With an influx of young guards added to the mix, the Salem High girls’ basketball team is expecting improvement in its overall depth this season.
And with that additional depth, head coach Cody Woody is hopeful the Lady Tigers will play with a more up-tempo pace.
Salem, which began preseason practice Nov. 3, will open its schedule with the annual Big Cat Classic against Licking Nov. 26. This year the event will be held at Licking. The junior varsity girls’ game is to begin at 4 p.m. followed by the JV boys’ game at 5:15 p.m., the girls’ varsity game at 6:30 p.m. and the boys’ varsity game at 8 p.m.
Prior to that the Lady Tigers are to hold their Blue and White Scrimmage Nov. 14 at the Salem High gym, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Sarah James, in her first season as a coach, will serve as Woody’s assistant coach this season.
The Lady Tigers are coming off a 4-22 overall record in 2024-25, including a 1-6 SCA mark.
However, Salem brings back four returning starters and six varsity lettermen from that squad to build around. In all, Woody has 19 players on his roster.
“It’s our second year without a senior,” said Woody, entering his fourth season as Salem girls’ head coach. “But we have four starters back and a lot of freshmen coming in who are still young. The expectations are a little higher than the last couple of years. Practice (last) week has been upbeat. They’re putting in the work. The intensity is there and the level of competition is improved. We’re headed in the right direction.”
The four returning starters the team will build around are 5-7 junior guard Raven Gillam, 5-11 junior forward Allie Walters, 5-10 junior guard Trista Dooley and 5-8 junior guard/forward Abbi Terrill. The other varsity lettermen returning are 5-5 sophomore guard Brynna Pace and 5-11 sophomore forward Gracie Mendenhall.
That group will be joined by 5-7 junior forward Zoey Elliott and freshmen Clara Ball, a 5-7 guard; Josie Bowers, a 5-5 guard; Paisley May, a 5-5 guard, and Maggie Mercer, a 5-5 guard.
Gillam is the top scorer back, having averaged 12 points and five rebounds last season, while Terrill averaged two points and eight rebounds; Walters and Dooley three points and four boards apiece, and Mendenhall four rebounds.
The lone starter not returning is a big one in 6-0 forward Addison Fulton, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder last season who averaged 17 points and 13 rebounds while earning All-SCA honors. She is a senior this school year, but has committed to play volleyball in Lyon College (Ark.), and will be concentrating on that sport during the offseason.
Woody feels the team’s overall ball handling skills and scoring balance will be improved this winter.
“We’ll try to play at a little faster pace,” he said. “We have a few girls who can come out and score 20 points on any given game. There could be balanced scoring.
“We’ve got some girls I’ve coached since middle school. We’re young, but a lot of people in the area are young right now.”
One thing Woody has that many teams in the area lack is height, and he hopes to use that as an advantage.
“We’ve got a couple of long athletic kids who can get out and stretch the floor to open up the inside game some,” he said. “I’m hoping our outside shooting has improved, to open up lanes more. Terrill has started as a guard for us and has played a little of everywhere on the court.. And Walters is physical and likes to bang around.”
And the Lady Tigers may have a few go-to scorers to choose from in different situations.
“Right now Raven might be the (go-to player),” Woody said. “Or it could be one of the freshmen. Ball has been a leader since the sixth-grade.”
The regular-season schedule:
Nov. 25 - Big Cat Classic at Licking, 4 p.m.
Dec. 8 - Union, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 11 - at Plato, 6 p.m.
Dec. 15-19 - Sullivan Peoples Bank Holiday Classic
Dec. 22-27 - Mtn. Grove Holiday Tourney
Jan. 6 - Sullivan, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 8 - Ava, 6 p.m.
Jan. 12 - at Houston, 6 p.m.
Jan. 13-17 - Licking JV Tourney
Jan. 15 - at Cabool, 6 p.m.
Jan. 22 - at Dixon, 6 p.m.
Jan. 29 - Stoutland, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 30 - Ellington, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 2 - Willow Springs, 6 p.m.
Feb. 3 - at Belle, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 5 - Thayer, 6 p.m.
Feb. 9 - Cuba, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 12 - Steelville, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 13 - at Couch, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 16 - at Mtn. View Liberty, 6 p.m.
Feb. 19 - at Mtn. Grove, 6 p.m.
Feb. 23 - at St. Clair, 5:30 p.m.
