The noon girls consolation game that always kicks off the Day Two six-pack of Sam Moir Christmas Classic activity is usually a yawner.
But Thursday’s 55-40 victory by fifth-seeded Salisbury over sixth-seeded South Rowan was at least a little bit special, because the top two lady scorers in the county — and arguably, the top two players, period— were on display.
That titanic twosome— 6-foot-1 South junior Brittney Gaddy and lithe Salisbury senior guard Ke-Ke Chunn didn’t disappoint a sparse crowd. Gaddy, who averages 20.3 ppg, had 20 points, 14 boards and five blocks. Chunn answered with 21 whirling, acrobatic points, giving her a total of 46 for the Hornets’ two-game appearance in the event.
“There was nothing we could do about Gaddy, but there was also nothing South could do about Ke-Ke,” said Salisbury coach Jennifer Shoaf. “Gaddy got 20 and we actually did a pretty good job on her. But Ke-Ke was just dominant for the second day in a row. She really ought to make the all-tournament team.”
There are two amazing things about Chunn, not counting that unique first name, which is a derivative of “Laketia.”
First, she didn’t make all-county last season, mostly because she played in the long shadow of 1,000-point scoring post player Sherree Gillespie. Second, although she’s only 5-7 and on the slim side, Chunn gets just about all of her points in the lane. She’s just too quick to keep out of the paint, even when you know where she’s headed.
“Shoaf says to step up and penetrate, so that’s what I try to do,” said Chunn.
“She made her first jumper of the year today,” giggled Shoaf.
Chunn makes a face when she talks about last season’s all-county voting disappointment, but she’s obviously having too much fun this year to worry about the past.
“I know I’m just starting to get noticed,” smiled the effervescent Chunn, who averages 17.8 ppg. “That means a lot to me, because when I get respect, that means my team is getting respect. And Salisbury usually doesn’t get any respect.”
Things aren’t going to get any easier for the Hornets (4-4) when they get into 2A Central Carolina Conference play, but at least they left the Moir tourney on a positive note and with two wins in three games against South (2-11).
The key moments in the game came late in the second quarter when the Hornets turned a 15-12 deficit into a 23-17 halftime lead with an 11-2 burst fueled by Chunn. Then Chunn put in 10 more points in the third quarter despite some box-and-one defense by coach James Greene’s Raiders.
South did make one third-quarter run when Aisha Khan hit two 3s and scored eight quick points, but Shoaf adjusted her zone to find Khan more quickly and the Hornets steadily pulled away after Khan was quieted.
Chunn’s fellow guard Ternisha Charleston controlled the ball and put in a flurry of free throws down the stretch. Charleston, in fact, had a whale of a game (and tournament) in her own right with 13 points, 11 boards and six steals.
The Hornets’ guard tandem, which carried the whole load in Wednesday’s 60-49 loss to East, got more help against the Raiders. Amber Wingerson scored six and Anita Edwards had five as Shoaf’s supporting cast was more assertive than usual.
“The three seniors (Chunn, Charleston and Jenny Reilly) are always going to carry us in scoring,” said Shoaf, “but we’ve got to get contributions from the other people. We’ve got to get rebounds, defense — something. I challenged them about that and today we got those contributions. The ‘other girls’ really took time to focus on what they had to do and they came through.”
And Chunn did more than come through. She dominated.
“Right now, I’ve got the most confidence I’ve ever had,” said Chunn.
SOUTHROWAN (40) — Gaddy 20, Khan 8, , Yost 3, Willett 2, Parker 2, Blackwood 2, Russell 2, Raper 1, Littlejohn, Miller.
SALISBURY (55)— Chunn 21, Charleston 13, Reilly 7, Wingerson 6, Edwards 5, Wilson 3, Seay.
South Rowan 9 8 15 8 — 40
Salisbury 9 14 16 16 — 55
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