Salisbury coach Jennifer Shoaf sat with one leg crossed and one hand pressed against her chin in the third quarter, more frustrated at the impending outcome than shocked.
The fact that freshman star Shayla Fields sat in a reclined position four chairs to her right came as the real surprise.
Davie County, which came at the Hornets like a typhoon with its pressure defense, rendered even the unflappable Fields ineffective in a 61-41 win on Thursday night in the first round of the Sam Moir Christmas Classic at Goodman Gym.
The War Eagles (5-4), and defending Moir champs, forced the Hornets into 24 turnovers, including a string of six straight in the second quarter, to pull out the victory.
“We’re like a boat riding the waves,” Shoaf said. “Sometimes it feels like we’re sinking, sometimes it feels like we’re floating.
“We have to find a way to keep our head above water.”
The Hornets (1-7) led early in the second quarter by a score of 12-11 before a bucket by Davie’s Sarah Williams, who led the Eagles with 15 points.
Salisbury subsequently turned the ball over on its next six possessions, and the War Eagles jumped out to a 22-12 advantage.
Fields hit a free throw with 3:59 left in the half to end the draught, but the Hornets didn’t get the deficit under double digits the rest of the way.
“It’s a press we’ve used before, and we knew they had seen it, so we tried to use it more selectively,” Davie coach Carol Cozart said.
Fields suffered through a disappointing evening even though she had a good fourth quarter and finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Fields missed 12 of her 14 shot attempts through three quarters and went to the bench with 4:22 left in the third quarter with Salisbury trailing 37-18.
An exhausted Fields got a five-minute rest before re-entering the game for the last 7:06, when she it three of her final four shot attempts.
“She’s working so hard to get the ball up the floor, trying to play defense and get the team in the right direction, and she’s missing a lot of shots,” Shoaf said. “A lot of it is her fault because she’s not squaring to the basket, but a lot of it is the fact that she’s just worn out.”
The War Eagles attempted 14 more shots than Salisbury in the second quarter alone thanks to their pressure, as well as their offensive rebounding.
Davie grabbed eight offensive boards in the second quarter, including four by Dawn Singleton, who had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The War Eagles finished the game with 22 offensive boards.
“We focus a lot on boxing out, and if you do that, you’ll normally get the shots,” said Williams, who had eight boards.
The Hornets struggled through a 14-of-50 shooting night, and seven of those makes came in the fourth quarter.
Jamie Seay was a bright spot for Salisbury. She hit five of her seven 3-point tries and finished with a game-high 19 points.
“I’m comfortable anywhere around the 3-point line,” said Seay, who hit most of her trifectas from left corner.
“(Shoaf) told us to shoot from the corner on the play that we run, and that’s where I go.”
SALISBURY (41) — Seay 19, Fields 14, Connor 3, Hawthorne 2, Bauk 2, Edwards 1, Teamer, Wingerson, Gillespie, Charleston.
DAVIE COUNTY (61) — S. Williams 15, Singleton 13, A. Williams 9, McDaniel 8, Schafer 8, Walker 4, Kahrs 4, Erb.
Salisbury 9 9 3 20 — 41
Davie County 11 20 16 14 — 61
n
Contact Bret Strelow at 704-797-4258 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com
.
Today's News
