Friday’s basketball rewind: Charlotte Catholic, Watauga, Corvian advance to NCHSAA Final 4
Charlotte Catholic’s girls basketball team is going to the NCHSAA 4A regional final for the third straight year.
The Cougars beat host Lake Norman, 50-38, on Friday in a rematch of the 2023 regional championship game that Lake Norman won.
Catholic (26-4) won its fourth straight game. Lake Norman finished the season 26-3.
Catholic will play Watauga in the state semifinals Thursday in Winston-Salem. Watauga (25-5) won its sixth game in a row and its third straight game over a Charlotte power, beating Myers Park 51-44.
In the previous two rounds, Watauga beat North Meck 73-68 and Observer Sweet 16 No. 1 Mallard Creek 62-44.
Watauga stops Myers Park, advances to semifinals
Top-seeded Watauga stifled Myers Park’s offense for the final three quarters Friday night and knocked off the fourth-seeded Mustangs 50-38 in a girls’ 4A West regional semifinal in Boone.
It was the second time this week that Watauga eliminated a conference champion from Charlotte, as the Pioneers ran past Queen City 3A-4A champ Mallard Creek on Tuesday.
Now the Pioneers (25-5) will have a chance to make it 3 for 3 against Charlotte conference champs when they face Southwestern 4A title-holder Charlotte Catholic next Thursday in the West Regional semifinals in Winston-Salem.
Charlotte Catholic beat Watauga 60-48 in late December on a neutral floor.
On Friday night, SoMeck 4A champ Myers Park (27-3) fared much the same as Mallard Creek. The Mustangs took an early lead on Watauga, but the Pioneers’ defense took over and prevented Myers Park from getting off many good shots.
In fact, the Mustangs did not make a field goal from the last minute of the first quarter until Amani Barner scored on a short jump shot midway through the third period. Free-throw shooting by Laura Lassiter, who made 9 of 10 foul shots in the game, kept the Mustangs close to Watauga for a while.
Myers Park trailed 36-30 with 4:31 remaining, but the Pioneers got 3-pointers from Kaitlyn Darner and Julie Matheson, sandwiched around a Mustang basket, and opened a 42-32 lead. Mustang senior standout Jerin Truesdale, held scoreless in the second and third quarters, fouled out with 1:12 left, and Watauga fans started celebrating.
The Mustangs hit 6 of 10 from the floor in the first quarter. They made 6 of 24 over the final three periods.
Watauga standout Kate Sears scored a game-high 17 points, while Lassiter’s 15 points topped Myers Park.
Corvian headed to first Final Four
Second-year coach Ron Murphy’s Corvian Community Charter team beat Bishop McGuinness 64-58 Friday to advance to its first NCHSAA 1A Final Four.
Bishop McGuinness won the 1A state title in 2019.
Friday, Corvian jumped out to a 19-13 first quarter lead and made it stand up in a tight game. Malachi McCutcheon (15 points), Jack Hudson (13), Andre Jackson Jr. (13), Ricky Moore Jr. (11) and Adrian Scott (10) all plaeyd key roles in the win.
John Campbell had 31 points from Bishop McGuinness.
Lincoln Charter girls advance
Lincoln Charter got 15 points from Symphanie Stevens and beat North Wilkes 53-43 to advance to the first NCHSAA Final Four in school history.
Kallie Lusk and Martha Guinle added 12 points apiece. Lusk finished with five rebounds and had two big steals in the fourth quarter.
Lincoln Charter improved to 25-5.
Charlotte Latin names new girls’ basketball coach
Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools basketball star Giovanni Mack is the new girls’ basketball coach at Charlotte Latin.
Mack has been a girls’ varsity assistant for two years, as well as head coach of the eighth-grade team.
Former Hawks coach Eric Smith will serve in an advisory role while continuing as assistant athletic director and physical education teacher.
“Today we celebrate a progressive transition as (Mack) assumes the leadership of our girls’ basketball program,” Latin athletic director David Gatoux said. “He embodies the essence of what we seek in this role with infectious energy, steadfast commitment to Charlotte Latin core values and students, and passionate dedication to the game of girls’ basketball.”
As a high school player at Providence and Butler, Mack was a prolific scorer who became Southwestern 4A conference player of the year. He played in college at Texas Southern and UNC Pembroke and played professionally overseas.
After he was done playing, Mack began working with the athletes at Latin as a coach and trainer.
“The players I’ve had the privilege of coaching so far at Latin have done a great job of taking in information and applying it,” Mack said. “I’m really excited about the culture we are building within the girls’ program here and can’t wait to get started working with the students to strengthen that foundation, mold it and expand it. My hope is that the players of today will look back on the program with pride in the future, both for what they achieved and for what we built together.”
Friday’s girls’ box scores
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 51, LAKE NORMAN 44
Catholic 14 12 12 13 – 51
Lake Norman 6 2 15 21 – 44
Catholic 51 – Gracynn Gough 13, Blanca Thomas 11, Kernodle 9, Fava 8, McArdle 6, McKain 4
Lake Norman 44 – Kelsey Rhyne 20, Alexis Sheehan 18, Williams 3, S. Sheehan 2, Moore 1
Records: Catholic 26-4, Lake Norman 26-3
WEST ROWAN 55, EAST LINCOLN 42
East Lincoln 12 3 10 17 — 42
WRHS: 11 14 12 18 — 55
EAST LINCOLN 42 — Kiara Anderson 18, T. Thomas 9, L. Pethel 8, N. Atkins 3, E. Montanari 2, A. Hege 2
WEST ROWAN 55 — Lauren Arnold 19, Emma Clarke 12, T. Thompson 9, L. Wilson 5, D. Phifer 4, M. Tenor 3, M. Edwards 3
Notables: For East Lincoln, Kaira Anderson had 18 points, four steals, three rebounds. East Lincoln’s senior claass finishes with a career record of 98-10 over four years, with three conference titles, three conference tournament titles, two East Lincoln Winter Jam Titles, a 2022 Sweet 16 appearance, a 2023 Final Four appearance and an 2024 Elite 8 appearance.
Records: East Lincoln 29-2; West Rowan 29-1
