With senior leader Sherree Gillespie still playing at less than 100 percent, Hornets Jen
Reilly and Keke Chunn more than made up the difference.Salisbury’s girls team scored its
first win of the season Wednesday afternoon, 42-40 over South Rowan in a consolation
bracket game of the Sam Moir Christmas Classic at Catawba’s Goodman Gymnasium.
Gillespie, in her second game back after an ankle injury, still led the Hornets in scoring
with 14 points, but it was the defense and clutch shooting of Chunn and Reilly that made
the difference.
“Jen Reilly played the
biggest game of anybody,”Salisbury head coach Jennifer Shoaf said. “Not only
offensively, but on defense she got a lot of steals and caused a lot of jump-ball
possessions. She stepped up her game tremendously.”
Reilly scored all 13 of her points
in the first three quarters but had two key steals in the final eight minutes. Chunn, the
junior point guard, finished with four steals and six points, and her pass on a fast break
to Gillespie gave the Hornets (1-9) a 40-32 lead with two minutes left to play.
Raider Jennifer Morgan, playing
with 47 stitches in her chin after a fall suffered last week, came back the next time down
the court and hit a 3-pointer to close the gap. But South missed its next shot.
Chunn grabbed the rebound and
rocketed to the other end of the floor for a layup. The Raiders (2-9) turned the ball over
the next time down the floor and missed a 3-point shot before Morgan swished home another
triple at the buzzer. But the last-second shot left South two points short.
The Raiders trailed 30-29 at the
end of three quarters when Hornet Jennifer Bauk banked in a layup high off the glass after
Salisbury beat the press. Hornets Tiffany Robinson and Ternisha Charleston each added
field goals early in the fourth to extend the lead and force South to play catchup.
The Raiders made just 2-of-12
3-pointers for the quarter and shot 4-for-21 overall in the fourth. Six turnovers in the
final period made for a final total of 27 for the game, most keyed by the quickness of
Chunn and determination of Reilly.
“We felt if we could press it
would give us more of an opportunity,”Shoaf said. “We talked a lot about getting
into that kind of game. They’re like us — a little shaky handling the
ball.”
Shoaf’s team committed eight
turnovers in the first quarter and scored only seven points, trailing 10-7 heading into
the second. South’s lead never grew more than six points, and sophomore center
Brittney Gaddy, at 6-foot-1, wasn’t able to dominate the low post because of the
defense of Crystal Taylor, Charleston and Robinson.
“We were doing everything we
can. I didn’t know how in the world we were going to stop her,”Shoaf said of
Gaddy. “It’s hard to convince the girls that if you front her and jump with her,
at least you have a chance to knock it down and make them reset.”
Gaddy finished with 13 points and
eight rebounds. Taylor pulled down seven boards and Robinson four.
“Tiffany and Crystal did a
great job rebounding,” Shoaf said. “They do all the dirty work.”
When South’s rally fell short
at the buzzer, all that dirty work paid off. The Hornets came in as the No. 6 seed and
finished fifth. Most importantly, they got their first win of the young season.
“The kids said it feels like
winning a championship,” Shoaf said. “It’s been a long time coming.
Hopefully this will give us some momentum coming into conference.”
GIRLS
Salisbury (42) — Atkinson,
Chunn 6, Taylor, Charleston 4, Bauk 2, Robinson 3, Gillespie 14, Wingerson, Reilly 13.
SOUTHROWAN(40) — Blewitt,
Yost, Khan, Parker 2, Easley 7. Willett, Efird, Gaddy 13, Morgan 7, Andrews 6, Sheets 5.
Salisbury 7 12 11 12 — 42
South Rowan 10 9 10 11 — 40 |
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