NEW LONDON — After a stretch of 40 combined wins in the past two seasons, the North Stanly girls’ basketball team has carried that success into its 2023-24 campaign with a 9-0 undefeated start.
In a month-long stretch of dominance, third-year coach Regan Allen’s Comet offense has more than doubled the amount of points scored by its opponents (523-235), limiting teams to under 54 points in all nine games.
Reigning Yadkin Valley Conference Player of the Year Shalyn Bell has continued and expanded her stellar play of the prior season, producing 22.6 points and 15.6 rebounds per game after averaging 20.4 points and 14 rebounds last year.
In a 79-14 home win over Monroe (1-4) on Nov. 22, the junior forward’s performance was crucial to her team’s blowout victory as she racked up a team-high 42 points, 23 rebounds and ten steals.
Bell isn’t the only Comet who has elevated her team thus far.
Senior point guard Giavonna Dunlap has provided North with 12.3 points, 5.1 assists and 5.3 steals per game, while sophomore guard Lexie Brown has notched 6.8 points and 3.1 assists.
With North’s deep lineup and bench reserves, a dozen different Comets have put points on the board.
Holding a winning streak intact as conference play begins on Jan. 5 against Union Academy (5-1), North is hoping to reclaim the YVC title it earned for the 2021-22 season with a 10-0 conference record.
Last season, the Comets (20-6, 8-2 YVC) finished second in the Yadkin Valley Conference behind Albemarle (22-5, 9-1 YVC), who appears to be in the early stages of another strong season too — North is set to face the Bulldogs (4-1) on Jan. 23 and Feb. 13.
While the Comets fell short of the conference crown last season, they did earn a different accomplishment: they got their first playoff win since the 2015-16 season as they hosted and defeated Pine Lake Prep 64-47 in the 2A bracket. The Comets went on to lose at East Rutherford 88-54 in the second round.
As the 2023-24 season marches on, North has two non-conference matchups coming up, hosting West Stanly on Thursday (2-4) and South Rowan (1-3) on Friday before gearing up for a trip to Forest Hills (2-2) on Monday.
With a true star talent in Bell and a viable contributing cast of experienced players, North is primed to ride the good fortune it has experienced since mid-November.