Lady Tigers post pair of victories last week

The pair of victories improves Salem to 2-1 on the year.

This week, the Lady Tigers are the No. 5 seed in the Peoples Bank Holiday Classic in Sullivan. The tournament is formatted in pool play, with Salem taking on top-seeded St. Francis Borgia at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sullivan High School before facing fourth-seeded 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The other pool features host Sullivan as the No. 2 seed, St. James as the No. 3 seed and Owensville as the No. 6 seed.

All finals games are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 19, with consolation beginning at 4:30 p.m., the third-place game at 6 p.m. and the championship at 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 11 - Salem 54, Plato 23: Salem pulled away in the second half, outscoring Plato 28-8 after halftime to secure the lopsided win.

The Lady Tigers used balanced scoring early, with five players contributing in the opening quarter to take a 10-8 lead. Salem created separation in the second quarter behind a five-point stretch from junior Abigail Terrill to carry a 26-15 advantage into halftime.

Freshman Paisley May fueled the surge in the third quarter, scoring six points and knocking down a 3-pointer to give Salem full control.

Freshman Madison Mercer scored eight second-half points and finished with a team-high 10 points. Eleven different Lady Tigers scored in the contest.

Sophomore Aarika Todd led Plato with six points.

The JV Lady Tigers edged Plato 11-8.

Salem (2-1): Walters 1-2-4, Mendenhall 1-0-2, Dooley 2-0-4, Mercer 5-0-10, Elliott 1-0-2, Pace 2-2-6, Ball 1-0-2, May 2-4-9, Gilliam 3-0-6, Terrill 3-1-7, Bowers 1-0-2.

Plato: Hazelwood 3-1-7, Cook 0-4-4, Drake 1-0-2, Todd 2-2-6, Turner 0-2-2, Pimental 1-0-2.

The score by periods

Salem 10 16 18 10-54

Plato 8 7 5 3-23

Dec. 8 - Salem 50, Union 29: The Lady Tigers wasted no time scoring against Union.

Junior Raven Gilliam scored five in the first quarter as Salem jumped out to a 17-5 advantage. Mercer picked up Gilliam’s efforts in the second, scoring four of Salem’s 12 points in the period to push the lead to 29-10 at the break.

Though the Lady Tigers cooled offensively in the third quarter, Salem never allowed Union to mount a comeback. Freshman Clara Ball fired in seven points in the final quarter, nearly outscoring the Lady Wildcats herself in the period.

Mercer led the Lady Tigers with 11 points, followed by Ball with eight. May and Gilliam added seven apiece.

Sophomore Kyndal Brown scored 12 for Union.

The JV Lady Tigers cruised to a 41-10 victory.

Salem: Walters 3-0-6, Mendenhall 1-2-4, Dooley 1-1-3, Mercer 4-3-11, Ball 2-3-8, May 3-0-7, Gilliam 3-0-7, Bowers 1-2-4.

Union: Eagan 0-3-3, Brown 3-6-12, King 1-3-4, Stelle 2-1-3, Kliethermes 0-2-2.

The score by periods

Salem 17 12 8 13-50

Union 5 5 11 8-29