By Marny Hendrick

sports@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — The Carson Cougars made quick work of the winless Northwest Cabarrus girls Friday night with a 77-12 victory, but the most impressive part came in the opening quarter.

Carson (8-2, 6-1 SPC) posted a school record 37 points in the opening eight minutes, including seven three pointers to leave no doubt about the outcome. Junior guard Destiny Jackson nailed three long ones in a row to put Carson up 24-2, then sophomore Sydney Taylor bombed in two more to make it 37-2. Strong inside play by Anne Marie Turney and freshman McKenzie Gadson pushed the Cougar margin to 56-6 by halftime and assured a quick second half with a mandatory running clock.

“Tonight was just about us staying focused and getting better,” Carson coach Brooke Misenheimer said. “We were taking to each other on defense and communicating well. It was a good team win tonight.”

The second half of the game took about 20 minutes in real time due to the running clock as Carson closed out the contest by holding the Trojans scoreless in the fourth quarter.

All eleven Carson players contributed to the lopsided win with four of them in double figures. Gadson led the effort with 13 plus 8 rebounds while Turney had 12, Jackson added 11 and point guard Olivia Gabriel knocked in 10. For the game, the Cougars nailed nine three pointers.

The Trojan girls (0-8, 0-7 SPC) are obviously in a massive rebuilding mode but still kept competing down to the end. Ashleigh Thompson and Allie Shaw led the effort with four points each.

Carson is now off until after the Christmas break when they head into the annual Dale Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas tournament at Catawba College Dec. 28-29 and 30. The Cougars will be the second seed in the girls bracket. “We have never won it before,” Misenheimer said. “But we will be ready to give it our best effort.”

NW Cabarrus (12) — Shaw 4, A. Thompson 4, Campbell 2, Robinson 2, Bost, T. Thompson, Hurlbut, Lomas, Daniels.

Carson (77) — Gadson 13, Turney 12, Jackson 11, Gabriel 10, Ketchie 7, Taylor 6, Wiggins 5, Furr 5, Fesperman 4, Street 2, Shumaker 2,

NW Cabarrus    2  4  6  0 — 12

Carson    37  19  15  6  — 77