smith for North Lincoln had 28 points, six steals and three assists. North Meck got 19 points,six rebounds, five assists and two steals from Stephanie Mobley and 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals from Morgan Knox.
VICTORY CHRISTIAN 57, DURHAM MT ZION 21
Victory 15 12 23 7 — 57
Mt Zion 6 9 4 2 — 21
VICTORY 57 — Hanna Tesfay 17, Lanice Yearwood 13
Records: Victory 2-6; Mt Zion 2-2
WEST CABARRUS 56, JM ROBINSON 20
West Cabarrus 16 22 13 5 — 56
J. M. Robinson 3. 7 7 3 — 20
WEST CABARRUS 56 — Aubrey Silas 13, Jillian Simmons 11, White 8, Parks 7, Griffin 6, Warner 6, Ocazio 3, Brown 2
JM ROBINSON 20 — O’neal 9, Forte 6, Thomas 2, Gray 3
Record: West Cabarrus 3-0
Friday’s late boys’ box scores
EAST MECKLENBURG 54, SOUTH MECKLENBURG 50
East Meck 11 10 18 15 — 54
South Meck 8 21 10 11 — 50
SOUTH MECKLENBURG 50 — J. Gatehouse 17, B. Houpt 11, C. Parker 8, C. Yett 6
EAST MECKLENBURG 54 — Wright 17, Buzzard 11, Caldwell 10
Records: South Meck 1-1; East Meck 1-2
FORT MILL (SC) 81, HUNTER HUSS 71 OT
FORT MILL 81 — Jermier Nelson 26, Wallace Campbell 24, AJ Washington 24, Jones 3, Stewart 2, Tooper 2
HUNTER HUSS 71 — J. Smith 36, Phillips 17, Lockhort 6, Griggs 5, Walker 3, Falls 2, Anderson 2.
Notable: Fort Mill ranked No. 2 in SC 5A, extended its home win streak to 18 games. Pre-season all-state player Wallace Campbell had 24 points and 11 rebounds, AJ Washington had 13 points in overtime, and top-rated point guard 2028 Jermier Nelson led the team with 26.
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 4:34 PM.
