By Dennis Davidson
dennis.davidson@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — The girls’ basketball team at Carson High School should win a lot of games this season with a nice mixture of returning players and newcomers.

But old South Piedmont Conference rival Hickory Ridge, last season’s 3A state runner-up, also has veterans and fresh faces, three of which have already signed college scholarships.

The Bulls, who have moved up to 4A, defeated Carson here Monday night, 75-57. However, Cougars’ coach Brooke Stouder knew what her team was facing and why she decided to play the non-conference game.

“This is one of those games that we can learn a ton from because Hickory Ridge is a really good team,” said Stouder. “They’re athletic, they’re fast, they’re skilled … and we wanted them on our schedule because we wanted to see where we stand against a really good team like that.”

Carson defeated 4A Hopewell, 52-35, on Saturday, but Hickory Ridge is, obviously, at a different level. Against the Bulls, Carson looked a little rattled right away, and Hickory Ridge raced out to an 18-6 lead after the first quarter. Early on, the Cougars missed a lot of shots, turned the ball over and gave up some easy inside baskets to the bigger Bulls.

“I think it’s really clear what we have to work on,” said Stouder. “We’ve got to be able to rebound the basketball. We’re undersized and we’re not going to out-jump or out-athlete anybody. We’ve got to do a better job of boxing out and securing the rebound.”

The Cougars, led by senior guard Olivia Gabriel and freshman guard Colbie Perry, got their collective legs under themselves in the second period and trailed by just 10 points at halftime, 35-25. Gabriel scored five of her team-high 19 points in the period and Perry, daughter of Carson boys’ coach Brian Perry, added six of her 14 points during the same span.

But behind seniors Jiera Shears and Gabby Smith, Hickory Ridge won the third period by 11 points and went into final quarter up by 20 points at 58-38.

“I thought in the second half, we settled in a little bit and played more in control,” added Stouder. “Being down by 20 going into the fourth quarter, our goal was to try and cut that in half … and we almost did, but then you have a couple of possessions that really kill you when they get a put-back and momentum swings back in the other direction.”

An inside basket by senior Maren Shumaker, a 3-pointer from guard Maci Cooper and five free throws from Gabriel cut Carson’s deficit to 61-48 at the 4:43-mark, forcing a timeout from Hickory Ridge coach Tolonda Simmons.

Over the next two minutes, the Bulls went on a 7-0 run, and the lead was back to 20 — and Hickory Ridge’s win was secured. The Bulls are now 2-0.

“We got a lead early, but we didn’t play our best basketball tonight,” said Simmons. “We’ve got some new pieces coming together with some old pieces, so we’re still working to get everybody on the same page. But it’s a road win and we’re going to learn some things from this and move forward.

“When we come up here, we know we’re going to be in for a dogfight,” continued Simmons. “Carson’s girls always play hard. It’s a game we definitely needed to play, but at the same time, we just didn’t do some things as good we could have, and I was a little disappointed in that.”

Shears scored 23 points to lead the Bulls and Carson had no answer for the inside game of Smith, who added 22. Smith has signed with Western Carolina.

Carson (1-1), which will compete in the six-team North Piedmont Conference this season, was led by Gabriel. The senior scored eight points in the final quarter before fouling out — all free throws.

Following Gabriel and Perry for Carson was junior wing McKenzie Gadson, who battled the Bulls’ inside size for 10 points. Cooper, a sophomore, scored half of her eight points late, as Carson outscored the Bulls in the final quarter, 19-16.

“I don’t think I can fault our effort,” added Stouder. “We played hard from start to finish but we missed a ton of shots and gave up 17 points off offensive boards, so that absolutely killed us. But we fought and we competed and I definitely think we can get better from this game — that’s the goal.”

NOTES: Carson returns to action on Nov. 28, hosting Concord, another former conference foe. … Rinnah Green, a senior wing for Hickory Ridge who has signed with Division I Charlotte, did not play in last night’s game. … Alyssa Wagner, a Lenoir-Rhyne signee, scored six points.

HICKORY RIDGE (75) — Jiera Shears 23, Smith 22, Richardson 12, Neal 8, Wagner 6, Calhoun 3, Aardema 1, Daniel, Jadah Shears.

CARSON (57) — Gabriel 19, Wilhelm 2, Gadson 10, Isley, Shumaker 2, Perry 14, Cooper 8, Conrad 2, Turney, Fesperman, Jolly, Wiggins.

Hickory Ridge        18     17     24     16  — 75

Carson                       6     19     13      19  — 57