The Salem girls basketball team is hoping the third time will be the charm.
After seeing their season ended the last two years in the state semifinal round, the Lady Spartans head to Richmond again for Wednesday morning’s 11 a.m. opener against Loudoun County in the Group AA Division 4 semifinal at the VCU Siegel Center.
Friday afternoon at the Salem Civic Center, Salem punched its ticket with authority with the 46-34 win over Lord Botetourt, their third win over the Cavaliers this season.
Salem advanced despite an early-game shooting draught by Wake Forest signee Tay Taylor, who only had 4 points at the halftime break. Taylor regrouped in the second half, finishing with a game-high 16 points.
Unfortunately for Lord Botetourt, the Spartans had another pair of starters that more than took up the slack.
Senior Tessa Foley scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half, which accounted for two-thirds of Salem’s first 15 points. Junior Maddie Price inflicted just as much pain, scoring 13 points, including a trio of bombs from behind the arc.
Salem led 23-16 at the halftime break before one of Price’s 3-pointers put the Spartans up 10 early in the third quarter.
Lord Botetourt made its best run of the afternoon late in the third, and when sophomore Kate Spradlin hit a pair of free throws the Lady Cavaliers pulled to within 29-26 with just under two minutes left in the quarter. Taylor, however responded with the final two scores of the frame, including a put-back after missing the front end of a one-and-one.
Salem pushed its lead to 46-31 in the fourth before both coaches emptied their benches in the final minute.
Senior captain Meaghan Catron led Lord Botetourt with 10 points, while senior Emily Wampler and junior guard Kristen Toppel each added 6 points for the Lady Cavaliers.
“A win over Lord Botetourt is always a tough win and a good win,” Salem head coach DeWayne Harrell noted afterward. “Tonight Tay was pressing early, but Maddie and Tessa stepped up. It shows our team is not just Tay.”
“We did a good job on defense,” Harrell added. “We’re in the Final-4 for the third straight year. Our defense is better and that gives us the best chance.”
“Salem is a tough matchup for us,” Lord Botetourt head coach Chuck Pound noted. “We switched our defense every time down the court.”
“They got a number of second-chance points,” Pound pointed out. “We knew we needed to play next to perfect to win.”
by Bill Turner