Anchored by star forward Shalyn Bell, the North Stanly girls’ basketball team outscored Uwharrie Charter in all four quarters on Friday as the Comets (7-0) pulled off a 53-33 road win over the Eagles (5-3).
Up 27-17 at half, North’s defense limited Uwharrie Charter to just nine third-quarter points and seven fourth-quarter points as the undefeated Comets cruised to their seventh straight victory.
On the heels of last season’s successful 20-6 campaign, the Comets have picked right up where they left off.
Head coach Regan Allen’s Comet team has now scored (418) more than double the amount of points surrendered to its opponents (183). Out of seven challengers, only Southwestern Randolph (1-1) came within five points (58-53) of matching North’s offensive output.
The Comets and Albemarle Bulldogs (3-0) currently remain as the only undefeated teams in the Yadkin Valley Conference.
North faced the Anson Bearcats (0-4) on the road on Tuesday and will host the South Davidson Wildcats (1-3) on Friday.
West Stanly 64, South Stanly 23
Following a blowout loss to Albemarle and a tight loss to Mount Pleasant (3-2), the West Stanly girls (2-2) got back on track with a 41-point road win at South Stanly (1-3) on Friday.
The Colts are looking to improve after an 8-17 season, while the Bulls are fielding their first girls’ team since the abbreviated 2020-21 season.
West hosted Charlotte Latin Hawks (3-2) on Tuesday and will host Albemarle in a quick rematch on Friday. At the same time, South played at Forest Hills (1-1) on Tuesday and will now host the North Moore Mustangs (2-0) on Friday.
Albemarle 65, Chatham Charter 64
The Albemarle Bulldogs — the reigning Yadkin Valley Conference champs — have enjoyed a brief break following a one-point road victory over Chatham Charter (6-1) on Nov. 28.
While the Bulldogs trailed the Knights 53-47 going into the third quarter, Albemarle pulled back into form as junior Amari Baldwin (23 points) and Bianca Robinson (19 points) helped their team outscore Chatham Charter 18-11 in the fourth quarter.
Albemarle played at North Rowan (2-0) on Tuesday and will travel to Red Cross to challenge the West Stanly Colts again on Friday.
Christ the King 55, Gray Stone 29
Coming off a 5-17 season, the Gray Stone Knights have seen some success but also some continued struggles over the past month; the latter was in full swing on Thursday as the Knights (3-3) suffered a 55-29 road loss at Christ the King (2-1).
The loss snapped a two-game string of wins over two winless teams: Anson (0-4) and Central Academy (0-5).
The Knights are set to host North Moore on Thursday before heading to face the Langtree Charter Lions (3-2) on Monday.