Salem State Picks Up First Win Of Season

MILTON, Mass. – Head Coach Ashley White won her first career game as Salem State defeated Curry College 79-71 at Katz Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings improve to 1-4 overall while the Colonels drop to 2-4 on the season. 

The Vikings were led by forward Nicole Freddo (Marblehead, Mass.) who recorded 21 points and 7 rebounds in the win. Junior forward Liz Zaiter (Peabody, Mass.) tallied a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, leading her team in boards. Irianis Delgado (Lynn, Mass.) marked 16 points for the Vikings while Gabby Torres (Peabody, Mass.) dropped 17 points in the win this afternoon.

The Vikings grabbed an early lead in the first quarter, going on a 7-1 run through the first four minutes. The Colonels closed the deficit by the end of the quarter thanks to a pair of threes from Kaitlynn Smith (Hull, Mass.) and Kristyanna Remillard (Abington, Mass.). Two free throws from Remillard would close the first quarter tied 17-17. The two sides would stay quite evenly matched through the second quarter. The Colonels would knock down two threes five minutes into the period to put them up 27-26. Quickly, Salem State sophomore guard Kylie Gates (Pembroke, Mass.) would drop another three for her side, putting the Vikings back on top. Freddo finished with 10 points quarter on 5-8 (.625%) shooting as Salem State would go on a 9-3 run the final two and a half minutes of the half, sending them into the break leading 40-33.

The Vikings would extend their lead in the third quarter shooting 50% from the field to Curry's 33%. Three Salem State players - Freddo, Delgado, and Torres would combine for 21 points in the third quarter putting the Vikings up 61-49 heading into the final period of play. Both sides would go basket for basket through the first half of the final quarter. Two free throws by Curry's Remillard would bring the Colonels within nine of the visitors with just over two minutes remaining in play. A pair of lay-ups by Delgado put the lead out of reach for the Colonels as the Vikings held a double-digit advantage.

Three Colonels players recorded career-highs in point total in today's loss. Curry guard Kathryn Dunn (Hanson, Mass.) recorded a career-high 23 points along with 13 rebounds in the loss. Curry junior Kristyanna Remillard (Abington, Mass.) also tallied a career-high point total with 22 paired with 10 rebounds in the contest. Colonels senior guard Lily Gray (Brooksville, Maine) marked 15 points this afternoon, also recording a career-high. These three Colonels accounted for 60 of the team's 71 points.

(Contributions from Curry Sports Information)