NEW LONDON -- The North Stanly girls' basketball team continued its strong start to conference play with a 66-38 home victory over Gray Stone on Friday night, improving to 2-0 in the Yadkin Valley Conference.
The Comets (9-3, 2-0 YVC) built steady separation from the opening tip and outscored the Knights (2-8, 0-2 YVC) in every quarter. North Stanly led 16-7 after one period, stretched the margin to 31-17 by halftime and pulled away with a 21-10 advantage in the third quarter to take a commanding 25-point lead.
Balanced scoring fueled the Comets' effort, as senior Lexie Brown, junior Resse Coble and freshman Lainey Brown each finished with 10 points. Senior Shy'Mani Baskins added nine points, while sophomore Lawson Culp chipped in eight.
The win keeps North Stanly on pace to eclipse last season's 13-win total, with the Comets now four victories shy of matching that mark.
North Stanly opened conference play with a 52-39 home win over Union Academy on Jan. 6. The Comets traveled to South Stanly on Tuesday and will host West Stanly on Wednesday before hosting North Rowan on Friday.
Gray Stone, still searching for its first YVC victory, dropped its second straight league game. The Knights previously fell 42-38 at home to North Rowan on Jan. 6 and will look to regroup as conference play continues; Gray Stone hosted Union Academy on Tuesday and will head to Albemarle on Friday.
West Stanly 62, Anson 40
Playing on their home court, the West Stanly Colts (7-7, 3-2 Rocky River Conference) snapped a two-game losing streak on Friday with a 22-point win over the Anson Bearcats (1-14, 0-5 RRC), who are still winless in league play.
A senior trio of Scarlet Griffin (19 points), Kennedy Foxx (16 points) and Mallory Deaton (11 points) provided the bulk of the Colts' offensive firepower in their victory, which was their first win of 2026.
Uwharrie Charter Academy 66, Albemarle 43
On Monday night, the Albemarle Bulldogs (7-7, 1-1 YVC) lost to the Uwharrie Charter Academy Eagles (10-3, 0-1 Four Rivers Conference) in a 66-43 nonconference blowout at home, marking the Bulldogs' third consecutive game with less than 44 points.
While the Bulldogs trailed by only a single point at halftime, the Eagles outscored Albemarle by 11 points in both the third and fourth quarters to expand their lead to 23 points by the end of the matchup.
North Rowan 61, South Stanly 45
The South Stanly Rowdy Rebel Bulls (3-7, 0-2 YVC) lost their fourth game in a row on Friday as they fell 61-45 on the road to the North Rowan Cavaliers (3-10, 2-0 YVC).
Sitting at 3-3 on Dec. 11 following a road win at South Davidson, the Bulls have lost four contests in a row as they try to bounce back from an early drop to the bottom of the YVC standings alongside Gray Stone.