Staff report

SALISBURY — Salisbury’s girls basketball team was scary-good on Saturday, wrecking Forest Hills 71-30 in a third-round 2A state playoff game.

The teams had played in December. Forest Hills had led the Hornets by double digits in the third quarter before Salisbury roared back.

Second-seeded Salisbury (25-1) wasn’t interested in a repeat.

“We knew they would come in here believing they let one get away the first time we played them,” Salisbury head coach Lakai Brice said. “We knew they were going to come in here with hope. We had to take that hope away in the first five minutes.”

That’s exactly what happened.

Jamecia Huntley scored off a steal to start the game. Kyla Bryant made a 3-pointer. Huntley scored off another steal. Mary Morgan made two free throws after an offensive board. Morgan found Bryant for a layup. It was 13-0 in a hurry.

Salisbury shut out 10th-seeded Forest Hills (22-6) the first six minutes.

“We had a good defensive plan and we stuck to it,” Salisbury senior Rachel McCullough said.

It was 34-14 at halftime. The lead continued to swell in the second half. ‘

Bryant led the Hornets with 16 points. Huntley, McCullough and MaKayla Noble scored 11 each.

Morgan had 10 rebounds.

Jamyah Blakeney, a standout guard for Forest Hills, scored 18, but she got 26 in the first meeting of the teams.

Salisbury will host sixth-seeded North Surry on Tuesday.

A full story about the Hornets’ win will be online on Sunday, as well as reports on the road losses by the Salisbury boys and North Rowan boys.

Forest Hills    7    7    11    5   — 30

Salisbury     19    15   15   17   — 71

FOREST HILLS — Blakeney 18, White 6, Starnes 5, Griffin 1.

SALISBURY — Bryant 16, McCullough 11, Huntley 11, Noble 11, Gibson 8, Morgan 6, Walker 4, Arnold 2, Nwafor 2.