All-Tournament: Mya Edwards (West), Emma Clarke (West), MaKayla Noble (SHS),

Jamyrah Cherry  (SHS), RONZ Award Shamya Arnold (SHS), MVP Lauren Arnold (West),

Aubrey Garrison (CD),

 

 

By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — The tall, smiling girl in the West Rowan jersey embraced the small girl in the Salisbury uniform who was fighting back tears.

West’s Lauren Arnold won her second straight MVP in the Dale’s Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas Classic on Saturday night, as the powerful Falcons brushed aside Salisbury 74-46 in the final.

Lauren Arnold’s joy from winning another team title at Goodman Arena was mixed with empathy for the shorter opponent she hugged. That opponent was Shamya Arnold, who is Lauren’s cousin.

“Cousins, but really more like sisters,” Lauren explained. “We do everything together, practically live at each other’s houses. She’s my best friend.”

Obviously, not all the Falcons and Hornets are cousins and best friends, but there’s respect there.

Salisbury, coached by Lakai Brice has been a great program, six state championships, including 2022 when the Hornets were loaded and 2023 when they had to over-achieve. Shamya Arnold, the 10th-person on that 2022 team and the sixth-person in 2023, is now a go-to player. The SHS talent level isn’t as deep as it once was, but the pride and the passion are still there. They’re still competitive with just about everyone; they just couldn’t compete with West. Not many teams will.

West, coached by Ashley Poole, is a basketball whirlwind with six exceptional players, plus young talent that is developing. Lauren Arnold who combines rugged work on the boards with a sweet shooting touch, is outstanding, the steadiest performer in a talented, five-person senior group that also includes Emma Clarke, De’Mya Phifer, Mya Edwards and Makaylah Tenor. Any of those five would be the big wheel for half the teams in the county. So would sophomore Tiara Thompson.

West has a wealth of experience. The current seniors were good players when they were COVID freshmen.

“We’ve got a lot of talent, but the reason we’re such a good team is the work these girls put in before the season and during the season,” Poole said. “They listen. They’re coachable. They’re dedicated to basketball and they play hard and they play together.”

West’s seniors were 10-4 in the shortened 2021 season (three losses were to 3A state champ Carson) but were left out of the condensed state playoffs. They were 17-7 as sophomores (with two losses to Carson and two to Salisbury). The big breakthrough came as juniors. They went 31-0 and won 3A.

After the Moir, they stand 9-1 as seniors. The lone loss was a serious battle with 4A powerhouse Lake Norman. West entered the Moir event ranked second by MaxPreps in 3A West, but the chances of hanging another banner are very good.

Even the last West doubter in the crowd had to stop doubting on Saturday.

Fifth-seeded Salisbury’s Torese Evans scored the first bucket, but after that it was a frantic flurry of hoops by the energized and second-seeded Falcons. Clarke, who was quiet in the first two games in the tournament, scored seven right away. Phifer was everywhere, driving and feeding her teammates. Edwards was making mid-range jumpers. Arnold was Arnold.

By the end of the first quarter, it was 27-5, and there no longer was any drama or suspense. Few Moir finals are settled so quickly, but everyone knew it was over.

“We never stopped fighting and I never stopped being proud of my team,” Brice said. “But that start West had just killed us. They had a great start.”

West and Salisbury didn’t meet in the COVID season.

In the 2021-22 season, the Kyla Bryant-led Hornets smacked West twice, 59-34 and 54-36. The second of those two meetings was a combative, feisty Moir semifinal that was completed not long before shots fired in the lobby during the boys semifinal halted the tournament. West and Salisbury had not played in a Moir game since then. The Hornets did not play in the 2023 Moir. West crushed North Rowan 73-30 in the championship game.

So while the Falcons’ senior class has accomplished a great deal, the one thing it had not done was beat the Hornets. They took care of that on Saturday.

“This one was personal for us because people talk a lot,” Lauren Arnold said. “We were extremely motivated. We were ready to play. We played unselfish ball, and we were at our best. Emma (Clarke) usually just fights for rebounds, but she can score if we need her to score. I thought everyone on our team passed the ball great and played great.”

The second quarter was actually even — 17-17 — but after the start West had, it still was 44-22 at halftime. Clarke scored 13 in a blistering first half, including a 3-ball, and hit the boards hard.

West’s lead stayed in the 20s throughout the second half and reached 30 late in the contest.

“We actually had quite a bit of foul trouble,” Poole said. “So there were times when we chose to slow things down. We played smart and disciplined. We’ve got an experienced team. We can play at different speeds.”

Five Falcons scored in double figures. Clarke had 15, Phifer and Edwards scored 14, Thompson had 12, and Lauren Arnold had 11. Any of the five could have been all-tournament. Arnold, Clarke and Edwards got all-tournament nods.

There were no dramatic shots or heroic deeds. Every West game in the tourney was decided after the first quarter. West won 72-24 and 71-24 in the first two rounds of the tournament. Arnold, Edwards, Phifer and Thompson scored in double figures in all three games.

All-tournament picks from Salisbury were MaKayla Noble, a Division I signee who was coming off the bench for the Hornets two seasons ago, and Jamyrah Cherry, who transferred from Cannon School to Salisbury prior to this season. Noble led the Hornets with 16 points. Cherry, who scored nine in the title game, had a double-double in the semifinals.

Shamya Arnold, who scored seven in the final, was the RONZ Award winner. That award is given in honor of the late Ronnie Gallagher, who was the Salisbury Post sports editor from 1997 until his death in 2013. The award traditionally goes to a player on the runner-up team who demonstrates intangibles such as hustle, heart, team spirit and sportsmanship. That pretty much sums up Shamya Arnold.

Salisbury, which had a seven-game winning streak stopped, moves forward. It was a rough outing, but the Hornets (7-4) are still Salisbury. They’ll fight for another Central Carolina Conference title and they’ll be a tough out in the 2A state playoffs. No one will be thrilled to draw them.

West won its seventh Moir championship. The Falcons won in 2019 with the Abigail Wilson-led team, so they’ve won the last three tournaments in which champs have been crowned.  West is 7-6 in Moir championship games. Salisbury is now 11-5 in title games.

West has a great team.  Poole will still find things to work on as the season continues. Robinson and Northwest Cabarrus have very good squads, so at least four South Piedmont Conference games could be interesting.

“I know people like to say we don’t play anybody, but we play a lot of very good teams,” she said. “We’ll keep working. We’ll keep getting better. And I’m going to try my best to enjoy the heck out of these next few months. We’ve got a very special group of girls.”

Salisbury     5     17      12   12    — 46

West           27    17      16   14     — 74

SALISBURY —  Noble 16, Cherry 9, S. Arnold 7, McCombs 4, Evans 4, Zapata 4, McNeely 2.

WEST — Clarke 15, Phifer 14, Edwards 14, Thompson 12, L. Arnold 11, Wilson 4, Hoffner 4, Tenor 2