BUCKHANNON, West Virginia - Looking to build off their strong showing against Virginia State at home, the Salem Tigers women's basketball team hit the road this evening for a road contest against the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats. The crowd in Buckhannon was in for a thriller as the Tigers battled from a nearly 20 point deficit to tie the game in the final moments. However, it would be the Bobcats who came out triumphant with a 74-72 win off of a desperation shot in the final seconds.
In the first quarter, the Tigers had their work cut out for them early as the Bobcats rode some hot shooting to 27 points in the first period. Salem tried to keep pace, but found themselves trailing 27-13 after the first quarter.
In the second, it was more of the same initially as the Bobcat advantage ballooned to as much as 19 early on the quarter. However, Salem pushed on and slowly began to claw their way back into the contest. Kirsten Cross and Elena Pericic found the offense for the Tigers through some strong interior play. Salem worked the Bobcat advantage down to 48-37 at the end of the half.
To open the second half, Salem continued their comeback bid. They kicked the offense into high gear behind some big shots from the outside from Nerea Arambarri Fernandez and Emerson Wells. However, the Bobcats were not going to go away easily in their home gym, and they still held the game 65-55 after three.
In the final period, Salem had to pull out all the stops in order to get even with the Bobcats. They would do just that as some key buckets from Liliani Krause and Anna Machykova, and brought the game to 72-72 with 33 seconds left on the clock. An unfortunate travel call would dash the Tiger's hopes of taking the lead in the final seconds, and the Bobcats would convert a desperation putback layup to seal the 74-72 loss for the Tigers in heartbreaking fashion.
Despite the tough loss, Salem did have some bright spots on the stats sheet. Nerea Arambarri Fernandez led the way with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. 3 other Tigers were in double figures for Salem. Elena Pericic scored 14. Anna Mackykova dropped in 12. Liliani Krause put in 10.
Even though they head back to Salem tonight with this tough loss, the Salem women's basketball team will have a chance to reset this week as they head up to Erie, Pennsylvania to take on the Mercyhurst Lakers for a matchup on Thursday, December 7th at 5 PM.
