Heading into the final week of the girls' basketball regular season, no team is on a hotter streak than Salisbury.

The Falcons (15-5 overall; 11-3 in Colonial League), now winners of 10 straight games, including eight in conference, defeated Notre Dame-Green Pond (7-10 overall; 6-7 in Colonial League) on Thursday night at Salisbury High School, 53-46.

Salisbury's second, and most prominent win over the current stretch, was back on January 9, a 42-41 defeat of Northwestern that gave the Tigers their only loss of the season.

Not only did Thursday night's victory keep the streak alive, the Falcons officially solidified their spot in the upcoming Colonial League tournament for the first time in nearly nine years.

"It's a big accomplishment, especially since this team beat us last game that we played them earlier in the season," Kelly Gonoude said. "It feels great to build the program more since we haven't made it to leagues for a while."

"We're all very proud of the way we're playing," Meagan Eripret said. "Winning 10 in a row is a feat in itself. I think in that span where we lost five in a row, that was kind of demoralizing a little bit. Once we picked it up, there's so much momentum going right now."

Due in large part to 21 points in the first half from Eripret, the Falcons jumped out to a 28-19 lead going into halftime.

But it was a third-quarter stretch that not only saw the Crusaders cut the Falcons' lead to three points, but it also tested the Falcons' mindset without their leader on the floor.

Clinging to a 29-26 lead, Eripret exited the game with a leg injury with 5:28 to play in the third quarter. It's a rarity when the Falcons' leader isn't on the floor, particularly for a long period of time. And despite missing 6:58 of game time, the Falcons put together a complete team effort to maintain their lead.

Lindsay Bauer started it off with a steal on the defensive end and took it for a layup on the other end to push the Falcons' lead to 31-26. Amanda Rowlands then drove to the hoop and her basket pushed the margin to 33-26 with 3:54 remaining in the quarter.

While the Crusaders got to within a point moments later, Holly Szita's bucket with under a minute to play in the third pushed it back to four.

"Meagan is always on the court, so I felt like we had to come together more than ever," Gonoude said. "We had to pass it around a little more and use each other, instead of just relying on Meagan."

When Eripret returned at the 6:30 mark of the fourth quarter, she started a run that ultimately put the game out of reach.

Gonoude assisted to Eripret, who finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, for a three-point play in the post that made it 41-36 with 5:22 to play. The Falcons then scored eight of the next nine points to take a commanding 49-37 lead with 48 seconds to play. The Falcons hit six of seven free throws in the final 1:39.

"As individuals, everybody is so unbelievably talented," Eripret said. "They need to know that they can do it, and after that it definitely shows it."

Bauer and Gonoude both finished with nine points for the Falcons.

Savannah Lynch tallied 11 points and eight rebounds, while Gabby Altmire and Samantha Cabone each added 10 points for the Crusaders.

The Falcons will host Southern Lehigh on Thursday night to conclude the regular season. Tip off is set for 7:15 p.m. Results from Tuesday's game against Wilson were not available at time of press.