The Lady Tigers faced off against the Mansfield Lady Lions Monday in their third game of the Mountain Grove Tournament. The winner would move on to the consolation finals while the loser would be done for the tournament. Fast starts have come like clockwork thus far from the Lady Tigers, and once again a big first quarter put Salem in command early on. Keeping the foot on the gas pedal, however, has occasionally been a problem for the Lady Tigers. That would not be the case against Mansfield though, as Salem dominated play from start to finish in an impressive 68-38 victory.
In addition to the big win, Salem welcomed its newest member to the 1000 point club, as Savannah Hanning scored 22 points to move her career total to 1003.
From the outset it was clear the Lady Tigers wanted to push the pace and see if the Lady Lions could keep up. As the game progressed, Salem continued to stretch its lead by the minute. By the end of first quarter of play, the Lady Tigers had opened up a 21-9 edge. Payton Curley and Savannah Hanning combined for 17 points, scoring nine and eight respectively, while Baylee Bilyeu added another four in the quarter. With Salem opening a twelve point lead, Mansfield was in dire need of a strong second quarter and they delivered their best effort of the day, however, the Lady Tigers still took the quarter by a score of 16-14 to lead 37-23 at halftime. A huge twelve point quarter from Curley paced Salem's attack, while Hanning chipped in two more and Kari Hatridge and Kara Powell scored one apiece.
Any remaining suspense would be gone by the end of the third quarter, as Salem dominated 21-7 to stretch its lead to 58-30 heading to the fourth. Hanning would score nine points in the quarter, reaching the 1000 point plateau on a pass from Curley, a scene that has become familiar to anyone who has watched the Lady Tigers the past two seasons. Curley added another eleven points, giving her a career high 32 on the game, while Bilyeu added one point. Salem would build a 30 point edge by the end of the fourth quarter, outscoring Mansfield 10-8 to win by a final score of 68-38. Hanning added three more in the fourth, while Powell, Hatridge, and Camryn Pryor scored two apiece, and Trista Heavin scored the first varsity point of her career.
The win improves Salem's record to 6-3 on the season and into the consolation finals against Ava on Tuesday. The Lady Tigers will finally make their home debut on Monday against Mountain View in the conference opener.
Payton Curley- 32 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block
Savannah Hanning- 22 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
Baylee Bilyeu- 5 points, 3 blocks
Kari Hatridge- 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
Powell- 3 points, 3 rebounds
Camryn Pryor- 2 points, 8 points
