From staff reports

SPENCER — Carson’s girls already had encountered North Rowan senior Brittany Ellis in the Christmas tournament.

Carson could not have been eager for a rematch, but got one, anyway.

Ellis, who crunched the Cougars for 32 points in a consolation game at Catawba College to reach 1,000 career points, was even better on Friday at home.

She scored a career-best 39 points in a 65-23 victory, as her grandfather, Ralph Ellis, a North assistant coach, watched proudly from the bench.

Ellis is averaging 26.4 points per game for the season and has averaged even more than that in the six games that the Cavaliers have played without Bailee and Bloom Goodlett.

North (7-3) managed to go 4-2 in six games without the Goodlett twins. They are expected to be back in action next week.

Ellis scored 22 points in the first half and finished the game with five 3-pointers. She had 10 rebounds and eight steals.

Dasia Elder scored nine points. Krisstyle Stockton had eight points and nine rebounds.

Laila Furr led the Cougars (0-11) with six points, while Rylee Hedrick had five.

Carson    5    6    8   4   — 23

North     20  16  16  13  — 65

CARSON — Furr 6, Hedrick 5, Carpenter 4, Baldwin 3, Burleson 2, Guiton 2, McBride 1.

NORTH — Ellis 39, Elder 9, Stockton 8, Cowan 6, McArthur 2, Oglesby 1.

•••

THOMASVILLE — Salisbury blew out East Davidson 71-28 to stay undefeated in the Central Carolina Conference.

The Hornets got 17 points from Jamyrah Cherry and 16 from MaKayla Noble.

Noble didn’t have her best shooting night but stuffed the stat sheet with assists, rebounds and blocks.

Noble made a driving layup at the end of the first quarter to give the Hornets a 17-6 lead.

Then Salisbury (9-4, 4-0) buried the Golden Eagles with a spree of hot shooting early in the second quarter.

Mariana Zapata made a 3-pointer from straight on, then Noble made a 3, and then Zapata made another 3-pointer from the right wing.

“She had a girl closing out on her hard on the second 3-pointer, but that’s something Mariana has been working on in practice,” Salisbury coach Lakai Brice said. “She can really shoot, and her confidence is picking up.”

After a Cherry bomb — the Hornets’ fourth 3-pointer in a span of four minutes — it was 31-8.

The lead reached 37-8 before East Davidson (7-8, 1-1) could answer.

Salisbury         17    20    11   23   — 71

E. Davidson    6      8       9      5    — 28

SALISBURY – Cherry 17, Noble 16, Evans 8, Arnold 7, Zapata 7, Pearson-Hasty 5, McNeely 4, Spruill 3, Myers 2, McCombs 2.