FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Fresh off the Thanksgiving break, the Salem Tigers women's basketball team matched up with the Montana State-Billings Yellow Jackets in the first leg of their competition in the Mount McKinley Bank North Star Invitational. Despite the inevitable travel lag, Salem played well, but fell by a score of  69-56. 

In the first quarter, it was Salem who took initial control of the game with some great interior offense from Elena Pericic and Anete Bluma. Salem controlled the paint initially, but some outside shooting from the Yellow Jackets brought them back into the game. Montana State-Billings held a slim 16-15 lead after the first.

In the second, Salem kept the game close as both teams traded scoring runs throughout the quarter. Thanks to some great shooting from Nerea Arambarri Fernandez and Aina Maynou, Salem took back control of the game and held a tight single point lead going into the half 29-28. 

In the third, the game remained close as neither team could really take control of the game. However, Salem ran into some foul trouble late in the third, and the Yellow Jackets capitalized on those extra scoring chances from the line. Despite the setback, Salem still only trailed by four going into the final period. 

In the fourth quarter, Salem found themselves frantically trying to build a comeback as Montana State-Billings built on their lead. Salem made some initial headway, but the foul troubles reared their ugly head again. The Yellow Jackets outscored Salem 22-13 in the final frame, and cruised to the 69-56 win in Fairbanks. 

On the bright side for the Tigers, Nerea Arambarri Fernandez found her scoring touch again as she contributed 21 points alongside 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Anete Bluma added 11 points and 6 rebounds. The final Tiger in double figures was Anna Machykova with 10 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal. 

For the second leg of their Alaska trip, head coach Jessica Peatross' squad will be taking on host Alaska-Fairbanks on Saturday, November 25th at 11:30 PM Eastern (7:30 PM Alaska Local Time).