(Editor's Note: Article includes revised scoring totals for Alicia Smith and Inari Jones.)

Salem University cut a 12-point halftime deficit down to a single point in the third quarter, but the rally came up short as the Tigers fell to Georgetown College 84-72 in women's basketball Saturday at Georgetown, Ky. Alicia Smith scored a game-high 21 points in the Tigers' 2020-21 season opener.
 
After trailing 45-33 at the half, Salem (0-1) used a pair of three-pointers by Smith to cut the margin in half at 51-45 with 6:27 left in the third quarter. Teyarra Johnson's offensive rebound kept a Salem possession alive and in intentional foul call against Georgetown led to a four-point play for the Tigers. Johnson converted both free throws and Daniela Quesada hit a jumper to pull Salem within 51-50 with 4:46 remaining.
 
Georgetown (1-0) ended a two-minute scoreless drought to slow down Salem's run and went on to stretch the lead to 59-52. Nerea Arambarri Fernandez hit a pair of jumpers 31 seconds apart to make it a one-possession game again, but Georgetown used a steal and coast-to-coast layup by Maddie Burcham just before the horn to extend the lead to 64-56 at the end of the quarter.
 
Georgetown led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter and Salem never got any closer than seven points the rest of the way.
 
Salem overcame a slow start from beyond the arc by hitting four of its final six 3-point attempts in the final three minutes of the first quarter. Inari Jones hit a three, followed by three-pointers by Quesada and Smith. Nateria Freeman's three-pointer from the top of the key tied the game 21-21 to finish the opening period.
 
Fernandez matched a Georgetown three-pointer less than a minute into the second quarter for the sixth tie of the game. After Georgetown broke the tie with a pair of field goals by Terri Abram, Salem got back within a point on a three by Jordan Crace with 6:25 left before halftime. But the Tigers were held to a three-pointer and three free throws the rest of the half as Georgetown built the lead to double digits at the break.
 
Quesada finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for Salem, while Fernandez added 15 points and shared game-high honors with four assists. Jones finished with seven points and shared game-high honors with eight rebounds. Quesada and Fernandez each recorded three steals. Smith scored 16 of her points in the second half, including 10 in the third quarter. She connected on five 3-pointers.
 
Georgetown's bench produced 59 points, led by Raegen Williams with 14 points and Abram and Burcham with 13 points apiece. Abram scored all of her points in the first half.
                                                                           
Salem is off until Thanksgiving weekend when the Tigers hit the road to take on a pair of Division I opponents. Salem heads to Newark, Del., November 25 to face University of Delaware and then head to Norfolk, Va., November 29 for a match-up against Norfolk State University.