BLUEFIELD, West Virginia - After a rough night offensively in their last contest against Elizabeth City State, the Salem Tiger's women's basketball program had a chance to reset a little closer to home this time around against the Big Blue of Bluefield State. Despite 4 Tigers scoring in double figures, Salem was unable to outlast the Big Blue, and fell by a score of 76-68. 

In the first period, Salem found themselves in trouble early. Bluefield State took a commanding early lead, but the Tigers were not about to go away that easily. The interior combination of Liliani Krause and Elena Pericic found some scoring punch for the Tigers, and Salem brought the game back level. Pericic then sank a three pointer in the closing seconds of the half, and the Tigers controlled the game after one 15-13. 

For the next period, the Tiger's offense was still in full swing as they quickly grew their advantage. Emerson Wells and Anna Machytkova both hit some big shots for Salem, and the Salem lead grew to as much as 10. However, Bluefield State rallied right back in response, and brought the game to 34-30 favoring Salem as the teams entered the locker room for the halftime intermission. 

After a quick breather at the half, Salem came back out of the locker room looking to grow their slim advantage. However, it would be the Big Blue who found the initial offensive punch to take the game back in the 3rd quarter. Much like the opening of the game, the Big Blue advantage grew despite a few strong plays from Kirsten Cross. Bluefield State maintained that advantage 59-48 after the third quarter.

With the final period, the pressure was on as the Tigers found themselves trailing by double digits with just one quarter left to get back into the game. They made a valiant effort behind the three point shooting of Emerson Wells, but Bluefield State sent their home fans away happy with a 76-68 win for the Big Blue. 

Despite a tough result on the scoreboard, Salem did have some strong points from the scorer's table. 4 Tigers ended up scoring in double digits. Liliani Krause and Emerson Wells both led the Tigers with 14 points a piece. Elena Pericic added 12 points, and Daniela Quesada finished with 10 points for Salem. Krause also led the Tigers in rebounding with 8. 

Even though tonight's contest did not end favorably for Salem, the Tiger's will be right back into their next contest as they continue a long road swing. They head down to North Carolina to take on Livingstone on February 6th for a 5:30 PM tip.