From staff reports

West Rowan’s girls basketball team will play at home tonight at 7 p.m. against fourth-seeded Ben L. Smith of Greensboro.

This is a regional semifinal, with the 3A bracket now reduced to four teams in the West and four in the East.

Lauren Arnold, De’Mya Phifer and freshman Tiara Thompson average double figures for the top-seeded Falcons (28-0), who also get considerable scoring from Emma Clarke, Jamecia Huntley and Makaylah Tenor.  Mya Edwards, DeDe Cuthbertson and Sarah Durham are veterans and give the Falcons unusual depth.

Ben L. Smith (25-2) will bring a 17-game winning streak to Mount Ulla. Smith’s losses were in December to Salisbury and Bishop McGuinness.

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Salisbury’s girls will take on a familiar opponent in Shelby in a 2A West regional semifinal tonight.

The Hornets will be on the road with a 6 p.m. tip.

Tickets are $8 at the door.

Hornets’ fans will be split tonight, with the boys playing at Reidsville at 7.

Salisbury beat Shelby in the regional final in 2022. Shelby eliminated the  Hornets in 2021. Both of those games went down to the final seconds.

North Carolina Central commit Kyla Bryant and junior MaKayla Noble are normally the big scorers for the Hornets, teaming for about 37 points per game, and Icesis Nwafor has had some big nights. Shot-blocker Haley Dalton and rebounder/passer Mary Morgan round out the starting five for the Hornets.

Shamya Arnold and Torese Evans played big roles in Saturday’s two-point win, with the Hornets in some desperate foul trouble.

Third-seeded Salisbury (23-3) has won 13 in a row.

Second-seeded Shelby (26-1) has won 19 in a row since losing to Hibriten.

Ally Hollifield averages 24.3 points. 9.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists for the Golden Lions. The senior   guard had a 43-point game and has posted triple doubles this season.

College baseball

UNC’s Vance Honeycutt (Salisbury) hit his first homer of the season on Sunday in a 6-5 loss to East Carolina.

Honeycutt has nine hits and nine walks in seven games for a .500 on-base percentage. He’s stolen six bases.

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UNC freshman Cameron Padgett (East Rowan)  is 1-0 and hasn’t allowed an earned run in three appearances.

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East Carolina’s Nathan Chrismon (South Rowan) has scored three runs and got his first college RBI on a sac fly.

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Liberty’s Kane Kepley (South Rowan) got his first college stolen base.

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Gardner-Webb’s Bo Rusher (Salisbury) had a two-run single in Sunday’s 10-7 win against Toledo.

Rusher’s four hits this season have accounted for six RBIs.

He hit a two-run homer in a win against Michigan State and a two-run double against Elon.

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Methodist’s Jackson Deal (South Rowan) is batting .478 with a .600 on-base percentage. He’s scored 14 runs and driven in nine in the Monarch’s first seven games.

College softball

Freshman Mac Misenheimer (East Rowan) hit her first college homer for Chowan, a three-run blast against Virginia Union.

She’s been getting on base for the Hawks with nine hits, six walks and four HBPs in 13 games. She’s scored nine runs and has driven in seven.

Men’s college hoops

Catawba will play at home on Wednesday as the South Atlantic Conference Tournament gets under way.

The Indians are a 1 seed as a division winner and will take on Limestone, a 4 seed, at  7:30 p.m.

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Cole Perry (Carson) averaged 4.9 points for Randolph and led the team in rebounding (6.5 per game) and assists (3.1).

Women’s hoops

Wingate forward Bryanna Troutman (Salisbury) was named South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week.

Troutman had 21 points and 11 rebounds against Newberry and 29 points and 18 rebounds against Limestone.

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The South Atlantic Conference Tournament begins on Wednesday.

Catawba is a 1 seed and will play at home at 5:30 p.m. against Limestone.

Wingate is a 2 seed and will host Lincoln Memorial at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

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Carleigh Perry (Carson) averaged 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds for a Guilford team that finished 20-6.

Pro baseball

Owen White (Carson) pitched in a Spring Training game for the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

White, 23, was 9-2 last season and is expected to start the season in Triple A and make his MLB debut at some point this season.

Pro basketball

CHARLOTTE — LaMelo Ball made six 3-pointers before breaking his right ankle in the third quarter, and the Charlotte Hornets held on to beat the Detroit Pistons 117-106 for their fifth straight victory.

Terry Rozier scored 22 points and Gordon Hayward had 19 points for Charlotte, which is still second-to-last in the Eastern Conference standings — ahead of only Detroit.

Ball finished with 18 points. He was hurt on a non-contact play, and the Hornets announced after the game that he had fractured his right ankle.

College track

Wingate won the South Atlantic Conference track and field championships for men and women at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem on Sunday.

The Bulldog women scored 203 team points to finish first, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne with 133.5 and Catawba coming in third with with 80 points.

On the men’s side, the Bulldogs scored 178 points, with Lenoir-Rhyne in second with 156 points and Carson-Newman in third with 69 points. Catawba’s men were fourth with 65.

HS baseball

Lincoln Charter pitchers Jacob Smith and Matt Cipriano combined to strike out 12 and shut out South Rowan 1-0 on Monday.

Marshal Faw and Logan Ballard pitched for the Raiders. Walks hurt Faw, who took the loss.

Conner Coy led the Raiders at the plate.

HS boys tennis

West Rowan won 6-3 at A.L. Brown on Monday.

Abe Davis, Sam Gulledge, Blake Pope and Isaiah Wood were singles winners. Gulledge-Pope and  Max Brown-Paxton Greene won in doubles for the Falcons.

HS girls soccer

Ashlee Chipman scored four goals and Bethan Brady made 17 saves to power East Rowan to a 4-1 win against North Stanly on Monday.

HS girls golf

North Rowan’s Azaria Elder will continue her golf  career and education at Montreat.

Local golf

Lenny Maseuli, Allen Terry and Heather DePalma-Spivey  took first place in McCanless Couples golf.

Ralph Carver, Azalee and David Huneycutt placed  second .

Larry Clifton had  longest putt.

Parks and Rec

The Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department is currently accepting registrations for its Adult Spring Coed Kickball League.

Games start April 10.

  Register a team at Hall Gym or online at www.salisburync.gov/play.

For further information, call 704-638-5289 or email sclar@salisburync.gov.