By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Julia Burleson flipped up a running hook shot in the lane, like something from a 1950s black and white tape, and it swished, a sign that it would not be just another day for Carson’s girls basketball team.

Chloe Monroe’s 31 games at the helm of the Carson girls had included two victories and 29 defeats, so the female Cougars seemed an unlikely source to provide the most exciting contest on the first day of the Dale’s Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas Classic. But the Cougars not only provided excitement on Thursday in Catawba College’s Goodman Gym, they won, beating Mount Pleasant 47-44 in overtime.

It took a career-high 19 points from Burleson and a career-high 10 from Emma Carpenter for the short-handed Cougars to get the job done. No. 2 scorer Rylee Hedrick is out with a shoulder issue and Laila Furr and Caylee Snow also were unable to play.

While Mount Pleasant (5-4) was seeded second and Carson (2-7) was seeded seventh, it was apparent right away that Carson had a decent chance.

Burleson made a 3-pointer and Emma Carpenter scored twice in the paint as Carson jumped ahead 7-2 and led most of the first half. The Tigers caught up near the end of the half, and it was 22-all at the break.

Neither team could gain any separation in the second half. The shot that will be remembered is the 3-pointer that Emily Guiton banked in for the Cougars late in regulation. It was the only field goal she made, but it turned a two-point Carson deficit into a one-point lead. Both teams missed multiple chances to prevail in regulation, and the game went to overtime tied at 44-all.

Carson made three free throws in overtime — Guiton banked in one of them — and Carson shut out the Tigers in the OT period to win. Allie Martin came down with the last rebound to seal the victory. There were a lot of missed shots. Martin, Carpenter and Caylee Sheets got a lot of rebounds.

MacKenzie Clutter scored 19 for the Tigers, while Katelyn Sc0tt had 12.

Carson                         14   8   12   10  3   — 47

Mount Pleasant        12    10  14    8  0   — 44

CARSON – Burleson 19, Carpenter 10, Martin 9, Sheets 5, Guiton 4.

MOUNT — Clutter 19, Scott 12, Kyle 6, Barber 4, Hennie 2, Cole 1.

•••

SALISBURY — Salisbury coach Lakai Brice has been around long enough to dread those early morning Christmas tournament games, but the Hornets played well enough on Thursday to get through it.

“We played well in stretches, but those morning games are always tough,” Brice said.

The third-seeded Hornets had a pretty awful start. They were missing free throws and were tied 8-all with sixth-seeded rival North Rowan (1-5) after a quarter. The Hornets trailed 12-10 early in the second quarter.

But then the Hornets cranked out 21 straight points, a run that bridged the second and third quarters, to lead 31-12. Defense — steals and layups — got the Hornets (5-3) going. Torese Evans capped the spree by banking in a 3-pointer.

Salisbury appeared to be well on its way to a blowout and led 45-21 in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers got hot and finished strong. Dasia Elder made two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as North cut that 24-point Salisbury lead to nine with 53 seconds left. But it was too little, too late, and the Hornets advanced to a semifinal matchup with Carson.

Gabbi Fatovic and Keiara Spruill scored 12 each for the Hornets.

Elder had a season-high 13 points and 10 rebounds, her first double-double, for the Cavaliers. Alannah McArthur scored 11.

North Rowan   8     4    9    16   — 37

Salisbury           8    16   16   9    — 49

NORTH — Elder 13, McArthur 11, King 5, Stockton 4, Conner 2.

SALISBURY — Fatovic 12, Spruill 12, Evans 8, Fomond 5, Zapata 4, McNeely 4, Myers 2, Woodruff 2.

•••

SALISBURY — Top-seeded East Rowan alternated ugly stretches with efficient ones and handled West Rowan 64-35 in a first-round game on Thursday.

East had shaky starts to the game and the second half, but was able to end an 11-game losing streak against the Falcons that dated back to 2019. That streak included a discouraging 69-9 defeat.

“The third quarter was a struggle,” East coach Bri Evans said. “But we got though it.”

The eighth-seeded Falcons (0-8) were more competitive than the final score looks. East was leading by 13 points well into the third quarter, but the Mustangs were deeper and wiped out the Falcons down the stretch. The Mustangs had a 20-6 edge in the fourth quarter to win by 29.

“Our press was good to us,” Evans said. “We would have stayed in it longer, but the fouls were starting to pile up.”

Kady Collins, a post player who can shoot from outside, was a tough matchup for the Falcons and led East with 16 points. That equaled her season high.

West did a good job of containing high-scoring guards Mary Church (13 points) and Sadie Fesperman (seven), but the Mustangs got points from 10 players.

Izzy Stepp made back-t0-back 3-pointers as East (7-2) pulled away for its fifth straight win. Stepp and Savannah Wise scored nine each.

Jamelia Allen led the Falcons with 11 points. Sydney Smith had nine.

West Rowan    9     3    17   6   —  35

East  Rowan    9    23   12   20   — 64

WEST — Allen 11, Smith 9, Carter 6, Everhart 4, Sherrill 4, Hurd 1.

•••

SALISBURY — South Rowan played its best game in weeks but lost 43-40 to Central Davidson in a first-round game on Thursday.

It was the sixth straight loss for the fifth-seeded Raiders (3-7) despite huge outings by Danica Krieg and Ella Morgan. They scored 15 apiece. It was a career game for Krieg. It was a season high for Morgan, who had an 18-point game last season. Morgan made four 3-pointers.

“They’re both capable of playing like that,” South coach Alex Allen said. “They’re building confidence. It’s just a matter of consistency, of taking care of the ball.”

South trailed 20-17 at the half. The Raiders had a chance to make a move in the third quarter when the fourth-seeded Spartans were very cold, but South only scored four in the quarter.

Central Davidson (5-5) was able to hang on with Reagan McCarn scoring 11 points and Ella Hulsizer getting 10. The Spartans advanced to a semifinal against East Rowan.

South             9     8     4     19     — 40

Central          8    12     7    16      — 43

SOUTH — Krieg 15, Morgan 15, Pharr 5, Dextraze 3, Fisher 2.

CENTRAL — McCarn 11, Hulsizer 10, Chesney 7, Jordan 7, Forrest 6, Myers 2.

 

Friday’s girls games

9 — (6) North Rowan (1-5) vs. (2) Mount Pleasant (5-4)

12 — (5) South Rowan (3-7) vs. (8) West Rowan (0-8)

3 — (3) Salisbury vs. (7) Carson (2-7), semifinal

6 — (1) East Rowan (7-2) vs. (4) Central Davidson (5-5), semifinal