SALEM, WV - Tonight the Tiger fans gathered to celebrate Senior Night for Salem's last home game of the regular season. The fans and team took a moment before the game to recognize and thank our seniors for their contributions to Salem both on and off the court. Anete Bluma and Barbara Trehub were the seniors recognized at tonight's pre-game ceremonies.  Following the opening introductions the Tigers (4-22) were set to tip off against the visiting Wheeling Cardinals (16-10).

Both teams got out of the starting blocks slow offensively, making for a defensive-minded matchup through the first five minutes of play with Salem taking the advantage 2-1. Salem caught a little fire with four minutes left to play in the first after a triple from Cassandra Smith got things rolling. The Cardinals had seemed to knock off the early rust as well, getting their offense into gear as the quarter came to a close. After one quarter of play the two teams were deadlocked at 10-10.

After a slow first the Tigers came out gunning to start the second. Salem tacked on eight points within two minutes of second-quarter play nearly matching their point total for the previous quarter. The Cardinals hunted jump shots, both beyond the arc and from mid-range with little success. Salem was able to get a contest and make things difficult for the Cardinal offense. Salem's offense found their stride and continued to produce for the remainder of the half while the defense held Wheeling down. At the break, Salem found themselves on top 30-24. 

Salem continued the offensive onslaught to start the second half. Carine Pinkney got things going with a bucket at the rim before Emerson Wells ripped off a 5-0 run all by herself, and finally, Elena Pericic capped things off with another interior bucket for the Tigers. After a hot start for the Tigers, the Cardinals began to respond. The Wheeling offense stayed hot for the remainder of the third quarter, eating away at the double-digit lead Salem had built and creating their own double-digit lead before the break. Salem's offense simply ran out of gas and could not generate the same quality looks the Tigers had been knocking down in the first half. Going into the fourth Salem was down 44-55.

Anete Bluma made an early effort to cut into the Wheeling lead with the first bucket of the fourth quarter, but the Wheeling offense showed no signs of slowing down. After Bluma's basket, the Cardinals went on a 14-0 run to balloon their lead up to twenty-three. With under three minutes left, the Tigers did what they could to try and get back into contention, but the deficit had grown too large. Salem dropped their final home game of the regular season with a score of 51-73.

Salem's final regular season place will take place on Saturday, March 2nd in South Euclid, Ohio against Notre Dame College (Ohio) at 2:00 PM.

SALEM STAT LEADERS

Points: Emerson Wells (11)

Assists: Elena Pericic (4)

Rebounds: Anna Machytkova (7)

Blocks: Anete Bluma (2)