SALEM, West Virginia - As the late winter thaw warms up most of the Mountain State this week, the Salem women's basketball team wrapped up the final leg of a three game homestand Wednesday night. They hosted the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats in that contest, and despite some strong individual performances, the Tigers fell 77-51. 

In the first quarter, the game started with some early strong shooting from Cassandra Smith keeping the Tigers in the game . The Bobcats answered with some hot outside shooting of their own, and pulled away with a 23-16 after the first.

In the second, Salem began to eat away at the Bobcat lead by leaning on their veterans, namely Smith and Liliani Krause. Salem got the game down to just a couple of possessions before a late surge for the Bobcats set the scoreboard at 36-29 favoring West Virginia Wesleyan going into the half. 

After the intermission, Salem opened well with a big three ball from Kasaya Krause. However, the offensive well ran dry for the Tigers late in the quarter, so the Bobcats carried a 57-38 lead going into the final frame. 

In the final quarter, Salem needed a big effort offensively to claw back into the game. The Tigers again leaned on the seasoned duo of Liliani Krause and Cassandra Smith, but the Bobcats were simply too hot to handle. Therefore, West Virginia Wesleyan rolled away with the 77-51 win in Salem. 

Statistically, Salem was led by an astonishing 25 points from Cassandra Smith. Liliani Krause was the only other Tiger in double figures with 16 points.

Despite the loss, Salem will be back on the court this weekend and looking to get back into the win column. That opportunity will come on the road against the Davis and Elkins Senators on Saturday, February 1st at 2 PM in Elkins, West Virginia.