Staff report
SALISBURY — Salisbury’s third-seeded girls basketball team beat Robinson for the third time on Monday, although there wasn’t anything easy about it.
The teams were playing each other for the second time in three days.
The Hornets started strong and finished strong and were able to handle the sixth-seeded Bulldogs 48-36 in a first-round game in the South Piedmont Conference Tournament.
The Hornets got up 9-1 early, but the Bulldogs settled in, outplayed the Hornets in the second quarter and trailed only 17-16 at the half.
Robinson took some two-point leads early in the third quarter. It was 26-all when Shekiya Woodruff scored six straight points for the Hornets. with a 3-pointer and a driving three-point play after she made a steal.
“Love her defense,” Salisbury head coach Lakai Brice said. “Her defense was the difference in the game.”
The Hornets slowly reclaimed control of the game after Woodruff’s burst.
Woodruff scored 13, all in the second half.
The other standout for the Hornets was Keaira Spruill, who had eight points and 17 rebounds.
“We want her to finish more plays,” Brice said. “But she had a great game rebounding.”
The win pushed the Hornets (11-9) into a Tuesday semifinal at Carson against second-seeded West Rowan.
(6) Robinson 1 15 10 10 — 36
(3) Salisbury 9 8 15 16 — 48
ROBINSON — Rucker 11, Gray 9, Oneal 6, Forte 5, York 2, White 2.
SALISBURY — Woodruff 13, Spruill 8, Ambers 8, Haines 6, McNeely 6, Fatovic 5, Blankenship 2.
