Saturday’s rewind: 25 Charlotte-area teams advance in NCHSAA playoffs
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Charlotte region sends 25 teams forward in NCHSAA boys and girls playoffs.
- Mallard Creek and Ardrey Kell won and will meet in Hickory next week.
- NCHSAA permits Sunday practice windows for winners; 8A teams exempt.
Nine Mecklenburg County teams — and 25 from the Charlotte region — advanced in the NCHSAA state playoffs Saturday in the third round of the boys’ and girls’ basketball playoffs.
— In 8A, Mallard Creek’s girls and Ardrey Kell won Saturday and will meet in a regional championship, or state semifinal game, next week in Hickory. Both teams will try to reach a first state final.
— West Charlotte advanced to the boys’ 8A regional final and will play unbeaten West Forsyth, also in Hickory.
— In 7A, the final four in the West are all from the Charlotte region. Mecklenburg County power North Meck will host Hickory Ridge in a regional semifinal Monday. Marvin Ridge is at Mooresville in the other.
On the girls’ side, same story: Porter Ridge at Lake Norman, and North Meck at Marvin Ridge.
— In addition, Charlotte Catholic advanced in 6A boys’ play, as did Hunter Huss, Jay M. Robinson and East Lincoln in 5A. Other boys’ winners Saturday were Lincoln Charter in 4A and Piedmont Community Charter and Lincolnton in 3A.
— North Lincoln’s girls, who forfeited 17 games days before the playoffs started, are 6-21 but alive in Monday’s quarterfinals. They joined Forest Hills and Northwest Cabarrus as winners in 5A, while Stuart Cramer’s girls (4A) also advanced.
— And in 2A, Queen’s Grant’s boys and girls are through to the regional semifinals. The boys, trying for a second straight regional championship game, will host Winston-Salem’s Bishop McGuinness on Monday. The girls, trying for a first state semifinal, will visit N.C. power Cherokee.
— Mecklenburg County also had a winner in 1A boys, with Jackson Day advancing to Monday’s fourth round.
Note: The NCHSAA will allow teams that won Saturday to practice between 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday, for no more two hours, to get ready for Monday’s games. The NCHSAA generally does not allow Sunday games or practices.
That exemption does not apply to 8A teams, which will not have games Monday. Today’s winners in 8A advance to the regional championship games.
The regional rounds are Wednesday to Saturday at Lenoir-Rhyne (West) and East Carolina (East).
The NC state finals will be March 11-14 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Quick links
Saturday’s NCHSAA girls’ scores, Monday’s schedule
Saturday’s NCHSAA boys’ scores, Monday’s schedule
Cannon wins third straight NCISAA girls state title
Forsyth Country Day stops Providence Day in NCISAA boys state final
Cramer’s Oshauna Holland becomes NC’s all-time leading girls’ scorer
Postgame altercation after Myers Park-Ardrey Kell spills into parking lot
Saturday’s #BIG5 top performers
Mekhi Allen, Queen’s Grant boys: Allen had a game-high 32 points in a 79-41 third-round playoff win over Community School of Davidson.
Za’Miya Bynum, Queen’s Grant girls: In a 77-37 third-round win over Avery County, Bynum had 25 points, a game high.
Kaharri Coleman, West Charlotte boys: Lions’ sophomore had a game-high 22 points in a 58-53 win over South Mecklenburg in the NCHSAA state quarterfinals.
Jaleel Smith, Hunter Huss boys: The Observer’s midseason player of the year, Smith had 33 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two assists in a 67-59 win over Oak Grove in the third round of the NCHSAA playoffs.
My’Asia Young, Mallard Creek girls: In a 58-40 win over Myers Park in the 8A regional semifinals, Young had 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
No. 8 West Charlotte avoids South Meck upset bid
West Charlotte made a key defensive play and converted free throws down the stretch Saturday evening, edging visiting South Mecklenburg 58-53 in a Class 8A boys’ basketball playoff quarterfinal.
The Lions (21-6) advance to next week’s West Regional finals in Hickory, where they’ll face either unbeaten West Forsyth or Ardrey Kell.
Saturday’s closely played game was decided in the final minute. South Mecklenburg (14-16) trimmed West Charlotte’s lead to 54-53 with 55.8 seconds left, on two free throws by Jim Gatehouse.
The Lions’ A.C. Pressley was fouled with 47.4 seconds remaining and made one of his two free throws.
The key defensive play came on the South Meck inbounds pass, when the Lions stole the ball and were fouled.
Janon Singh made two free throws with 44.8 seconds left, giving West Charlotte a 57-53 lead.
The Sabres missed a 3-pointer on their next possession, the Lions got the rebound, and Chacho Womack was fouled with 16.1 seconds left. He made one free throw for the final point of the game.
No. 8 Mallard Creek girls cruise to regional finals
Mallard Creek moved within one game of its first-ever appearance in an NCHSAA state championship game Saturday by turning back Myers Park 58-40 in an 8A quarterfinal game Saturday.
The Mavericks (22-6) will face the winner of the other 8A West quarterfinal, South Mecklenburg vs. Ardrey Kell, for the West regional title next week.
West regional finals will be played Wednesday through Saturday at Shuford Gym, on the Lenoir-Rhyne University campus in Hickory.
Specific dates and times for the regional finals have not been announced.
Regional champions advance to the state finals, set for March 11-14 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Myers Park (20-9) made a run at the Mavericks in the third quarter, cutting a 33-23 deficit to 33-28 with about six minutes remaining.
But Mallard Creek’s Kiara Anderson connected on a long 3-pointer from the left side, and after the Mavericks forced Myers Park into a turnover on the inbounds play, Mallard Creek’s My’Asia Young hit another 3-pointer for an 11-point lead.
The Mustangs never got closer after that.
Saturday’s girls’ box scores
NO. 2 NORTH MECKLENBURG 66, MCDOWELL 36
North Meck 11 18 21 16 — 66
McDowell 9 10 10 36 — 36
NORTH MECK 36 — Lenise Joseph 34, Lacy 7, Knox 6, Jones 6, Newton 4, Mobley 3, Trotter 2, Matthews 2, Spindle 2
MCDOWELL 36 — Khloe Joyner 14, McCartha 8, Carter 5, Corpening 4, Dameron 2, Honeycut 1
NO. 3 QUEEN’S GRANT 77, AVERY COUNTY 37
Queen’s Grant: 30 19 21 7 — 77
Avery County: 7 13 13 4 — 37
QUEEN’S GRANT 77 — Za’Miya Bynum 25, Gia Wilson 18, Misa Garris 17, Hicks 7, Smith 6, Chisholm 4
AVERY COUNTY 37 — Caroline Hollifield 16, Murrell 6, Johnson 4, Herbert 3, Holtsclaw 3, Dellinger 2
Notable: Queen’s Grant girls advance to the Elite 8
Records: Queen’s Grant: 26-3
NO. 5 CANNON SCHOOL 47, NO. 12 PROVIDENCE DAY 37
PROVIDENCE DAY 37 — Dumont 4, McClure 7, Updyke 1, Clark 4, Crayton 2, Carson 3, Ramsden 3, Julia O’Malley 13.
CANNON 47 — Gaskin 8, Larkins 1, London Truesdale 12, Nakamura 2, Brooke Busby 19, Thompson 5.
Records: Providence Day 24-6, Cannon 25-6.
Notable: Cannon wins its third straight NCISAA state title.
NO. 6 ARDREY KELL 55, NO. 11 SOUTH MECK 52
ARDREY KELL 55 — Autumn Washington 16 Miyanna Veal 13 Shelton 9, Keenan 6, Adarkwah 5, Mapp 5
SOUTH MECK 52 — KB 12, Chloe 10, Kaitlyn 10, Bria 8, Kate 2, Skylar 2, Day 2 Notable: Ardrey Kell (25-3) heads to NCHSAA Final Four. Autumn Washington becomes the leading scorer for Ardrey Kell women’s basketball.
NO. 7 MARVIN RIDGE 59, NO. 15 HICKORY RIDGE 46
Hickory Ridge 8 14 0 24 — 46
Marvin Ridge 8 16 12 23 — 59
HICKORY RIDGE 46 — Cranford 19, Gidney 12, Ritter 7, Duley 5, Johnson 3
MARVIN RIDGE 59 — Schindler 25, Chadderton 10, Fritz 8, Lenahan 6, Sheridan 6, Stewart 3
Records: Hickory Ridge 24-5; Marvin Ridge 23-4
NO. 8 MALLARD CREEK 58, NO. 16 MYERS PARK 40
Mallard Creek 17 13 15 13 — 58
Myers Park 11 10 13 6 — 40
MALLARD CREEK 58 — Kiara Anderson 12, My’Asia Young 11, Hobbs 9, Stone 6, McGuire 6, Campbell 6, Faison 8, Gomillion 2
Notable: My’Asia Young finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Records: Mallard Creek 22-6
NO. 13 EAST LINCOLN 50, CREST 42
East Lincoln 8 7 10 25 — 50
Crest 8 10 10 14 — 42
EAST LINCOLN 65 — Christian Atkins 13, Gavin Heaberlin 2, Davis Beam 3, Jaxon Dollar 29, Brayden Miller 1, Gaige Ikard 2, Parker Frisk 0
CREST 48 — Cal Pass Jr. 11, Michael Edwards 3. Pluto Surratt 16, Amari Faulkner 3, Weston Baker 1, Paxton Dobbins 6, Lyric Pettis 2
Records: East Lincoln 22-4, 14-2; Crest 16-8, 7-5
Notabe: Jaxon Dollar, added 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists to lead the Mustangs
FOREST HILLS 56, EAST LINCOLN 53
Forest Hills 6 18 17 15 — 56
East Lincoln 24 7 14 8 — 53
FOREST HILLS 56 — Azariya Griffin 19, NyJaya Wingo 15, M. Shine 7, L. Rushing 7, D. Roire3, E. Miller 1
EAST LINCOLN 53 — Lane Pethel 20, Emma Montanari 10, Kenadee Byus 10, B. Miller 5, S. Dann 4, M. Matz 3, M. Arndt 1
Notable: For East Lincoln, Lane Pethel (20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist, 1 block), Emma Montanari (10 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists, 3 blocks) and Kenadee Byus (10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists) had strong games.
Records: Forest Hills 23-4
Saturday’s boys’ box scores
NO. 2 QUEEN’S GRANT 79, COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF DAVIDSON 41
Queen’s Grant 22 28 18 11 — 79
Community School 9 13 17 2 — 41
QUEEN’S GRANT 79 — Mekhi Allen 32, Chase Smith 13, Preston Scott 13, DeBerry 9, McSweeney 5, Montgomery 4, Jackson 3
COMMUNITY SCHOOL 41 — Luber 9, Hurley 7, Mack 6, Ward 5, Howerton 4, Q. Ward 3, Johnson 3, Way 2, Pizon 2
NO. 3 HUNTER HUSS 67, OAK GROVE 59
Hunter Huss 18 21 12 16 — 67
Oak Grove 15 13 24 7 — 59
HUSS 67 — Jaleel Smith 33, Zii Phillips 17, Walker 8, Anderson 3, Lockhart 2, Griggs 2, McCoy 2
NO. 4 NORTH MECKLENBURG 62, WEDDINGTON 50
Wedington 13 12 12 13 — 50
North Mecklenburg 9 18 20 15 — 62
WEDDINGTON 50 — Tyler Cain 16, Tre Jefferson 15, Barbier 8, Muteb 6, Ford 5, Werdann 4
NORTH MECK 62 — Ashton Pierce 26, Wilson Estwick 14, Xavier Davis 10, Young 6, White 2, Pack 2, Oates 2
FORSYTH COUNTRY DAY 69, NO. 7 PROVIDENCE DAY 59
Providence Day 16 10 21 12 — 59
Forsyth Country Day 10 23 20 16 — 69
PROVIDENCE DAY 59 — Zeke Battier 16, Haynes 8, Aidan Scruitsky 10, Parker 7, Bradley 6, Tristan Williams 12.
FORSYTH COUNTRY DAY 69 — Graham 9, J.R. Adams 12, Jayon Connor 10, Q Williams IV 14, Dalton 6, Weerdhuizen 5, Prince Nwokemodo 11.
Records: Providence Day 23-7, Forsyth Country Day 29-3.
Notable: Forsyth Country Day wins NCISAA 4A state title
NO. 8 WEST CHARLOTTE 58, SOUTH MECKLENBURG 53
West Charlotte 14 11 16 17 — 58
South Meck 13 18 14 14 — 53
WEST CHARLOTTE 58 — Kaharri Coleman 22 ChaCho Womack 16 Pressley 8 Cross 6 Sullivan 4 Wade 2
SOUTH MECK 53 — Jim Gatehouse 21 Ben Houpt 19 Yett 1 Foster 4 Gathings 3 Davis 5
NO. 9 MOORESVILLE 64, INDEPENDENCE 48
Mooresville 17 19 13 15 — 64
Independence 8 9 15 16 — 48
MOORESVILLE 64 — Nolan Ericson 18, Christian Wilson 14, Taurean McKinnon 10, Jordan Walton 9, Qua Bailey 7, Eian Bailey 6.
Notable: For Mooresville, Ericson had 5 rebounds. Wilson had 7 rebounds and 2 steals. McKinnon had 5 rebounds. Walton had 9 assists and 7 rebounds. Qua Bailey had 5 rebounds.
Record: Mooresville 25-2
NO. 10 CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 60, DUDLEY 46
Charlotte Catholic 10 7 23 20 — 60
Dudley 15 9 11 11 — 46
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 60 — Jack Siegel 24, Mack Jordan 15, Joseph Kapsiak 8, Woeste 4, Houser 4, McKinstry 2, M. Kapsiak 2, Kerr 1, Denning 1
DUDLEY 46 — Kam Taylor 10, White 8, Daye 7, Carmack 7, Mackenzie 7, Barnett 4, Hughes 3
HICKORY 68, NORTH LINCOLN 60
North Lincoln 20 8 15 17 — 60
Hickory 20 18 9 20 — 68
NORTH LINCOLN 60 — Ty Chandler 13, Carter Abernethy 12, Landen Agee 12, Nick Whitener 8, Beckett Rinkus 8, Ben Heavner 7
Records: North Lincoln 20-5; Hickory 21-4
This story was originally published February 28, 2026 at 9:48 PM.
