SALEM, WV - The Lady Tiger (3-9) were back in action tonight as they played host to the Golden Eagles (4-7) of Charleston University. Salem entered tonight's matchup after nearly a month off over the holiday break and looked to get their first win of 2024.

Scoring struggles were apparent early for both sides. Charleston broke the seal two minutes into the first quarter of action which seemed to get things going for the Golden Eagles. It was Carine Pinkeny who got the Tigers on the board with a strong drive to the rim where she finished over the top of Charleston's defense to convert the layup. After going down 7-2 the Tigers were able to swing the momentum back in their favor. What seemed to be a back-and-forth evenly matched quarter was taken over by the Tigers Liliani Krause who scored five points in the final thirty seconds of action in quarter number one to give the Tigers a one-point lead at the break 16-15.

Salem started the second quarter with a bang. Elena Pericic drained one from range to tack three more points on for the Tigers and grow their lead to four. Salem's defense held strong as well, not allowing the Golden Eagles to score until nearly three minutes into the quarter. Pericic continued to have success in the second with two more triples and a conversion at the free throw line to tally ten points in the quarter for her. While the Tiger offense was thriving the defense was not able to maintain. The second quarter remained as back-and-forth as the first one was and two free throws from Charleston gave them a one-point lead before the break at 31-30.

The Tigers looked to continue their offensive output in the early stages of the third quarter. Anete Bluma and Carine Pinkney combined for six points in the first two minutes of play for the Tigers which gave them back the lead at 36-35. From that point on it seemed Salem had hit a wall. The offense that had been so potent in the first half managed just five points in the remaining eight minutes of third-quarter play. Charleston adjusted at the half to the pressure the Tigers had put on them and responded with their highest-scoring quarter of the game as they outscored the tIGERS 21-13 and grabbed a 52-43 lead entering the final quarter of action.

Salem came out into the fourth quarter with a sense of urgency, but shots continued to refuse to fall for the Tigers. As the offensive struggles for Salem continued so did the success Charleston had experienced in the third quarter. They locked down the Tigers in the crucial closing minutes and held on to win 71-53.

The Tigers will head to Institute, WV on Saturday, January 13th to take on the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State University at 2:00 pm.

SALEM STAT LEADERS

Points: Elena Pericic (20)

Assists: Teodora Popovic (3)

Rebounds: Elena Pericic (7)

Blocks: Elena Pericic (2)