Staff report

Another game, another blowout for the Salisbury girls basketball team.

The Hornets enjoyed their third rout in a row, this time beating West Davidson 81-27 on Friday night.

Salisbury (12-2, 3-1 CCC) scored 51 points after halftime. It struggled shooting the ball in the first half and led 30-11 at intermission.

“We got off to a sluggish start,” said head coach Jennifer Shoaf, who watched her team shoot 8-for-38 in the opening 16 minutes.

Shoaf said she thought her team was caught up in the bantering from fans over the officials allowing a physical game.

“At halftime, we needed a little motivation,” Shoaf said. “We needed to get refocused. I challenged them to put the game away.”

A different Salisbury club came out for the second half. A 2-3 zone defense began creating turnovers, and the layup drill began. West Davidson (3-9, 0-3) was outscored 23-12 in the third quarter and 27-4 in the fourth.

In the final two quarters, Salisbury shot 20-for-37 from the field.

Kwameshia Hicks led the Hornets with 22 points and hit three 3-pointers. Lakendra Williams had 14 points, and Shi-Heria Shipp scored 11.

“It was a good game for the guards,” Shoaf said.

Shoaf had kind words for Williams, a guard who had a very good summer. Early conflicts with Shoaf over playing time got Williams suspended for a portion of the season, but now she’s providing the Hornets with even more offense.

“Lakendra came back with a mission,” Shoaf said.

While the Salisbury guards had success, the inside players did not. They showed frustration when they didn’t hear whistles after being bumped, but the Hornets still shot 29 free throws and made 19.

Shoaf said none of the Hornets are fans of routs.

“These easy games don’t help us,” she said. “But we’ve got some tough ones coming up.”

*

NOTES: In the last three games — wins over Central Davidson, East Rowan and West Davidson — the Hornets have won by an average score of 78-26. … Kayley Gallagher didn’t play for the second straight game. She is still suffering from a concussion after a collision with North Rowan’s Shemieka Brown in the final of the Moir Christmas Classic on Dec. 29. … Salisbury plays Ledford at home Tuesday and A.L. Brown at home next Friday.

salisbury (81) — Hicks 22, Williams 14, Shipp 11, B. Phifer 9, N. Phifer 7, Rice 6, Wylie 6, Clinding 4, Knox 2, Wingerson.

west davidson (27) — Hill 7, Boone 6, Koontz 4, Elmore 4, Owens 2, Redd 2, Scouten 2, Whitaker.

Salisbury 15 15 23 28 — 81

W. Davidson 7 4 12 4 — 27