By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

Fourth in a series of high school basketball previews …

CHINA GROVE — Carson’s Chloe Monroe couldn’t have had a more challenging start to her girls basketball head-coaching career.

Monroe’s best player was out following surgery, and the Cougars fielded a squad with limited experience and limited height in a league that included a state champ, two excellent squads and quite a few decent ones.

Carson basically was trying to tread water with a jayvee-aged group, and the results were predictable. The Cougars drowned in a sea of lopsided losses. Carson went 1-22 and 0-16 in the South Piedmont Conference.

Carson scored a meager 22 points per game, while allowing an average of 57. The lone victory the team experienced in January came against Statesville was a minor miracle.

“There were a lot of lessons learned by me and by the girls as far as perseverance,” Monroe said. “Carson has been good in girls basketball for a long time, so it was hard. But we tried to be patient. We learned a lot. We’ll get better.”

As tough as 2023-24 was, most of the girls who endured it were resilient. They came back for more, and they should all be better this season. Carson should win some and the Cougars definitely will have a chance in more games.

“They’re all a year older and that usually means smarter and better,” Monroe said. “I can see a lot of improvement. A lot of them worked hard in the off-season on their skills and their shots.”

The biggest reason for optimism in China Grove is that Allie Martin is back in action.

Martin scored 32 points for the Cougars in the last game she played as a sophomore. She missed her junior season after surgery to repair an ACL injury.

She’ll give the Cougars a double-figure scorer, a ball-handler and a leader, three things that were missing from math teacher Monroe’s equation last season. A three-sport athlete, Martin played No. 1 singles and doubles in tennis for the Cougars in the fall and was a qualifier for the state tournament, so she’s fully healthy. Her best sport is soccer. That comes in the spring.

“Allie changes the dynamic for us,” Monroe said. “She’s a passionate player, but at the same time, she’s a very calm presence on the court. She brings us an element of experience and confidence that we didn’t have.”

Martin is part of a five-person senior class. That’s five more seniors than Carson had last season.

Laila Furr has been in a lot of games. She averaged 2.5 points as a junior and has scored 175 in her career.

“She can play post or guard depending on who we have on the floor with her,” Monroe said. “She has a good shot.”

Brooklyn McBride is a senior with quite a bit of experience. She’s mostly a post, but she’s handled the ball when necessary. She’s scored 155 points in her career. She’s recovering from a meniscus tear and hasn’t been cleared yet, but she’ll return to action at some point this season.

Emma Carpenter is a senior post who has played a lot of minutes She’s scored 115 points.

“We’re hoping for more post scoring from her, and she’ll be one of our top rebounders,” Monroe said.

Miley Benfield is a senior, who got some playing time as a sophomore, but did not play last season. She’s another post player.

Carson has only one junior. That’s Julia Burleson, who is one of the school’s better athletes. She’s a runner. She averaged 3.0 points per game as a sophomore. She has scored 147 points for the Cougars.

“She’s quick, a good defender, and we’re hoping she can make some 3-pointers,” Monroe said.

Rylee Hedrick leads the sophomore class. She had several double-figure games last season, and her 23-point outburst against Statesville keyed Carson’s only win. She averaged a team-high 6.5 points per game. She’s an athlete and is the setter for Carson’s strong volleyball team.

“She’s a good all-around player, and she’s shooting the ball really well,” Monroe said.

Sophomore Caylee Snow contributed 34 points as a freshman. She has post size, combined with some guard skills, so the Cougars can employ her at multiple positions.

Sophomore Emily Guiton is a point guard who will help the Cougars with her quickness and ball-handling skills.

Sophomore Caylee Sheets is a shooting guard and will be one of the team’s 3-point threats.

Carson didn’t have enough players for a jayvee team, so the three freshmen in the program — Gentry Yarbrough, Anna Beck and Chloe Thomas — will learn on the varsity.

“We’ve got five seniors, so the progress of those three is going to be really important for our program next year,” Monroe said.

Lu Gamewell returns to assist Monroe.