By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
LEXINGTON ó Salisbury’s tune continues to vault up the charts.
The run-and-gun Hornets placed five scorers in double figures and played China Wall defense in Friday’s 85-19 CCC girls basketball victory at Lexington.
“Just more of the same,” senior De’Rya Wylie shrugged after Salisbury (13-1, 4-1) rolled up its sleeves and enjoyed another great day at the office. “We pretty much just ran our plays and stayed focused. We pushed the ball on the fastbreak and played defense.”
It’s a formula the Hornets have seemingly perfected. Last night they raced to a 12-0 lead in the first three minutes and spent the rest of the game taking batting practice.
“We came at them with a whole lot of intensity,” said SHS coach Andrew Mitchell. “The last two days at practice we’ve been working on some things offensively and getting the ball up the floor. And everybody’s buying into it.”
Salisbury forced Lexington (0-12, 0-4) to pay in cash. The Jackets were limited to seven field goals and committed 41 turnovers.
“Still, I think we made it difficult for them,” said LHS coach Ann Hoffman. “We made them work. We didn’t just lay over and not play defense.”
At times Lexington was forced to play self-defense. Salisbury controlled the boards and fired away at will, drilling six 3-pointers ó including two apiece by leading scorers Shi-Heria Shipp (16 points) and Nene Phifer (season-high 15).
“We try not to think too much,” said Phifer. “Just work hard and play as a team. If we keep doing this we could win the whole thing.”
There wasn’t much drama after the Hornets built a 25-2 lead in the opening quarter. Shipp, who entered the game in the second period, and Kia Rice nailed consecutive long balls that made it 35-5 with 4:48 left in the first half. And sophomore Ayana Holmes flashed some speed with a runaway layup in the fourth quarter.
“This game was fairly easy,” Holmes said after netting 11 points. “I wouldn’t say we scared them or anything. But maybe it was just that they were playing a good team and didn’t really know how to stop us.”
Or maybe Hoffman had the best explanation. “Salisbury is loaded,” she said. “They’re a scoring machine.”
Salisbury (85) ó Shipp 16, N.Phifer 15, Wylie 12, Ay.Holmes 11, Rice 10, Heilig 8, B.Phifer 7, As.Holmes 4, Miller 2, Young, Clinding.lexington (19) ó Roberts 7, Murphy 6, Chisholm 3, Kelly 2, Powell 1.
Salisbury 25 20 21 19 ó 85
Lexington 2 6 6 5 ó 19