North Mecklenburg’s girls basketball team defeated Southern Durham 65-38 in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 7A state championship game on Saturday night at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
The Vikings got off to a quick start, outscoring Southern Durham 21-7 in the first quarter. That 14-point deficit proved difficult to overcome, though the Spartans battled back in the second quarter with a 16-13 advantage in the period.
North Mecklenburg led 34-23 at halftime.
The run Southern Durham put together was ended in the third quarter though.
North Mecklenburg leaned on its defense to pull away after halftime, keeping Southern Durham to just five points in the third quarter while scoring 18 of its own. The Vikings led 52-28 going into the fourth quarter, maintaining control.
North Mecklenburg was led by two double-double performances.
Lenise Joseph scored 21 points and brought in 12 rebounds on her way to being named the Most Valuable Player of the state championship game.
Morgan Knox scored 19 points and recorded 11 rebounds. Knox was named the Most Outstanding Player of the West team.
Southern Durham was led by Ashlyn Hudson’s 12 points. Aliyah Herndon was named the Most Outstanding Player of the East team with nine points.
Before the game, the NCHSAA recognized two players with Sportsmanship Awards: Stephanie Mobley of North Mecklenburg and Aliyah Herndon of Southern Durham.
This is the second state championship in program history for North Mecklenburg, which ends the season with a 29-2 overall record. The last championship for the Vikings came in 1986 when they won the 4A title.
North Mecklenburg has played in three girls basketball state championship games.
The runner-up finish was the second in program history for Southern Durham, which also finished as the state runner-up in 2004 in the 3A championship. The Spartans finished the 2025-2026 season with a 27-4 record.
