SALISBURY —  Carson guard Olivia Gabriel is a freshman.

That means ups and downs are inevitable, but she provided another “up” in Wednesday’s 50-41 win at Salisbury.

Gabriel scored a team-high 14 points, including five clutch free throws that pushed a precarious 40-36 Carson lead to 45-36 in the fourth quarter.

“We’re getting better at finishing games,” Carson coach Brooke Misenheimer said. “That’s two games in two nights where we’ve done a nice job at the end.”

The first half was tight. Carson (5-5) took a 20-18 halftime lead when Sydney Huffman scored on a feed from Alex Allen.

Carson worked its way into a lead in the third quarter thanks to a spree by Huffman, who had an assist and two buckets in a span of 30 seconds.

When Kailie Ketchie scored off a pass from Taylor Wiggins with 6:20 left, the Cougars led by 10, but Salisbury (2-7) cut the lead back to four immediately on 3-pointers by Julia Honeycutt and Katy Wolfe.

That’s when Gabriel took charge, and the Cougars won.

Allen (12 points), Huffman (10) and Ketchie (8) provided scoring help for Gabriel. Allen, who now has 925 career points, had another big night on the boards.

“Ketchie has the skill set to be a very good player and she’s gaining confidence,” Misenheimer said.

Bryanna Caldwell (10), Tyzarea Alexander (9), Wolfe (7) and Myanna Hillie (7) paced the scoring for the Hornets.

Carson won’t play again before the Sam Moir Christmas Classic.  Salisbury goes to East Rowan on Friday.

CARSON (50): Gabriel 14, Allen 12, Huffman 10, Ketchie 8, Wiggins 5, McClary 1, Shumaker, Turney, Furr, Roberson.

SALISBURY (41): Caldwell 10, Alexander 9, Wolfe 7, Hillie 7, Honeycutt 3, Capito 3, Houston 2, Philpot.

Carson        5  15  14  16  — 50

Salisbury   10  8  6   17  — 41