SALEM, WV - Tonight's Tiger action had the Yellow Jackets (13-9) of West Virginia State University coming to town for their second matchup against Salem (4-18) on the season. The last matchup between the two squads back on January 13th ended in a 62-75 Tiger loss on the Yellow Jackets home court in Institute, WV.

Both offenses came out swinging to start the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets applied their full-court press which the Tigers handled in the game's opening minutes. Salem relied heavily on the three-point line in the first quarter and was rewarded for doing so. Elena Pericic and Emerson Wells both found the bottom of the net several times to get the Tigers rolling. As much as the Tigers could do on the offensive end they struggled mightily on defense. As the Tigers wore down the Yellow Jacket press became more and more effective. Leading to steals which turned into easy shots at the rim. At the end of one, the Tigers found themselves down 14-22.

West Virginia States took some massive strides from their solid first quarter. The three point line quickly became their friend as they continually found the open shooter as a result of their quick ball movement. Salem was unable to play with the same pace as the Yellow Jackets with their depth and fatigue certainly was an issue. The Tiger offensive production improved from the first quarter, but the Yellow Jackets ability to score quickly off a steal prevented Salem from trimming into their lead. At the half the Tigers still found themselves down 32-55.

As the second half got underway both offenses seemed rusty from the break. The Yellow Jackets and Tigers posted their lowest scoring quarters of the entire game after the half. While Salem had improved on the defensive end their offensive struggles were worse than ever. Turnovers proved to be a Tigers worst enemy as Salem struggled to maintain possession of the ball due to the Yellow Jacket press. To make matters worse West Virginia State ran a continuous five in five out system which ensured they always had fresh legs on the court. This was not a luxury the Tigers could afford as their starters bore the brunt of the minutes load. After three quarters of play the Tigers still could not get out from under the Yellow Jackets with a score of 42-75.

Even with the large leas the Yellow Jackets kept the pressure on the Tigers, keeping rotation players in and continuing to press to ensure the Tigers would not come back. This strategy proved effective as a depleted Tiger unit seemed to be running on fumes and had no answer for the Yellow Jackets. This Valentine's Day there was no love lost between the Tigers and Yellow Jackets as Salem went on to lose 56-98 marking their second loss to West Virginia State on the season in their final matchup with the Yellow Jackets.

With just five games remaining in the regular season, Salem will head to Charleston, West Virginia for their next matchup against the Golden Eagles (13-9) from the University of Charleston. The game will take place on Saturday, February 17th at 2:00 pm.

SALEM STAT LEADERS

Points: Elena Pericic (14)

Assists: Elena Pericic (5)

Rebounds: Cassandra Smith (7)

Blocks: Anna Machytkova, Elena Pericic (1)