RICHMOND, Virginia - After two dominant wins to advance to the tournament final, the Salem women's basketball team matched up with the Saints of D'Youville in the USCAA Division I Championship Game. Salem battled with the Saints the whole way, but were overcome in the waning moments to fall by a score of 71-64.
In the first quarter, it became apparent that neither team was going to allow the other to build much of a lead as they kept the game close from the opening tip. The Saint took initial control, but Salem answered with three pointers from Daniela Quesada and Anete Bluma. By the end of the first, the Tigers held a tight 16-14 lead.
In the next quarter, the game remained close. D'Youville opened the period with a small run, but the Tigers were not going to go away easily. Salem knotted the game up at the end of the quarter from the free throw line thanks to Kirsten Cross and Elena Pericic. That deadlock would hold into the halftime intermission at 27-27.
For the third, Salem had their best offensive stretch of the day, and the Tigers had their biggest lead of the day at 7 early on in the period. However, much like the previous two quarters, the Saints battled right back to keep it close. Anna Machytkova sank a jumper with just moments to go in the quarter, and Salem held a 46-42 lead headed into the final frame.
For the fourth quarter, Salem kept the Saints at bay for the beginning of the period, but D'Youville found their offensive firepower at just the wrong time for the Tigers. The Saints bolted out to a 8 point lead with under 2 minutes to go. Salem made a valiant effort with big shots from Quesada and Pericic down the stretch, but the Tigers ultimately fell by a score of 71-64 in their final matchup of the year.
On the stats sheet, Salem was led by Daniela Quesada with 26 points. Elena Pericic was second in scoring with 14 points, and Kirsten Cross pulled down an impressive 10 rebounds.
While today did not end the way the Tigers would have hoped, Head Coach Jessica Peatross' squad still notched an impressive 14 wins on the season, and will be looking to build on those improvements in the off-season ahead of the 2023-2024 campaign.
