Vikings Conquer Trailblazers for First MASCAC Victory

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – This afternoon, Salem State women's basketball defeated the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Trailblazers by a score of 61-39 to claim their first conference victory of the season. With four steals on the afternoon, senior guard Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) became the fifth student-athlete in Salem State history to surpass 200 steals and 300 assists for the blue and orange in their career.

Freshman Jarielis Perez (Lynn, Mass.) recorded a career- high 16 points (4-7 3PT.) to lead the Vikings while Abuk Teng (Manchester, N.H.) and Amayah McConney (Salem, Mass.) netted 13 and 11 points, respectively. McConney's 11 points is also a career-high for the freshman guard.

For the Trailblazers, Kristie Zator (Windham, Conn.) and Zaylee Ramos (Worcester, Mass.) both notched 15 points and grabbed 18 and 12 rebounds, respectively, to record double-doubles in the effort.

After trading baskets to start the game, a Nicolette D'Itria (Revere, Mass.) three-point play would give Salem the five-point edge (12-7) with 4:31 to play in the opening stanza. The Trailblazers would remain in striking distance, but the Vikings' freshman class would keep their squad ahead as back-to-back McConney jumpers and a deep ball from Perez would put them ahead eight (19-11) with under two minutes to play in the first. The Trailblazers would score one more time before the buzzer sounded to send the game into the second quarter with Salem ahead, 19-13.

The Vikings and Trailblazers both struggled to find the bottom of the basket in the second quarter, scoring just 10 and seven points, respectively. Just over three minutes into the second, the Vikings found their first double-digit victory but a layup on the other end for the Trailblazers would bring it back to nine (24-15) with 5:31 to play in the half. A minute later, Perez would hit her second three of the game to give the Vikings their largest lead thus far (29-16), but the Trailblazers would hold the Vikings scoreless over the last four minutes to go into the break with only a nine- point deficit (29-20).

The Vikings scored the first six points of the half to take the 35-20 lead before a Trailblazers layup at the 4:56 mark stopped the bleeding. MCLA would try to chip away but another deep ball from Perez but Salem on top by 15 with just under three minutes to play in the third. The Vikings would close the quarter on a 7-1 run to take the 44-26 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

The fourth quarter was all Vikings as they maintained their sizeable cushion for a majority of the quarter, leading by as many as 23 points before taking the 61-39 victory in North Adams.

Salem State is back at home on Wednesday, January 17 when they welcome the Lancers of Worcester State University for a 5:00p.m. start.