Friday’s girls’ rewind: North Meck flexes muscle in blowout of Mallard Creek
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- North Mecklenburg used full-court press and defense to build a 22-point halftime lead.
- North Meck won 59-36, snapped Mallard Creek’s five-game streak and tied for first.
- North Meck improved to 18-2 (5-1); teams could meet again in Feb. 20 tournament final.
North Mecklenburg High’s girls basketball team, No. 2 in The Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, had to beat Mallard Creek Friday if it realistically wanted a chance at winning the conference title.
And from the beginning of Friday’s 59-36 home win over the No. 3 Mavericks, North Mecklenburg played with a sense of desperation and urgency.
North Meck started the game with a full-court pressing defense and never let up, jumping out to a 17-3 lead at the 2:31 mark of the opening quarter. The Vikings then held Mallard Creek to five points in the second quarter and led 37-15 at halftime.
The defensive pressure was something Vikings coach Jennifer Baker said her team has been working on in practice.
“We tried some of that in the first game,” Vikings coach Jennifer Baker said of Mallard Creek’s 49-46 home win on Jan. 6. “We just had to settle down and play better this time.”
Did they ever. The Mavericks got no closer than 17 points in the second half and North Mecklenburg’s defense forced 27 turnovers overall (19 in the first half) while holding Mallard Creek to 33 percent shooting (13 of 39).
Juniors Lenise Joseph and Morgan Knox had 16 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the Vikings.
North Meck (18-2, 5-1 Meck Power 6) won its seventh straight game and pulled into a first-place tie with the Mavericks (15-5, 5-1) who had a five-game win streak snapped.
Both teams will be favored to win their remaining conference games, though they could meet in a conference tournament championship game on Feb. 20.
“It’s a great rivalry,” Baker said of the Mallard Creek-North Mecklenburg that has seen two regular season meetings and a conference tournament game in each of the previous three seasons. “All our kids know each other and it’s always a big game.
“But our conference is tough because everybody has good guards and post players.”
Friday’s girls’ box scores
NO. 2 NORTH MECKLENBURG 59, NO. 3 MALLARD CREEK 36
Mallard Creek 10 5 11 10 — 36
North Meck 23 14 13 9 — 59
MALLARD CREEK 36 — S. McGuire 9, Young 4, Stone 3, Anderson 7, Campbell 1, Karpeh 2, Faison 6, Tendell 2, Hobbs 2.
NORTH MECKLENBURG 59 — Mobley 8, Trotter 4, Blake 2, Newton 2, Jones 8, Lacy 7, Morgan Knox 12, Lenise Joseph 16.
Records: Mallard Creek 15-5, 5-1 Meck Power Six 7A/8A; North Mecklenburg 18-2 overall, 5-1.
NO. 4 MARVIN RIDGE 51, WEDDINGTON 46
WEDDINGTON 46 — Caroline Clark 21, Myra Ukwu 10, Bella Denton 10
Notable: Caroline Clark was 6-of-8 from 3-point range.
NO. 6 PROVIDENCE DAY 55, COVENANT DAY 22
Providence Day 15 18 10 12 — 55
Covenant Day 6 2 12 2 — 22
PROVIDENCE DAY 55 — Jane Updyke 12 Jaida McClure 11 Julia O’Malley 12 Ramsden 8 Colaizzi 3 Clark 4 Shah 3 Crayton 2 COVENANT DAY 22 — Jones 8 Hall 5 Aiken 4 Houston 6
Record: Providence Day 19-4, 5-1
NO. 12 CONCORD ACADEMY 63, WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 16
Concord Academy 24 16 16 7 — 63
Westminster Catawba 3 7 2 4 — 16
CONCORD ACADEMY 63 — Victorian Collins 19, Justice Alexander 14, Jada Powell 9, Jayla Brower 8, Ava McDermott 6, Taylor Smith 3, Quinn Hicks 2
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 16 — Megan Hodina 5, Kaylani LaDay 4, Lilah Wallace 3, Bella Sherer 2, SarahGrace Davis 2
Notable: Concord Academy (20-7) next game 2/3 vs Ambassador Christian; Westminster Catawba (3-15) next game 2/3 vs Hickory Grove
BALLANTYNE RIDGE 72, EAST MECK 53
Ballantyne Ridge 18 15 22 17 — 72
East Meck 10 9 14 20 — 53
EAST MECKLENBURG 53 — Alana Jones 16, Jurnee Darling 13, Destynni Davis 11, Emily Delaney 5, Carol Druen 3, Makenna Weisner 2, Allison Ausman 2
BALLANTYNE RIDGE 72 — Natanya Chando 13, Kaiya Dodson 13, Elise Dodds 8, Sara Simko 8, Eden Aklilu 6, Caitlyn Glahn 6, Jaela Brown 6, Madi Franklin 5, Giana Love 3, Alayna Holgorsen 1
Records: Ballantyne Ridge 10-10 (3-3)
CREST 49, FORESTVIEW 43
Forestview 9 5 13 16 — 43
Crest 6 15 14 14 — 49
FORESTVIEW 43 — Amani Neely 14, Priscilla Iyevbele 11, Springs 8, Potter 5, Bennett 3 Baker 2 Notable: Forestview’s Delainah Springs had 13 rebounds; Iyevbele had 7 rebounds; and Amani Neely scored her 1,000th career point.
HUNTER HUSS 63, SOUTH POINT 22
South Point 5 6 2 9 — 22
Huss 19 11 22 11 — 63
SOUTH POINT 22 — J. Watkins 8, J. Bittle 4, T. Waters 2, L. ElAsmar 2, R. Trexler 2, K. Gardin 2, M. Bridges 2
HUNTER HUSS 63 — S. McCorkle 22, S. McCoy 23, A. Worthy 11, S. Mackins 4, P. James 2, J. Floyd 1
Notable: Ja’Nyiah Bittle added 8 rebounds, while Rowen Trexler added 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Records: South Point (5-13, 4-3); Huss (13-5, 8-0)
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 69, PINE LAKE PREP 49
LNC 32 10 15 12 — 69
PLP 12 6 20 11 — 49
LNC 69 — Callie Genece 22, Maggie Kurz 18, Reece Long 17, Sam Colantonio 8, Grace Hart 4
PLP 49 — Chilton 17, Schmeds 9, Blickley 8, Cuesta 6, Dabbs 5, Sweeney 2, Willis 2
Records: LNC 18-1; Pine Lake Prep 6-14
LINCOLN CHARTER 64, LANGTREE CHARTER 11
Langtree 4 0 5 2 — 11
Lincoln Charter 37 21 4 2 — 64
LANGTREE CHARTER 2 — Jenna 9, McKinney 2
LINCOLN CHARTER 64 — Kylie Riggenbach 17, Taylor Riggenbach 10, Martha Guinle 8, Claire David 8, Camryn David 5, Brenna Barbier 4, Halle Bowman 4, Lillie Merrill 2, Madalyn Westmoreland 2, Ellie Bananowski 2, Kylie Snow w
Records: LCS 1-13, LCHS 14-4
Notable: It was Senior Night for Lincoln Charter, which is set to play at Pine Lake Prep on Tuesday.
PINE LAKE PREP 68, LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 54
LNC 12 6 21 15 — 54
Pine Lake 17 14 16 21 — 68
LNC 54 — Kam Davis 18, Cam Roberts 17, Bennett Love 7, Alex Massey 5, Langston Holder 3, Blake Frierson 2, Isaiah Carter 1, Jake Wozniak 1
Notable: LNC 10-9 (6-4) will host Langtree Charter on Tuesday 2/3.
PROVIDENCE 71, ROCKY RIVER 65
Providence 17 19 22 13 —71
Ballantyne Ridge 14 16 17 18— 65
PROVIDENCE 71 — A. Detenber 20, M. Whitten 4, E. Fuller 17, A. Fillnow 28, E.Stafford 2
ROCKY RIVER 65— L. Spears, 12, S. Hector 4, Jade Bell 49
Records: Providence 13-6; Rocky River 7-13
Notable: Emma Fuller had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds and 5 blocks. Marlee Whitten had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Elliott Stafford had 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 6:16 PM.
