By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY ó East Rowan’s Ashley Collins knocked down acrobatic, back-to-back shots, let out a yell and punched the air with her right fist.
Five Salisbury Hornets shrugged. No problem. Their lead was down to 16.
Salisbury went on the road and flattened East 69-46 on Wednesday. Collins, who led all scorers with 19 points, played hard and well, but so did 13 Hornets.
Salisbury (6-0) rolled in a matchup fans may see again in the Christmas tournament championship game. The end of the Hornets’ county dominance isn’t in sight, however. They’ve won 19 straight against Rowan foes since they lost to North in the 2005-06 season. East forfeited its last win against Salisbury, so officially the Mustangs haven’t beaten the Hornets since the 2001-02 campaign. East guard Katelynne Poole had poured in 60 points in her previous two games, but she fouled out against the Hornets with 6:12 remaining. She scored eight points.
“One thing about my girls ó they accept challenges well,” Salisbury coach Andrew Mitchell said. “Poole is such a good player, but we made a conscious effort at all times to know where she was. We knew when she gets going, East gets going.”
Shi-Heria Shipp led Salisbury with 14 points. Bubbles Phifer and Ayanna Holmes had 12 apiece.
Olivia Rankin scored 12 points for East.
The last tie was at 6-6, but East (2-3) was still in good shape at the end of the first quarter when it trailed 16-12.
But Salisbury’s relentless depth made the difference in the second quarter.
“The second string boosted the lead,” Shipp said. “We took it from there.”
The pace was frantic, East wore down, and it was over by halftime with the Hornets in command 37-16.
“Most teams can equal us 5-on-5,” Mitchell said. “But when we go to our bench we get stronger.”
East coach Karen Garmon didn’t disagree.
“Our communication and our intensity dropped off in the second quarter,” she said. “And once Salisbury got up 12 to 15 points, it was too big a hole, and it did no good to trade baskets with them.”
Shipp got a boost from a sweet move by reserve Jessica Heilig.
Other Hornets were lifted by Ashia Holmes’ resounding block of Poole’s 3-point attempt when it was 22-12 in the second quarter. That block started a fastbreak that Ayanna Holmes finished.
“We’d been noticing how many points Poole had scored, but there was no big pressure to stop her,” Shipp said. “We just did the things we normally do, and she didn’t have as good a game as she’s had against some other teams.”Phifer hit back-to-back 3s at the end of the third quarter to put Salisbury ahead 53-28. The Hornets cruised home from there.
“We still missed too many easy shots,” Shipp said. “We can pick it up some more.”
SALISBURY (69) ó Shipp 14, Ay. Holmes 12, B. Phifer 12, N. Phifer 7, Heilig 6, Wylie 5, Rice 5, Miller 2, Young 2, Ross 2, Pearson 2, As. Holmes, Clinding.
EAST ROWAN (46) ó Collins 19, Rankin 12, Poole 8, Vanderford 3, File 2, Holshouser 2, Sabo, Drew, Honeycutt.
Salisbury 16 21 16 16 ó 69
E. Rowan 12 4 12 18 ó 46