Staff photo / Preston Byers Chaney’s Simone Lewis (10) attempts a shot during the Cowgirls’ home win vs. Salem Monday in Youngstown.

YOUNGSTOWN — Chaney, emerging from a nearly two-week layoff between games, picked up where it left off before the holiday break.

Winners of their last three, the Cowgirls jumped out to a commanding lead to start Monday’s clash with Salem, and thanks in large part to a 34-point performance by Alyssa Brown, pulled away from the Quakers en route to a 55-31 home victory.

“Good win for us,” Chaney head coach Dwight Berry said. “Salem’s been playing good ball, and our program’s never beaten them, so this is our first win against them.

“We played well. Alyssa Brown stepped up; I told her we needed a big game out of her tonight. And overall, the performance from all the girls was good since we didn’t have the opportunity to really practice over the break.”

Brown immediately proved to be Chaney’s engine in the first quarter, during which she pulled down rebounds, kickstarted the fast break and scored nine points within the first six minutes as her team leapt ahead 15-3.

Despite the sluggish start, Salem managed to issue a response; the Quakers pulled back within eight by the end of the opening quarter, and after falling behind by 12 in the second, held the Cowgirls without a field goal in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the half. Abby Knickerbocker capped the quarter off with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to cut the deficit at the break to six.

Much like the previous two quarters, Brown and Chaney put distance between themselves and Salem to start the third. Brown, who scored nine points in the period, blocked two shots and drained a corner three moments later to put the Cowgirls ahead by 13 near the midway point. Chaney eventually took an 18-point lead into the fourth.

Brown added another nine points to her total during the final quarter, with all but two coming at the free-throw line as the Cowgirls rolled to their fourth straight win.

“I think we don’t do her justice when we say how important she is to this team. How important is she to this district?” Berry said. “She has brought a new light to our district, and we’re happy to have her. But as far as the team, what coach wouldn’t want that player? Good players make good coaches.”

In addition to Brown, Ja’Ziya Burley-Anderson, Simone Lewis and Jalaia Mack each had at least five points for Chaney. On the other side, Knickerbocker scored a team-high 17 points, while Peyton Colbert and Maddy Andres added nine and five points, respectively.

Salem (8-4), which lost three of its last four before Christmas, had won back-to-back games until Monday’s loss.

“We ran into a buzz saw tonight,” Quakers coach Matt Mowery said. “It was just one of those nights. We’re just going to move on from this one. Unfortunately, we didn’t have our stuff tonight. Credit to Brown — she’s a heck of a player. She went out and made plays, and we didn’t have an answer for it tonight.”

Salem will be back in action Wednesday with a rivalry game vs. West Branch in Beloit, which will be the second of four straight road games. The Quakers do not host an opponent again until Jan. 17.

Similarly, Chaney (7-3) will play at Howland on Wednesday in the first of four consecutive away games. The Cowgirls’ next home game is against arch rival Youngstown East on Jan. 24.

“It’s a lot for Chaney girls basketball,” Berry said of the upcoming slate. “But we play better on the road.”