By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

Tenth in a series of reports on local basketball teams …

SALISBURY — Salisbury’s girls basketball program has built such a sturdy foundation that even after the subtraction of four starters, just about everyone expects Salisbury to be really good.

There’s a reason for the optimism. The Hornets have won two straight 2A state championships under coach Lakai Brice, who is now fourth on Rowan’s all-time wins list for girls basketball and is only 11 wins away from 200.

The Hornets won with overwhelming talent and depth in 2021-22. They repeated with less talent and depth, but a lot of grit and sweat in 2022-23.

But it’s going to be different in the Salisbury gym without Kyla Bryant making the on-court decisions, without Mary Morgan taking charges, without Haley Dalton blocking shots, and without Icesis Nwafor draining 3-pointers.

“You lose four like that all at once, and it does change some things that you can do,” said Brice, who became a Catawba College Sports Hall of Famer during the off-season. “Four like that, that’s hard to replace.”

Especially hard to replace will be Bryant, the coach’s daughter, who is starting as a freshman guard at North Carolina Central. An East-West All-Star, Bryant scored 22 points per game last season. That was a major chunk of Salisbury’s offense.

Fortunately, the lone returning starter for the Hornets isn’t an ordinary player. MaKayla Noble, who signed with Division I Albany, is a tall, long, athletic scorer. The Hornets will need a ton of points and rebounds from Noble.

Noble will have to avoid injury and stay out of foul trouble for Salisbury to continue to compete at the high level fans have gotten accustomed to, but she’s capable of a huge season. She averaged 13.0 points a year ago and was named MVP of the state championship game.

“She can  do everything that a player can do on a basketball court,” Brice said. “She can dominate. She could play anywhere from the 1 to the 5 and excel.”

The only other returning player who has logged significant minutes for the Hornets is senior Shamya Arnold, who provided depth as a sophomore and was a critical player as a junior sixth-person. She averaged 2.8 points a game, but she came up with key steals, key rebounds and key hustle plays at crucial times. She’s been on the floor in big games, and she’ll be ready to score more this season.

“She’s been diving on the floor for us for a long time,” Brice said. “She’s been a really good role player, but now it’s her time to stand out, and she’s earned that opportunity with her play.”

Jamyrah Cherry, a 5-foot-10 junior transfer from Concord’s Cannon School, is a Rowan girl who has come home. She changes the talent level for the Hornets and gives them a chance to continue what has become a dynasty in 2A. She brings size, rebounding and scoring to the mix. She scored 375 points for Cannon School during the last two seasons on teams that won championships.

Brice knew she could play, but even Brice has been surprised by how good a shooter Cherry is.

“She bangs the boards and she can score and handle the ball,” Brice said. “She can play inside or out. Like MaKayla Noble, she could play any position for us, and she’s a winning player.”

Torese Evans was the second person off the bench last season and had her moments, especially in the playoff game with TW Andrews after multiple Hornets fouled out. The junior guard is quick and is a strong defender. She’s ready to move into the starting lineup.

Sophomore Keaira Spruill, a sophomore who is an athletic rebounder and shot-blocker, is expected to round out the starting five. She didn’t play much on the varsity last season, but there’s a lot of rebound-snagging potential there.

Another 5-foot-10 sophomore, Jalliyah McNeely, is a physical post who can rebound. She got some varsity minutes as a freshman.

As far as pure athletes, the Hornets probably will look taller and faster than they were a year ago, but there’s a huge drop-off in experience, and Bryant’s skill level and competitiveness were off the charts for a high school kid. Those girls don’t come along every day.

“It’s a very different team,” Brice said. “We can’t try to be last year’s team, but we can be good. We’re still Salisbury. We’ve got to use our speed and create havoc. Last year’s team had the experience to play at several different speeds, but this year’s team is probably going to need to play fast. We did very well in the fall league. Even with MaKayla missing some games with injury, we competed well and won a lot of games.”

Also back from last season’s team are guards Mariana Zapata and Tristian Myers. They can shoot. Zapata made enough 3-pointers to contribute some nine-point games last season.

New faces include senior Taliyah McCombs, junior Kylaih Pearson-Hasty and sophomore Allie Peeler.

McCombs can run like a deer. Pearson-Hasty’s strength is defense. Peeler can shoot.

The plan is for the Hornets to be contenders for championships at the end of the season, but there probably will be some setbacks as this team figures out its strengths and weaknesses.

“Our early non-conference schedule is tough as nails,” Brice said.  “There probably will be some bumps.”

 

Salisbury girls

Coach: Lakai Brice (11th season, 189-70)

2022-23: 27-3 overall, 12-0 1A/2A Central Carolina Conference (1st)

Playoffs: Won 2A state championship

Top returners: MaKayla Noble, Shamya Arnold

Key addition: Junior transfer Jamyrah Cherry

League: 1A/2A CCC (North Rowan, East Davidson, South Davidson, West Davidson, Lexington, Thomasville)