Salve Regina Tops Salem State 69-58

NEWPORT, R.I. –- Briana  Neary led Salve Regina with 18 points on 6-of-9 (66.7%) shooting and added 12 rebounds as the Seahawks defeated Salem State 69-58 at the Rodgers Recreation Center on Thursday evening. Amanda Folan added 13 points and six rebounds while Morgan Shuey chipped in with 13 points and six assists. Liz Zaiter and Irianis Delgado each scored 18 points for the Vikings with Zaiter corralling seven boards and Delgado notching a double-double with 12 rebounds. Abuk Teng had 10 points and a game-high 13 boards for the Vikings, who finished 23-of-75 (30.7%) from the field. Kylie Gates contributed with 10 points and five assists for Salem State.

Salve Regina built a 33-25 advantage at halftime as Briana Neary and Folan each tallied nine points as the Seahawks converted on 14-of-31 (45.2%) shot attempts. Zaiter and Delgado paced Salem State with 11 points on 5-of-12 (41.7%) shooting, but the rest of the starting lineup went 0-for-13 from the floor.

Salve Regina led 16-13 after the first quarter and opened up a 24-15 lead midway thru the second after a Neary free throw as the Seahawks limited the Vikings to just two free throws to start the period. A Zaiter jumper ended the drought for Salem State, but back-to-back layups by Sofia Neary gave Salve Regina an eight-point halftime advantage. Both teams combined to go 1-for-18 (0.05%) from behind the arc.

The Vikings surged out of the locker room, going on an 8-1 run to draw to within 34-33 with Gates scoring five of the points. The Seahawks managed to keep a three-point lead with 1:56 to go in the third despite converting just 2-of-13 (15.4%) attempts from the field. A Megan Henaghan jumper pushed the lead back to seven, before Salve Regina exited the quarter with a 48-42 lead.  

Six fourth quarter points by Delgado and a layup by Jaylen Nieves helped Salem State pull to within 56-52 with 3:51 remaining. However, Salve Regina converted 9-of-10 attempts from the free throw line in the final minutes to pull away for an 11-point win. The Seahawks finished the game 25-65 (38.5%) from the floor, but were 0-for-14 (0.00%) from three-point range.