INDIANA, Pennsylvania - To open their regular season campaign, the Salem Tigers' women's basketball team headed up to Indiana, Pennsylvania to compete in an opening weekend regional tipoff event. Salem squared off with the host Crimson Hawks on Saturday afternoon, and ultimately fell in that contest 72-55.

To open the contest, the Tigers got things going quickly behind some strong interior play from Liliani Krause. The Crimson Hawks answered right back with a run of their own, but Salem kept the pressure on. Carine Pinkney and Taja Stephens hit some key shots, but Indiana would control the contest after the first quarter 18-8. 

In the second quarter, the Tigers went right back to the well by feeding the ball into Krause on the interior. The Tigers kept pace with the Crimson Hawks, and the strong interior play opened up some outside shots for Cassandra Smith down the stretch. Unfortunately, Indiana was able to extend their lead to 40-29 going into the halftime break.

In the third, Carine Pinkney opened things up well running the Tiger offense, and Salem whittled the Indiana advantage down to just 6. Yet, another Crimson Hawk rally ended the period with a 59-44 scoreline. 

With their backs against the wall, the Tigers needed a big 4th quarter to get themselves back into the game. However, the Tigers had a tough time getting things going offensively down the stretch, and the contest ended at 72-55 favoring the Crimson Hawks. 

Statistically, Salem was led by 18 points from Carine Pinkney. Liliani Krause finished just behind her with 16 points, and Cassandra Smith round out the double figures scorers for the Tigers with 12 points of her own. 

For their next contest, Salem continued their stay at the regional crossover event in Indiana, Pennsylvania tomorrow. They are slated to take on Bloomsburg at Noon on Sunday, November 10th.