Burke County 2025-26 H.S. girls basketball preview capsules
DRAUGHN WILDCATS
Last year’s record: 13-13 (7-7 WHC 1A/2A, T-4th); lost 1st round 1A state playoffs
Returning starters: Taylor Holder, Jacey Davis, Kenley Berry, Mati Kincaid, Makenzie Powell
Other key players: Bailey Winkler, Lindsey Hensley, Alexis Vasser, Cydnee Deal
From the coach: “It’s a benefit to have everybody returning. I’m super excited. They all know our program, and the girls all worked together over the summer of course. That continuity is huge for us, just having that cohesiveness that we’ve had for the last few years is going to be big going into this season, especially in our new conference. … We’re going to be competitive in this new conference.” — Liz Taylor
Outlook: The Lady Wildcats return the most production of any county hoops team — boys or girls — this winter, and it’s not particularly close. Backcourt seniors Holder (12.9 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game) and Davis (12.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.8 spg) return after all-conference and all-county first team campaigns. And like Holder, the senior Berry (10.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.0 blocks per game) in the post was also named all-conference and repeated as an all-county (second team) player last winter. Kincaid, a junior, also nearly averaged double digits in scoring and is back after an all-county season.
EAST BURKE CAVALIERS
Last year’s record: 30-2 (14-0 CVAC 2A, 1st); lost 5th round 2A state playoffs
Returning starters: None
Other key players: Addie Brittain, Belle Gwyn, Frankie Gwyn, Sarabeth Bradley
From the coach: “(The players have) set a lot of goals for themselves as a team, including winning a conference championship. We’re small, and losing Kara’s rebounding among other things is gonna hurt. My biggest thing is for them just to improve every day, learn how to work hard, and focus on the little things. This team has a lot of potential if we can stay healthy.” — Crystal Bartlett
Outlook: The Lady Cavs enter 2025-26 as the county’s only hoops squad to ever win 30 or more games in back-to-back seasons, but they hit the reset button after losing one of the program’s best players all-time, Braelyn Stilwell, to graduation before NCAA Division I prospect Kara Brinkley tore her ACL over the summer and has also played her final game in an EB uniform. The Gwyn sisters transferred in from Pleasant View, Tenn., where 5-foot-10 senior Belle made a name for herself at Sycamore High School and has already received a scholarship offer from D-III Guilford College. Brittain is the only player from last year’s rotation to return after the graduations of Stilwell, Maci McNeil, Journi McDowell, and Addison Sisk coupled with the transfer of Anna Coble, while Bradley is an athletic freshman for a team ranked ninth in the latest HighSchoolOT.com 828 area code rankings.
FREEDOM PATRIOTS
Last year’s record: 15-12 (6-4 NWC 3A/4A, 3rd); lost 2nd round 3A state playoffs
Returning starters: Kaitlyn Hagmann, Ava Cooke, Cynica Caldwell
Other key players: Aniah Queen, Simone Wright, Caylyn Taylor
From the coach: “We are working to find our identity after losing Peyton Caldwell as our leading scorer and Haven Gladden as our point guard. We are working with our returners to increase their scoring roles, and they are beginning to do that. Kaitlyn Hagmann, Cynica Caldwell, and Ava Cooke seem to be getting more comfortable controlling the offense. Also, we will look for Aniah Queen, Simone Wright, and Caylyn Taylor to step into bigger roles. We are keying on defense this season as our main goal.” — Amber Reddick
Outlook: Despite graduating three players including their top two scorers — Peyton Caldwell and Gladden — the Lady Patriots return three starters as well as some other players who will be asked to provide more production this winter. The senior trio of Cynica Caldwell (6.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.0 spg) and all-county selections Hagmann (6.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.1 spg) and Cooke (5.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) combined for nearly 20 points per game as juniors for Freedom, which has won at least one playoff game in each of the past 19 seasons. And given how loaded the Northwestern 6A/7A Conference figures to be with fellow NWC 3A/4A holdovers Watauga, South Caldwell, and Alexander Central as well as McDowell and St. Stephens, every league contest will feel like a postseason matchup.
NCSSM-MORGANTON DRAGONS
Last year’s record: 0-20 (0-14 WHC 1A/2A, 8th)
Returning starters: Sequoia Wilson, Hannah Xu
Other key players: Lola Wilson, Amalia Bordoloi, Amuktha Sudathi
From the coach: “My expectations for this season are very high. We have a great group of young ladies who work hard, compete daily, and are eager to learn. We have several players who can shoot the ball well, but our primary focus will be on the defensive end — using our length, effort, and aggression to create scoring opportunities off turnovers. Our biggest area of concern is depth and the limited game experience among some of our players, but I’m confident that will improve as the season progresses.” — Myron Miller
Outlook: The Lady Dragons will look to turn the corner in another girls sport after the tennis and cross country teams won the school’s first-ever team state titles and the volleyball squad made its first playoff appearance during a banner fall. Favorites in the Catawba River 1A/2A/3A Conference include Queen’s Grant, Thomas Jefferson, and Jackson Day, who combined for 59 wins last season. However, first-year head coach Miller believes NCSSM-Morganton has a real chance to “finish in the top half of the conference” and “achieve the program’s first-ever playoff appearance and 10-win season.”
PATTON PANTHERS
Last year’s record: 5-20 (2-10 MF7 1A/2A, 6th)
Returning starters: Melina Bernabe, Mia Chapman, Leah Clark, Hayden Hein, Emma Rolland
Other key players: Milan Pitt, Aniya Williams, Katrina Vu, Harper Robison, Kelly McCrea
From the coach: “With as many returners as we have and the leadership they provide for us, I think expectations are higher and we should compete more. They have been working really hard, and it’s nice to have some of that experience coming back so we can work on some finer details.” — Autumn Helms
Outlook: The Lady Panthers have not won more than five games in a full season since prior to COVID, and they lost arguably their top two guards from last winter as Jaycee Mull graduated and leading scorer Karson Pinkerton (5.4 ppg) did not finish last season with the team. Still, the return of Bernabe and Chapman, who both averaged 4.0 ppg or more, and leading rebounder Clark (4.4 rpg) give PHS some hope, particularly with five players back who started a significant number of games last year. Ninth-year coach Helms says Pitt has made a big offseason jump, and Hein and Williams provide a paint presence, while the addition of former Liberty Middle football player Robison as a freshman certainly ups the team’s overall athleticism.
— Compiled by Paul Schenkel and Josh McKinney
