The North Moore girls’ basketball team had a tough first round game in the state 1A playoffs, traveling to third seed Lake Norman Charter Monday. After hanging with the Lady Knights during the first quarter, the host club shifted into another gear during the second quarter, outscoring the Mustangs 22-9 for a 48-27 halftime lead. Lake Norman Charter continued to dominate the contest in the second half for a 76-44 victory.

North Moore ends their season with 13-12 overall record and finished fifth in the Yadkin Valley Conference with an 8-8 mark. Lake Norman Charter’s record improves to 22-5 and they will face East Surry Wednesday in second round action.

The loss ends senior Jalisa Davis’ brilliant basketball career at North Moore. Davis scored more than 500 points this year and more than 1,000 points in her career as a Mustang. She also led the conference scoring with an average of 23.4 points per game and she also led the league in three-point shooting with 56 treys.

North Moore coach Sammy McNeill and many of his players that also play on the softball team are very familiar with charter schools that can draw student/athletes from across school and county boundaries, having lost in the second round last spring to Lincoln Charter.

The Knights were led by 6’2 junior center Ezinne Mbamalu, who tallied 24 points for her team, along with freshman Sarah Novroski with 16 points and senior Alex Busch with 15 points.

The game opened at a fast pace as the home team led 21-18 at the end of the first quarter. Then the taller Knights started to dominate, posting 22 points while holding the Mustangs to only nine points during the second stanza. The Mustangs’ offense continue to struggle in the third quarter, scoring only seven points and falling behind by 67-34 going into the final frame.

The Mustangs outscored Lake Norman Charter 10-9 in the fourth quarter for the final margin.

Davis led the Mustangs with 21 points in her final outing. She was followed in the scoring column by junior Heather Dunmyer with nine points, sophomore Casey Turner seven, senior Jessie Sheffield six and senior Mone’ Little one. Allison Boch finished with seven points for the Knights followed by Sarah McIntosh with five points, Brittany Buckstad five, Carley Russ two and Sierra Wiley two.