Staff report

MARSHVILLE — There were some shaky stretches, but Salisbury’s girls opened the season successfully on Tuesday.

The Hornets won at Forest Hills 67-49 in a non-conference matchup. Sophomore Kyla Bryant led Salisbury with 17 points and five assists.

Forest Hills was 18-8 last season and went undefeated in the Rocky River Conference, so it was a good challenge to get things started.

“It was a good first game for us overall,” Salisbury coach Lakai Brice said. “I am extremely happy with getting the first win of the season on the road and without any of our fans.”

It was 10-all early, but the Hornets pushed to a 20-12 lead by the end of the first quarter and expanded their lead to 39-22 at halftime.

Salisbury was leading 51-28 in the third quarter when Forest Hills had a 10-0 run to get back in the game.

It got as close as 53-42 with 6:50 remaining, but the Hornets scored the next seven points to retake control.

Sophomore Jamecia Huntley had 10 points and six rebounds. Junior Jaleiah Gibson had nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Freshman Makayla Noble had eight points and five rebounds. Junior Rachel McCullough had eight points and four rebounds. Sophomore Mary Morgan had eight points. Former North Rowan standout Natavia Taborn, a senior, had seven points in her debut with the Hornets.

“We had seven players in the scoring column, but we gave up too many points defensively,” Brice said. “We’ve got a lot of new pieces. We’re still trying to figure out the rotation.”

Salisbury plays at home Wednesday at 5 p.m. against Chatham Central.

 

SALISBURY (67) — Bryant 17, Huntley 10, Gibson 9, McCullough 8, Morgan 8, Noble 8, Taborn 7.

FOREST HILLS (49) — N/A

Salisbury        20   19   12   16   — 67

Forest Hills    12   10    16  11   — 49