HARROGATE, Tennessee - After a tough loss in overtime on Monday afternoon, the Salem women's basketball joined the men's program for a decent road trip to Harrogate, Tennessee as both were set for a matchup with the Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters. The Salem women's team played well, but fell to the Railsplitters by a score of 75-60.
In the first period, Salem actually took early control of the game thanks to the offensive efforts of Liliani Krause, who hit a couple of shots on the way to a 10-5 lead for the Tigers. However, the Railsplitters were not about to go away too easily in their home gym, and they rallied towards the end of the period. Lincoln Memorial held that lead at 19-15 after one.
In the second, the game got even tougher for the Tigers. Lincoln Memorial's offense came alive, and Salem initially struggled to keep pace. However, Salem found a foothold defensively, and Emerson Wells provided some much needed scoring for the Tigers as the half wound to a close. By the end of the period, the Lincoln Memorial lead would stand at 38-32.
Coming out of the intermission, Salem again found themselves in a tough situation as Lincoln Memorial's hot shooting was growing their lead. Daniela Quesada made some strides for the Salem offense towards the end of the quarter, but the Railsplitters maintained a 58-52 advantage after three.
In the final period, Salem had their backs against the wall. The Railsplitters showed no signs of slowing their pace offensively, and the Tigers were finding their points harder and harder to come by. Anna Machytkova and Barbara Trehub found some points for the Tigers down the stretch, but it would not be enough. Lincoln Memorial cruised to a 75-60 win over Salem.
There were some bright spots for the Tigers on the stats sheet, however. Daniela Quesada had another nice game after her long absence from the lineup with 16 points. Anna Machytkova and Liliani Krause rounded out the Tigers' in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Despite the tough loss tonight, Salem will have a few days to recover ahead of their next matchup. They are set to take on old local rival Fairmont State at home on January 16th at 2 PM.
