By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
The halftime break came in the middle of the third quarter, but otherwise it was business as usual for Salisbury’s girls Thursday.
The Hornets blistered visiting Lexington 69-23 for Salisbury’s 13th straight win in the series since the Yellow Jackets prevailed in the 2003 CCC tournament.
The game was divided into odd increments because the first quarter was actually played Tuesday. Salisbury led 17-5 when a surprise snowfall prompted a postponement.
“The first time I’ve ever seen a game started and then canceled,” Salisbury coach Andrew Mitchell said. “But you can understand the concerns for safety.”
The teams played a standard eight-minute second quarter to kick things off when play resumed Thursday.
After a 60-second rest, they played the first four minutes of the third period before taking a “halftime break” to honor Salisbury’s girls golf team.
Taped and braced, Shi-Heria Shipp returned to Salisbury’s lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury. She scored 14 points in about 14 minutes of action. Bubbles Phifer also scored 14.
Nene Phifer looked like she might score 50 on Tuesday. She had 11 when play was halted and finished with 13.
“I was really ready to play Tuesday, and I hated it when they cut that one short,” she said. “But we were still serious tonight. You’ve got to stay focused no matter who you play.”
While it’s lost twice to top-ranked East Davidson, Salisbury (18-2, 9-2) has won its other nine CCC games by an average of 42 points. The closest was a 52-24 win against Ledford (16-4, 9-2).
“I believe we’re getting better, but it’s been hard to tell against some teams,” Mitchell said. “We’re looking forward to the challege of going to Ledford (on) Friday. They have a good team, and that game will decide who finishes second in the league.”
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NOTES: Salisbury’s Isis Miller scored a season-high eight points. … Bragging rights in the Holmes household are a dead heat. Sophomore twins Ayanna and Ashia have 253 career points apiece.
LEXINGTON (23) ó Murphy 12, Robinson 6, Roberts 3, Chisholm 2, Richards, Morris.
SALISBURY (69) ó Shipp 14, B. Phifer 14, N. Phifer 13, Miller 8, Ay. Holmes 6, Rice 5, Wylie 4, As. Holmes 4, Heilig 1, Clinding, Young.
Lexington 5 6 4 8 ó 23
Salisbury 17 25 13 14 ó 69