The Lake Norman Wildcats will venture away from home to take on the Statesville Greyhounds at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Lake Norman knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past six matchups -- so hopefully Statesville likes a good challenge.
Lake Norman is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Carolina's top teams: South Mecklenburg, who was ranked 25th at the time (Lake Norman was ranked fourth). Lake Norman really took it to South Mecklenburg for the full four quarters, racking up a 72-17 victory. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 28 points or more this season.
Lake Norman got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Alexis Shehan out in front who went 7 for 12 on her way to 17 points and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kelsey Rhyne, who posted 13 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Statesville). They claimed a resounding 54-27 victory over Garinger. With the Greyhounds ahead 33-9 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Statesville's win came from a few key players Lake Norman will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Symerria Harris, who went 5 of 8 on her way to 13 points along with eight rebounds and four blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Caylie Ward, who went 5 of 8 on her way to 12 points and four steals.
Lake Norman's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-0. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.4 points per game. As for Statesville, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's match: Lake Norman has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 9.2 three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Statesville, though, as they've been averaging only 3 three-pointers. Given Lake Norman's sizable advantage in that area, Statesville will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Lake Norman against Statesville when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the team secured a 91-16 victory. In that contest, Lake Norman amassed a halftime lead of 63-12, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
