Salem girls come up one win short of state championship

With a final record of 27-3 the Salem High girls’ basketball team set a new record for wins in a season for the Spartan program. However, that was one win short of their goal, a Class 4 state championship.

Salem lost a 46-37 heartbreaker to Heritage High of Leesburg last Friday evening at the VCU Siegel Center in Richmond. The only time the Spartans scored fewer this season was a 36-35 loss to Patrick Henry, and that was a testament to Heritage’s defense. Salem had 22 turnovers and the Pride had 16 steals in a performance uncharacteristic of the Spartans this season.

“We seemed a little tight, in the first half especial-ly,” said Salem coach Scott Jester. “I think playing somewhere like VCU definitely impacts shooting with depth perception, and we gave them too many second chances.”

Heritage had 22 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded the Spartans 43-33 for the game. Alyssa Stanford of the Pride had 15 rebounds and scored a game-high 23 points, mostly in the paint.

Salem trailed 8-5 in a low scoring first quarter and cut the lead to one on a bucket by Liz Smith to open the second period. However, at that point Heritage went on a 13-0 run to take a 21-7 lead. Salem trailed 22-11 at the half and, try as they might, never got closer than seven in the second half.

Emme Custer led the Spartans with 15 points while battling a tall Heritage front court in a loosely called game. Bailey Rider had eight points, Charli Wynn had seven and Gabby Crawley, who was often double and triple teamed, was held to four and got off just six shots. It wasn’t a good shooting game for the Spartans, who finished 14 for 43 from the floor for 32 percent and eight for 20(40%) from the line.

With that said, the final game shouldn’t take away from what a great season the Spartans had. They were River Ridge District and Region 4D champions and didn’t lose to a Class 4 team until Friday.

“We had the immense luxury of returning all 12 players from last season’s team, plus adding three more, off of a state quarterfinal team last year so we had very high expectations for this season,” said Jester. “Obviously a blank slate to start the season and we knew we still had work to do to keep improv-ing, but I felt like we were capable of a great season if we worked hard every day.

“This team had a mixture of talent and unselfish-ness which is a great combination to have.  Beating PH at home in early January was a big win for us to take another step since that was the first time we had beaten them since 2016.”

The Spartans will graduate seven seniors from this team, Elizabeth Smith, Charli Wynn, Ashlyn Adkins, Shaniya Robinson, Taelyn Woodard, Faith Nance and Alecia Kasey. They came in with Jester and have been a big part of the rise to being a state contender.

“This senior class is special because they have been with me literally from day one at Salem High School,” said Jester. “I had a few open gyms when I was hired in spring of 2021 and these seniors were there as rising freshmen. Charli, Ashlyn and Liz have been members of the varsity team my entire tenure at Salem so they’ve been part of every step we’ve taken to get to this point. Credit to all of the seniors, Leci, Faith, Taelyn, and Shaniya, too, because they set the tone for our team and I think our team chemistry has been our biggest strength. We will definitely miss all seven.”

Salem’s top three scorers will return in Crawley, Custer and Rider. They’ll be seniors next season and Kourtney Goens, a top sub, will move into the start-ing lineup as a junior.

“We have a very strong core of returning play-ers,” said Jester. “Gabby is the reigning River Ridge District Player of the Year and first team All Region. Emme is first team all River Ridge and second team all Region and Bailey is second team all River Ridge and second team all Region. They bring invaluable leadership and experience as three-year varsity start-ers.

“Kourtney Goens was great for us coming off the bench this year and will move into a more prominent role next season. Aniyah Fox and Lexie Hart gained some valuable experience this year and will fill important roles. Ashlin Hudson and Skyler Woodard will be ready to step in to increased minutes. We are also excited about our JVs that will move up to varsity next season.”

Custer, who was moved to tears at the post-game press conference, reflected on the season in a heart-felt moment before the bright television lights.

“I’m proud of my team for making it here,” she said. “Playing here is something we(Salem High) hadn’t done for a long time. It was a historic moment for our program.”

And next year just one more win would surely put a smile on her face.