SALEM, West Virginia - With rainy conditions blanketing Harrison County, the fans inside T. Edward Davis Gymnasium were happy to get out of the cold to enjoy an afternoon basketball doubleheader for the Tigers. Salem women's basketball opened up play with their matchup against the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets, but ultimately fell 87-45 despite some strong individual performances. 

In the first quarter, Salem opened the game with a focus on interior play. The dynamic duo of Liliani Krause and Carmen Vasquez controlled the paint for Salem offensively, but a hot shooting Yellow Jacket squad maintained a 24-10 advantage after the first. 

In the second, Salem shifted gears and found some outside shooting opportunities. Cassandra Smith played particularly well in the quarter, but West Virginia State continued to have the hot hand offensively. Therefore, the Yellow Jackets led 41-26 going into the halftime break. 

After the intermission, the Tigers had a tough time capitalizing on offensive chances coming out of the break. The Yellow Jackets took advantage of the sluggish Tiger start, and held a 62-32 lead going into the fourth. 

In the final frame, Salem threw everything they had into one last 4th quarter comeback. Lucia Yanez and Ida Bentgsson both made some good contributions for Salem down the stretch, but it was simply not enough to catch the Yellow Jackets. Therefore, Salem ultimately fell 87-45 to West Virginia State. 

Statistically, Salem was led by another good performance from Carmen Vasquez who finished with 17 points. Liliani Krause finished just behind her with 14 points. Cassandra Smith ended just short of a double double with 10 rebounds and 9 points. 

Despite today's loss, Salem has quite a bit of action left in the 2024-2025 campaign. They head to Frostburg State on February 19th at 5:30 PM for their next contest before returning home for their final home contest of the season against Fairmont State on February 22nd.