by Brian Hoffman
The Salem High basketball season got off to a good start as both the girls’ and boys’ teams won opening
day games on Monday. The girls beat Brookville in Salem, 63-29, and the boys won at Staunton River, 51-40.
The girls jumped off to a 14-6 lead after one quarter and were up 20 before the half. Freshman Emme Custer led Salem in scoring with 14 points while senior My’la Green had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Ashlyn Adkins had 11 points, senior Maddie Smith had six points and nine rebounds and freshman Gabby Crawley dished out five assists.
“It was good to come out and get a win in our first game,” said Salem coach Scott Jester. “We were very balanced in our scoring and we feel good about our chances any time we can break the 60 point mark. Looking forward to building on this game as we move forward.”
The girls have four seniors, Green, Smith, Summer Bayne and Zoe Robtison, who returns to the floor after missing her junior season with a knee injury. Jester has no juniors on the team but Adkins, Elizabeth Smith and Charli Wynn are sophomores and three freshmen made the varsity, Custer, Crawley and Bailey Rider.
“We want to embrace the process of working to get better every day,” said Custer. “Play hard and unselfishly and compete for the district and regional championships.”
The Salem boys opened in Moneta with just one senior on the team, guard Clayton Davidson. Coach Kevin Garst has seven juniors, including Grant Clemens who led Salem in scoring Monday with 14 points while handing out four assists. Sophomore Bryce Carver had 12 points on five for eight shooting from the floor and another sophomore, LaMarius Foxx, had 10 points while leading the team with seven rebounds.
Other juniors on the team include Josiah Moyer, Ryan Coe, LJ Scales, Lucas Yerton, Alden Wynn and Chris White. Joining Carver and Foxx from the sophomore class are Jayden Johnson, Kam Brown and Marvin Fields and freshmen who made the varsity are Cam Boles and Elijah Paddyfote.
“We want to play hard every single time we step on the floor,” said Garst. “We’re looking for continuous improvement and we hope to reach our ceiling as a group.”
The boys were at Liberty Wednesday, they go to Northside Friday and next Monday, December 5, they’re at Glenvar. The girls are home for their next two games with Northside Friday and Glenvar Monday.