The end is near for Kelly Carson. And that’s OK.

The Southside senior has but two games left to play at the Stubblefield Center. There are at least nine games in all left in her high school basketball career.

A standout soccer player as well, Carson will attend the University of Central Arkansas next fall to pursue a degree in exercise science (physical therapy).

“It came really fast, but it’s exciting,” Carson said. “You get to go off to college and start something knew. I’m ready; I’ve been playing since I was 4.”

Carson said she’ll miss the camaraderie of sports, the relationships.

But college sports can be grueling.

“Of course it’s fun, I just need to be a student,” she said. “I’ve seen what it takes. I saw the struggles with my brother (Wesley).

“I’ll still be around sports playing intramural (sports).”

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It’s been a grueling three seasons for Carson’s Southside basketball teammates. The Mavericks won three games her sophomore year; they won five in 2016-17.

This year’s team, thanks to a recent forfeit with Cabot, which brought the team’s record to 3-12 overall and 2-3 in the 7A-Central, has had its woes, too.

But Carson’s been a diligent teammate, never straying from the plan or jumping ship.

“It hasn’t been easy on her,” Southside coach Steve Brown said. “The relationship with the head coach and the point guard, they are the extension of the coach — they get the good with the bad. There are times when she’s been frustrated, but again, it’s understandable why.”

Southside is a heavy underdog against Northside today. The Lady Bears haven’t lost to the Mavericks, in fact, since 2010.

Northside has beaten Southside 18 consecutive times.


“For the past three years, I’ve been here. We haven’t had the best seasons, but the girls are all close,” Carson said. “It teaches you not go give up, because if you give up you’re going to give up in life, and that’s not a good thing.

“It’s taught me that no matter how far down you are, you don’t give up.”

Carson has had her basketball moments, too, she said.

She played a lot of travel ball with Greenwood’s Kyiah Julian, Northside’s Sydney Green and Muldrow star Hannah Boyett.

“It’s a transition to go from that to school basketball,” Carson said. “All we can do is go out there and play our hardest and not let them (Northside) walk all over us.”

Representing Southside, and all it stands for, has taught Carson other values, too.

“It’s more important to me that I go out there and represent the name on the front of the jersey than the back,” she said. “There’s someone in the stands watching me. I try to go out there and do my hardest.”

“I try to get her looks as the two-guard, because she shoots so well, but right now we’re having a hard time controlling the ball,” Brown said. “But with Kelly, you can count on her. She’s going to be there.”

“He’s really more than just a basketball coach,” Carson said. “If you’re going through something, he’s there to help you out. We know he’s going to have our backs, whether it’s basketball or outside of basketball.”
