Staff report

SALISBURY — The season continues for Salisbury’s girls basketball team mostly because Keaira Spruill had the second half of her life on Friday and scored a career-high nine points.

Spruill is a 5-foot-10 sophomore with impressive bounce and she put her talent to good use as Salisbury squeezed past North Surry in the second round of the 2A state playoffs. She provided the scoring help that MaKayla Noble (16 points) and Jamyrah Cherry (10) needed.

“Keaira played great, played with confidence,” Salisbury head coach Lakai Brice said. “I’ve been telling her at practice that she had to score four to eight points for us to win against North Surry and she had to rebound and she did everything we needed her to do. Very proud of her and this team.”

Salisbury beat North Surry 68-59 in a fourth-round game in 2022, but this was more of a defensive struggle. After nearly five minutes, neither team had scored. Noble finally broke the ice for the sixth-seeded Hornets (20-7). It was 5-5 after a quarter

“North Surry is well-coached and I knew how they would guard us and I knew it was all going to come down to defense,” Brice said.

The 11th-seeded Greyhounds (21-6) had a run in the second quarter and led by a dozen at 19-7.

Cherry made a 3-pointer to stop the run. Mariana Zapata made a 3-pointer to chop the Hornets’ deficit to 19-16 at halftime.

Spruill had not scored at the break, but she got the first points of the second half.

When Noble set sail for a coast-to-coast drive, the Hornets had gotten back even at 23-all.

Spruill put the Hornets ahead with a bucket. After Cherry’s second 3-pointer and another Spruill two, the Hornets led 30-25 after three quarters.

Spruill made two free throws for a 32-25 lead, but North Surry made another run, tying the game at 34-all with 2:32 left.

Cherry drove to put the Hornets, who have won the last two 2A state titles, back ahead. The visitors tied it for the last time at 36-all with 1:45 left on the clock.

Noble made a free throw for a 37-36 Salisbury lead. Spruill collected a huge rebound and made a free throw for 38-36. Noble made two more free throws for 40-36, and the Hornets were able to hold on.

“We put MaKayla Noble on (North Surry star) Sadie Badgett the last two minutes, and that helped us,” Brice said. ‘MaKayla played a great game. She was getting a lot of defensive attention, but she passed the ball to teammates and finished strong.”

Noble got seven of her 16 points at the foul line in what could be her last game in the Salisbury gym.

Next for the Hornets on Tuesday is a road game in Connelly Springs against third-seeded East Burke (28-0).

Also advancing in Salisbury’s section of the 2A West bracket were No. 2 seed East Rutherford and No. 7 seed North Stanly.

North Surry     5    14    6    11   —  36

Salisbury          5    11     14   10  — 40

SALISBURY — Noble 16, Cherry 10, Spruill 9, Zapata 3, Evans 2.