Salisbury girls basketball head coach Joe Mladosich knew he would implement full-court pressure at times throughout the season. And after struggling offensively in the first quarter of the season-opener against Dieruff, Mladosich turned to a press in hopes of sparking the offense.

It didn’t take long to see how effective Salisbury can be when its pressure is turned up and dialed in.

After trailing 11-5 after the first eight minutes of action, Mladosich implemented the press. That six-point deficit turned into a 23-15 Salisbury lead at halftime, and the Lady Falcons would go on to defeat Dieruff 43-31 last Friday night at Salisbury High School.

“We did a nice job with the pressure,” Mladosich said. “But we have to play with more intensity from the beginning. We’re very small.”

Salisbury pulled away early in the second quarter due in large part to that pressure. After Caylin Meikrantz, who scored a career-high 22 points, opened the frame with a 3-pointer, a string of seven straight Lady Falcon points from Sarah McGee gave Salisbury a 17-13 advantage.

The Lady Falcons wouldn’t look back. Salisbury continued its pressure to push that lead to eight points going into intermission.

“We definitely have to play as a team and get everyone involved, not just one person,” Meikrantz said. “We definitely did that today with other people scoring and not just one player.

“Obviously we pressed a little bit, got a little more energy and played a little better. But we didn’t shoot the ball well. I think we were 1-for-15 for 3-pointers in the first half.”

The duo of Meikrantz and McGee played a key role in the early comeback. They combined for 20 of the Lady Falcons’ 23 points at the break, and it was reminiscent of the their time playing together back in middle school.

McGee, a junior who attended Central Catholic for her freshman and sophomore years, returned to Salisbury this year and is expected to be one of the team’s top players. McGee scored 12 against the Huskies.

“We played in middle school together, so having her back here again, we really connect as a team,” Meikrantz said. “With Kyra Bruns and Paige Nicholas out there, it’s really good teamwork.”

“We’ll get better,” Mladosich said. “They are a lot of young kids. Even though they are seniors and juniors, they didn’t play a lot of varsity time. That’s the difference.”

Salisbury’s lead reached nine points in the third quarter when the Lady Falcons grabbed a 33-24 lead. Dieruff, which got a team-high 16 points from Mackenzie Rupp, did not get closer than six points over the second half.

For a team that lost plenty of offensive production a year ago, opening night was a positive sign for the blue and white. The Lady Falcons were also without sophomore Caitlin Scialla against Dieruff and will miss the team’s first three games.

“Definitely winning the first game is a real confidence booster,” Meikrantz said. “Playing nonleague games is a good confidence booster because you’re not so pressured about the league games.”

Salisbury dropped a nonleague game against Blue Mountain Saturday, 35-31. Meikrantz led the way once again with nine points, with Kelly Gardus adding eight.