By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
CHINA GROVE ó A mid-season matchup with visiting North Iredell brought out the best in the Carson girls basketball team on Friday ó or did it?
It still wasn’t enough as the Cougars fell 62-52.
“I think this is the most points we’ve scored all season,” coach Brooke Misenheimer said after Carson (1-14 overall) dipped to 0-10 in NPC play. “But I’m disappointed. We were very sloppy. We hit some shots, but we never set up our offense. We tried to run it from halfcourt. I felt like there were tons of opportunities we didn’t capitalize on.”
This one had a familiar ring, sort of like Ground Hog Day ó Carson girls style. The Cougars played well in stretches, but remain one-for the past three seasons in conference games.
“It was a very winnable game,” said Carson forward Kaylene Livengood. “But we didn’t execute on offense and we made silly mistakes on defense.”
It was a very close game for much of the first half. Livengood knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points in the opening quarter, helping CHS build a 14-9 lead. And when sophomore Demya Heggins snatched an offensive rebound and hit a putback, the Cougars were tied 22-22 with 54 seconds to play in the first half.
“We had it in our hands,” said Heggins, Carson’s top scorer with 16 points. “And we let it go. We were playing good defense and actually working hard as a team.”
Added Livengood: “We put pressure on them a few times, but fell back. Right before the half our defense just dropped off and so did our intensity.”
It all unraveled like a cheap sweater when North Iredell (6-8, 3-7 NPC) scored the final eight points of the first half ó the last three when Erinn Singletery drained a 3-ball at the buzzer.
“She made two really big shots for us,” said NI coach Tami Ramsey. “When she has time to set up, she’ll make those shots.”
The Raiders gradually extended their lead to 56-39 when sophomore sniper Mandy Singletery (game-high 25 points) converted both ends of a one-and-one with 4:42 to play. Carson used a late burst of energy to slide within 57-51 on a fastbreak layup by Heggins, but drew no closer. Mandy Singletery’s last-minute basket sealed the verdict.
“That No. 14,” said Misenheimer, shaking her head. “She had a great game. And we didn’t have an answer for her.”
north iredell (62) ó M.Singletery 25, Haynes 14, Johnson 13, E.Singletery 7, Harkey 3. carson (52) ó Heggins 16, K.Livengood 13, M.Livengood 6, Settlemyer 6, Monroe 5, Brown 4, Marshall 2, Sellers, Meismer.
N. Iredell 9 21 19 13 ó 62
Carson 14 8 15 15 ó 52