By SPENCER BATES
SALAMANCA — Entering their Jan. 16 matchup, both the Salamanca and Southwestern girls basketball teams were undefeated and sitting comfortably atop the CCAA Div. I table.
But only one could remain unbeaten in league play.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, who had won eight of its last nine games, an admittedly off-color performance saw their four-game win streak come to an end behind a 53-38 loss.
“We got physically and mentally outworked,” Salamanca head coach Joe Hinman said. “I don’t think that we played up to our program standard, but Southwestern is a good team. That’s why they’re the reigning league champs. They’re always the team to beat. But we’ll have another crack at them, so we’ll just get back to work and prepare for our next game.”
From the jump, the pace at which the Trojans operated caused problems for the Warriors. The movement of the visitors both on and off the ball, offensively, led to critical mix ups on the defensive end for the hosts.
Going the other way, Salamanca had its struggles as well. Utilizing a high press, Southwestern was able to trap and force turnovers in droves leading to fast break points on the other end. And if that was not enough of a gut punch, the Trojans, who were at a size disadvantage, controlled the boards, especially on the offensive end, which led to significant second-chance points.
“I think they had a quickness advantage on us,” Hinman said. “We had more of a size advantage at times. But (we had too many) unforced errors. Southwestern’s a good team, offensively and defensively. So, there’s a lot of things that we have to correct on both sides.”
Salamanca entered the half down 26-14, the second-lowest number of points it has scored in a half this season. But to start the second half, there was a renewed sense of urgency around the team. Liana Jimerson drained a couple 3s as she looked to kickstart the offense and the defense executed a high press of its own, forcing turnovers and getting easy points as a result.
But for as positive as the Warriors’ start to the second half was, after some time the Trojans found an answer.
A trend which became the tale of the night according to Hinman.
“They were just finding the open looks, and they were working for the offensive rebounds more, and we weren’t really getting after them as much as we normally do,” Hinman said. “We just played a little timid at times. There were times where we went on a run and we looked the way we should, but then they’d hit us again with another 3 or turn us over and then they would capitalize on the turnovers. Some of the turnovers were even on them. It was more on us just throwing it away.”
Salamanca’s Ella Crouse (1) drives while under pressure from a Southwestern defender. Crouse scored eight points for the Warriors in their loss to the Trojans. (Spencer Bates)
Salamanca managed to find a few more positive stretches as the second half wore on, behind buckets from Ella Crouse and Kynleigh Wass, the latter of whom led the hosts with 11 points on the night.
The loss was a blow to the Warriors, but as Hinman noted, the silver lining is that their younger players gained crucial experience as to what it takes to succeed at the varsity level.
Salamanca’s roster has had a solid foundation of youth for the last couple years, but this season some of those younger players are getting their first chance in the spotlight. So, while Hinman doesn’t want to see losses stack up, he’d rather his players learn the important lessons earlier in their careers.
“It’s tremendously important, because that’s the level that we got to play at,” Hinman said. “Southwestern has been doing good things as a basketball program for a number of years and it’s cliché, I’ve said it before, but if you want to be the best, you got to beat the best. We weren’t at that level tonight.”
Salamanca will look to get back on track in its next game, a road affair at Randolph on Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
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AT SALAMANCA
Southwestern (53)
C. Beaver 6 3-4 17, Sirianni 3 8-12 14, Edwards 4 1-4 10, B. Beaver 3 2-2 8, Cresanti 1 2-4 4. Totals: 17 16-26 53
Salamanca (38)
Wass 4 1-4 11, M. Crouse 4 1-6 9, E. Crouse 3 0-0 8, Jimerson 2 0-0 6, Ross 2 0-0 4. Totals: 15 2-12 38
SW 16 26 40 53
Sala. 6 14 27 38
Three-point goals: SW 3 (C. Beaver 2, Edwards), Sala. 6 (E. Crouse 2, Wass 2, Jimerson 2); Total fouls: SW 13, Sala. 17; Fouled out: Wass (Sala.).
