By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

WALLBURG — Salisbury’s girls basketball team was outscored in the second quarter, 22-4, but shrugged off that potential disaster.

The Hornets stayed perfect, winning at previously unbeaten Ledford , 63-55,  on Tuesday in a 2A Central Carolina Conference matchup of top-10 teams.

Bryanna Troutman had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Maria Capito scored 17, and Anayia Fulson had 13 points and five assists. Lexi May and Tacorra Robinson added six points each, while Janika Glenn provided a lot of leadership and defense.

The Hornets (5-0, 5-0 CCC) led 16-8 after a quarter. Troutman had 12 in the quarter, outscoring Ledford by herself.

“We knew we had to get off to a strong start if we were going to compete with Ledford,” Salisbury coach Lakia Brice said. “And we got that strong start with a lot of transition points.”

But the second quarter was a Salisbury nightmare. Foul trouble piled up, the Hornets went cold, and Ledford’s shooters heated up from long range. Ledford (5-1, 4-1 CCC)) took a 30-20 lead to the break.

“We were down, but I still saw good things at halftime,” Brice said. “Bryanna and Jinika were talking to the other girls, and no one had their head down. We were still upbeat. I could see the girls really wanted this game.”

The Hornets seized the game in the third quarter. Capito got hot, buried three 3-pointers and scored 12 in the quarter as the Hornets went in front, 46-44.

Salisbury had to play mostly zone in the first half due to foul trouble, but it was able to play more man-to-man in the second half. Fulson and Glenn took on the challenge of Ledford’s outstanding junior point guard Lyrik Thorne and held her to 22 points.

The Hornets did a good job of executing against Ledford’s press, made some free throws and wound up winning by eight.

“We did a lot of things well,” Brice said. “We rebounded better and we moved the ball better than we have all season. We played our best game when we needed it. Just a great team win. A great team effort.”

 

Salisbury 63, Ledford 55

SALISBURY (5-0)

Troutman 18, Capito 17, Fulson 13, May 6, Robinson 6, Glenn 3.

LEDFORD (5-1)

Thorne 22, O’Toole 10, Church 10, Anthony 8, Denny 4, Flynt 1.

Salisbury     16    4    26   17   — 63

Ledford        8     22  14   11  —  55