Fifth in a series of previews on local basketball teams …

By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — It’s been a fantastic flurry for Carson girls basketball coach Brooke Stouder, one of the better five-year runs in Rowan County by any program in any sport.

In the last five seasons, Carson’s girls won 121 and lost 15. They were at their best when the heat was on. They were 10-1 in Christmas tournament games, 9-1 in conference tournament games and a stellar 15-4 in state playoff games.

Carson was supposed to decline sharply last season from the undefeated 2020 state championship team, but the slide wasn’t anywhere near as ugly as expected. The Cougars “dropped” to 25-4 with an eight-girl squad that included seven seniors. They won another conference title, won another conference tournament title and even won three 3A playoff games.

It was some of Stouder’s best work. It was a stunning season built around two experienced players, but Carson got what it needed from improved reserves and from senior athletes who had not been playing the sport but made successful basketball comebacks.

But Mary Spry is now at Catawba and Hannah Isley is at Pfeiffer and the only familiar faces are reserve Allie Martin and loyal assistant coaches Dee Miller, Lu Gamewell and Chloe Monroe.

This will be the ultimate starting-over season. For Stouder this is going to feel a lot like November 2006 when she was just getting the program off the ground.

The Cougars will take some lumps. There’s no way around it.

“It’s a completely new team,” Stouder said. “Right now, we’re doing a lot of teaching. We’ve got such a huge gap to try to close between us and more experienced teams.”

Unfortunately, it’s not like Carson has phenoms who have been waiting patiently for their chance to play. The jayvees didn’t win a single game last season.

But Stouder isn’t ready  to throw in the towel. She still loves coaching. She enjoys the challenge of trying to win a few games while teaching a lot of life lessons. She says it’s a good group of girls she has. They listen. They work. They’ve come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go.

“They have improved so much because they’ve been willing to take the things they’ve learned and they’ve worked on their skills on their own,” Stouder said. “Some of them had never experienced winning, but then we did win some games at Charlotte’s team camp, and they really enjoyed it. Winning is fun, but it’s a process. You have to learn how to win. You have to learn how to prepare yourself to get in a position to win.”

Allie Martin is the varsity returner. She averaged 1.3 points per game. She’s a soccer-first athlete who is also skilled at tennis. She was on the floor in some huge games and tense situations last season. She understood her role and minimized mistakes. She never tried to do too much.

As a sophomore, she’s going to have to do a lot. She’ll be the point guard. She’ll also be a scorer, a rebounder, a defender and a leader.

“She’s going to compete,” Stouder said. “She’s one of those athletes who wants to win every drill. As our most experienced player, we’ll need her to set the tone for every practice and every game.”

Four more sophomores — Laila Furr, Brooklyn McBride, Jadyn Steele and Emma Carpenter — got into a few varsity games last season on nights when no jayvee game was scheduled.

“Furr can shoot and she’s improved the most since last season,” Stouder said. “She can score for us.”

Like Martin and Furr, Steele is a guard. She’s smart, she can make adjustments, and she plays hard.

McBride is an undersized post, but she has good skills and a nice mid-range shot.

Carpenter didn’t start playing basketball until she was a freshman, but she’s made strides. Carson is counting on her for rebounds.

“She’s got some size and she’s got really good hands,” Stouder said. “She’s improved a ton.”

Miley Benfield is another sophomore post. She really wants to do well, which is a big part of succeeding. Like most of the Cougars, what she needs is varsity game experience. The difference in speed between jayvees and varsity is pretty huge.

Alona Locklear is a senior who will be playing for the Cougars for the first time. She’s a soccer athlete.

“That soccer footwork translates well to basketball and she’s been in some big games, even though it’s been in a different sport,” Stouder said. “She hasn’t played basketball since middle school, but she’ll  help us. She can shoot. It’s not like she just showed up. She was with us during the summer months.”

Sophomore Rebekah McCubbins has a nice shot and played well in Carson’s scrimmage with Rocky River.

Freshman Julia Burleson is a cross country runner who will give the Cougars some grit. She’ll get after it.

Freshman Morgan Shannon is a post player with a promising future. She’s one of the taller Cougars. She’s left-handed and has some post moves.

Will it be a tough season?

It certainly looks like it will be. This will be the county’s youngest and least experienced team.

“We’ll still go into every game with a plan for trying to win it,” Stouder said. “The key measure for us isn’t going to be wins and losses, it’s going to be how much can we improve from the start until the finish.”

CARSON GIRLS AT A GLANCE

Coach: Brooke Stouder (17th season, 260-162, 2nd all-time in wins for Rowan girls basketball)

2021-22: 25-4 overall, 13-1 3A South Piedmont Conference (1st)

Playoffs: Lost to North Davidson in 4th round

Top returner: Allie Martin