North Girls Hold Off Salisbury Rally

BY ED DUPREE
SALISBURY POST

When North Rowan's girls took a 17-point lead in the third quarter, it appeared that Coach Gary Atwell's Cavaliers were well on their way to victory. But underdog Salisbury had other ideas, making it exciting before falling 63-53 to North in the 2A Central Carolina Conference basketball opener for both teams.

North held a 42-25 lead over Coach Jennifer Shoaf's Hornets after two free throws by Nina Hill with about three minutes to play in that third period. By the 4:18 mark of the fourth quarter, two free throws by Ellaevon Phifer had pulled Salisbury with 51-48.

"We pulled it out several times, and every time they made a big run at us," said Atwell, whose team improved to 2-1. "When we got our 17-point lead, we were probably shooting a lot better than we normally would. Then, when our shooting calmed down, and they started inching back in, Ellaevon made about eight or 10 points in a row by herself.

"We just couldn't stop her when she got the ball. We were just trying to keep her and Sherree (Gillespie) from touching the ball much. When Ellaevon got it, she put it in the basket."

Gillespie, who had 14 points in the first half, was the game's scoring leader with 21 points. Phifer got 13 of her 17 in the second half.

For North, sophomore Courtney Hill led the way with 16 points, eight in each half. Megan Honeycutt and Joyce Hipps had 14 and 10, respectively, and Honeycutt grabbed 15 rebounds.

"Courtney and Joyce both stepped up when they went man-to-man (second half) and took their girls to the basket several times," Atwell said. "I just told everybody to spread out and let Joyce take it to the basket. Either she could dish off or she could take it to the hole, and she did a good job."

North encountered foul trouble. Honeycutt went to the bench with three fouls in the second quarter and drew her fourth at the 3:56 mark of the third period. She, Hipps and Bailey were playing with four fouls in the final period. Honeycutt had scored nine points in the first period before getting her third foul.

Salisbury, which had defeated Charlotte Country Day and Monroe in its last two outings, dropped to 2-2 for the season.

"At first, I didn't know if we could play them man-to-man. I was a little scared of their speed, depending on who I had on the floor," Shoaf said. "We decided when we got down about 14 at the end of the half, we had to do something, either press or go man.

"I talked it over with Laura Bruegger (assistant coach), and she said, 'I think our chances are better in man than if we tried to press them, because they pass the ball so well.' We went to man-to-man, and we thought maybe that would take the pressure off of us, if we could try to get the rebound and push the ball up the floor a little bit, instead of walking it up."

NOTES: North will be at home against South Rowan at 6 p.m. Friday, while Salisbury visits Alexander Central for a non-conference game at 5.