Prep Basketball: Concord girls 68, Carson 59: Carson ends season 23-4

By Ronnie Gallagher

rgallagher@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — And just like that, the greatest season in Carson basketball history is over.

Concord had a fast start and held off a second-half rally by the Cougars to advance 68-59 in the first round of the 3A sectional playoffs.

The Spiders (12-10) now advance to face North Piedmont Conference tourney champ North Iredell, the only team to beat Carson twice this season.

“This is a sour ending to what was a very good season,” said Carson coach Brooke Misenheimer. “We didn’t have that sense of urgency.”

Carson (23-4) had just lost to North Iredell in the NPC tournament, but if the Cougars were hoping for a rematch, they didn’t play like it. When Allison Blackwell drilled a 3 for the Cougars’ first points, Concord was already up 7-0. The Spiders led 19-7 after one quarter.

“We had several turnovers,” Misenheimer said. “It looked like we didn’t know what we were doing.”

Concord coach Angela Morton knew defense and rebounding were the key.

“We had to play that up-tempo, aggressive style and try to take advantage of our strength, which is speed,” she said.

The first order of business was stopping point guard and leading scorer Kelly Dulkoski by putting defensive star Armoni Neils on her.

“We have a defense where we deny who we think is their best player,” Morton said. “If we do that, we have a chance.”

It worked. Dulkoski was only 3-for-12 and fouled out.

While Dulkoski was shut down, fellow junior Allison Blackwell almost single-handedly brought Carson within 31-28 at halftime with two steals for layups.

“She was a big reason we were able to come back,” Misenheimer said.

Down 37-30 in the third quarter, Carson seemed to hit its stride. Blackwell, who finished with 18 points, sank a layup and a 3-pointer. Dulkoski missed from long range but Tyesha Phillips muscled in the rebound. When Sarrah Holman swished two free throws, Carson had suddenly gone in front 39-37.

It was 41-41 going into the final eight minutes and the home crowd was ready for one of those famous Carson offensive explosions that had annihilated foes earlier in the year by 50 points.

It never happened.

Concord started the fourth on a 9-2 run and Carson was forced to battle back again. Chloe Monroe hit a three to cut it to 56-49 and Misenheimer began sending the Spiders to the foul line. Concord made 13-of-23 in the period and Carson never got closer than six, 60-54.

“We missed a lot of shots,” Misenheimer said. “That’s been our story the last several games.”

Monroe finished her career with 12 points while Phillips chipped in with 10.

“This is our last game. We’re done now,” Misenheimer said. “It’s unfortunate to have as good a season as we’ve had. We just got stunned, basically.”

CONCORD (68) — Briggs 23, N. Black 18, E. Black 16, Townsend 4, Neils 3, Boyce 2, Floyd 2.

CARSON (59) — Blackwell 18, Monroe 12, Phillips 10, Allen 8, Dulkoski 7, Holman 4, Barringer, Stirewalt.

Concord 19 12 13 27 — 68

Carson 7 21 13 18 — 59