High school girls basketball: Two-time defending state champs hit the road as underdogs
Published 1:17 am Tuesday, March 5, 2024
- Salisbury’s #12 Torese Evans dribbles as Bailee Goodlett defends for North Rowan. Photo Credit: Sean Meyers
Staff report
SALISBURY — When you’ve won back-to-back 2A state championships, you don’t get to be the underdog often, but Salisbury’s girls will be in that role tonight at 6 p.m. at East Burke High School in Connelly Springs.
The Massey Ratings give the Hornets a 22 percent win probability. The score projection is a 58-46 Salisbury loss.
Third-seeded East Burke (28-0) is the only undefeated NCHSAA girls team in any classification, but the Hornets won’t have any fear of the Cavaliers, as the Hornets beat them 43-37 in last season’s regional final that was played at neutral Grimsley High in Greensboro.
The bad news is the Hornets (20-7) no longer have Kyla Bryant and Icesis Nwafor, who scored in double figures in that game. They also no longer have Haley Dalton blocking shots and Mary Morgan taking charges.
The Hornets do still have MaKayla Noble, an Albany signee who is averaging 19,2 points per game.
Noble is 14-0 in playoff games. She was out with an injury as a freshman the last time the Hornets lost in the playoffs. That was a second-round setback against Shelby during the COVID season.
Jamyrah Cherry is the other scorer for the Hornets. A transfer from Cannon School, she played in big games for the Cougars, including the 4A NCISAA championship game. She averages 13.1 points per game, and like Noble, she stuffs the stat sheet across the board.
The Hornets can expect to get about 35 from the battle-tested Noble and Cherry against East Burke. If they can get another 15 from a supporting cast that includes Shamya Arnold, Keaira Spruill and Torese Evans, they’ve got a chance, but the Hornets probably need to keep it in the 40s or low 50s.
East Burke has about 75 percent of its team back from last season.
The key player for East Burke is guard Braelyn Stilwell, who averages 23 points per game on 58-percent shooting. She averages 7 assists and is one of the leaders nationally with 7.4 steals per game. Kara Brinkley, a 6-foot wing player, is the other major scoring threat. Brinkley averages 14.3 points and 7.9 rebounds. Kamiah Lawing, a 5-foot-11 forward, averages 7.8 points.
The winner gets second-seeded East Rutherford or seventh-seeded North Stanly.
