Staff report

SALISBURY — Salisbury’s girls basketball team romped by 43 points at East Davidson in early January, so not much drama was expected in Tuesday’s Central Carolina Conference rematch.

But it turned out to be a challenging game. The Hornets, second in the CCC behind North Rowan, found themselves down by 10 points early in the third quarter, but they turned it on enough to win 45-28.

MaKayla Noble scored 14 points, finishing the night with 995 career points. Noble and the Hornets’ second-leading scorer, Jamyrah Cherry, did not play in the second quarter.

Salisbury led 6-4 after a shaky first quarter. The Golden Eagles (10-11, 4-4) ruled the second quarter and took an 18-12 lead to halftime.

Salisbury (15-5, 9-1) slid behind 22-12 in the early stages of the second half, but Noble led the Hornets on a run that turned the game around. Noble scored seven in the third quarter. Cherry made a 3-pointer that  put the Hornets ahead 24-22.

Salisbury led 29-25 going to the fourth quarter and dominated the final eight minutes defensively, holding the visitors to three points. Torese Evans had back-to-back steals and layups that pushed the lead from six points to double digits.

East Davidson is in a struggle for third place in the CCC with Lexington and West Davidson. East Davidson has swept Lexington but lost a 2-point game to West Davidson in the first meeting.

East Davidson      4     14    7    3   — 28

Salisbury               6       6   17   16   — 45

SALISBURY — Noble 14, Cherry 10, Evans 6, Arnold 4, Spruill 4, Zapata 3, McCombs 2, Pearson-Hasty 2.