Salem State Holds Off Wheaton 76-72

SALEM, Mass. --  Liz Zaiter (Peabody, Mass.) and  Irianis Delgado (Lynn, Mass.) each scored 24 points as Salem State held off a late Wheaton rally to defeat the Lyons 76-72 at Twohig Gymnasium on Friday evening. The Vikings conclude the regular season 7-17 and have earned the fifth seed in the upcoming Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament. Wheaton goes to 7-15 on the year.

The Vikings held a 74-62 advantage with 2:57 remaining in the game, but the Lyons outscored Salem State 10-0 to draw to within two points, 74-72  following a three-pointer by Alexis Romer (Delray Beach, Fla.) with :26 seconds left. Gabby Torres (Peabody, Mass.) made one-of-two free throws for Salem State to set up a game-tying attempt by the Lyons. However, Romer's three-pointer came up short and Delgado iced the game with a free throw, making the final score 76-72.

Delgado added 12 rebounds for Salem State while Torres finished with 11 points and four assists off the bench. Katie Wallace (Peabody, Mass.) scored five points, but corralled eight rebounds and dished out a game-high nine assists for the Vikings, who have won four of their last five games.

Abbey Fernandes (Assonet, Mass.) led Wheaton with 24 points and 12 boards. Romer notched 21 points and Sadie Shore (Portsmouth, N.H.) contributed 13 points and seven rebounds for Wheaton.

Zaiter and  Delgado each had 12 first half points as Salem State built a 43-29 halftime lead.

Fernandes put Wheaton on top early, 9-8 in the first quarter with a three-pointer. However, the Vikings answered with a 7-0 run, cemented by a layup from Zaiter, who went 4-for-4 from the field in the opening quarter. Another bucket by Zaiter pushed the lead to eight points, 19-11 before Wheaton's  Greta Minos (West Roxbury, Mass.) made a basket to cut the deficit to six, 21-15 at the end of the first.

Salem State extended the lead to 11 points, 30-19 after another Zaiter layup with 7:43 left in the second. Fernandes drew the Lyons to within five points, but the Vikings closed out the quarter holding the Lyons to just one field goal over the final 4:53 to take a 14-point lead into halftime.

Salem State shot 19-of-37 (51.4%) for the half, while owning a 24-14 advantage in the paint. The Lyons were 11-of-29 (37.9%) from the floor, but just 1-of-6 (16.7%) from three-point range.

The Vikings took control of the game in the third quarter behind 12 points from Zaiter. Two free throws by junior gave Salem State their largest lead of the game, 52-31 with 7:16 left in the period. A basket by Shore cut the margin to 68-50 heading into the final quarter.

Romer went 4-of-5 from three-point range in the fourth quarter to help Wheaton stage their comeback. The Vikings managed just eight points in the final quarter, going over five minutes without a point until Wallace made a free throw for a 12-point Salem State lead with 2:57 left, setting up  Wheaton's late rally. The Vikings, who shot 30-63 (47.6%) for the game went just 2-12 (16.7%) in the final quarter while going 0-for-5 (0.0%) from three-point range. Wheaton ended the contest 29-for-70 (41.4%) from the floor. The two teams combined for 37 turnovers.