The Delmarva Christian girls’ basketball team moved to 9-0 Jan. 19, with a 48-19 victory over visiting Salisbury School.

The game started out slow, with the Royals leading 5-0 after one quarter, but by halftime, the lead stretched to 16-5. The third quarter found the Dragons having their “Bell” rung, Ainsley Bell, that is, who tallied 17 points in the quarter.

Bell showed her senior leadership, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks.

“We started out slow,” said Bell. “Coming back from [winter] break, we couldn’t get anything to drop. The last game we started out with a big run and we thought we would do it again. It didn’t happen, but this game showed how we can battle even if shots weren’t dropping.”

Junior Journey Handy dropped in 10 points, two rebounds, three steals, three assists and three blocks.

“I think we had to get adjusted,” said Handy. “We haven’t played home as much, so we were getting used to the crowd. If our defense is working, we’ll find our shots.”

Mia Elliott chipped in five points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Evelyn Bohinski and Ryley McCluskey tallied a combined seven points and 10 rebounds. Josephine Peranteau played big under the basket, snagging six rebounds while making five steals. Layni Dukes, Tayler Lowe and Bella Marinelli teamed for five rebounds, three assists and five steals.

“The first quarter was something we needed,” said coach Jedidiah Roach. “The defense still showed the way and put up a great effort. We have to correct our offense. The second half we did a lot better. The girls can put this in their minds, that things can still come around when you play great defense.”