SALEM, WV - The Lady Tigers (3-14) were back in action on their home court this afternoon as they played host to the visiting Falcons (4-13) of Notre Dame College (Ohio). Salem came into today's matchup looking to bounce back after a tough road loss to West Liberty on January 24th.

The first quarter of tonight's action was a struggle for the Tigers who seemed to have a lid on the rim in the early stages. The Falcons came out swinging with ten points in the first five minutes compared to the Tigers two. At the end of one-quarter of action, Salem found themselves down 18-6.

The Tigers completely flipped the script in the second quarter. An offense that had been stagnant in the early going came to life out of nowhere. Another positive for the Tigers was the ramp-up in defensive intensity. Salem held the visiting Falcons to just nine points in the second quarter while piling on twenty-three of their own to grab the lead at the half 29-27 after a late three from Emerson Wells off a dish from Carine Pinkney.

The third quarter seemed to be more of the same for the Tigers as the offense stayed hot. The defense didn't have quite the same success that they showed in the second quarter, but they still did a good job of holding the Falcons down. Emerson Wells stayed hot in the early goings of the quarter with a triple and a finish off a tough drive. It was Elena Pericic who began to carry the offensive load in the late stages of the third as she went on a solo 5-0 run to boost the Tigers lead to ten. A prayer from almost thirty feet out cut the Tiger lead to seven at the buzzer and Salem took a 47-40 lead into the final quarter of play.

Salem's potent offense from the previous two quarters seemed to run out of gas in the fourth. Notre Dame, on the other hand, seemed to finally regain their rhythm. Turnovers plagued the Tigers in the fourth quarter which allowed the Falcons to get a few easy buckets to get back into the game. The Falcons also became very familiar with the free throw line in the fourth which allowed them to continue cutting into Salem's advantage while the clock was stopped which was big for them. In the end, the Tigers were unable to hold on and dropped this one with a final score of 65-58.

The Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday, January 31st when they travel to Elkins, West Virginia to take on the Senators (2-13) of Davis & Elkins College at 5:30 pm.

SALEM STAT LEADERS:

Points: Emerson Wells (13)

Assists: Liliani Krause (3)

Rebounds: Elena Pericic (12)

Blocks: Cassandra Smith, Emerson Wells (2)