Journal Feature/Gary Leininger Salem’s Reece Davidson-Chuck takes a shot Wednesday against West Branch’s Carter Shepherd and Tully Muniz.
SALEM — For lovers of good defensive basketball, Salem’s John A. Cabas Gymnasium is the place Wednesday night for arch-rival Salem and West Branch women’s basketball teams to put on a nail-biting defensive clinic. did.
In the end, the Warriors left Salem with a 34-24 victory, leaving them 6-0 overall and undefeated at 4-0 in the Eastern Buckeye Conference.
“I’m really proud. We’ve played like that (great defense) all season.” West Branch head coach Walt DeShields said. “Even though we lost (in terms of players) last season, I’m really proud of the way the girls worked really hard on defense and worked together.”
“That (defense) is something we always work on in practice.” West Division defensive standout Ellie Tucker said she did a great job in front of the versatile Reece Davidson-Chuck (Salem), who was held to six points on the night. “That’s something we’re proud of as a team. We always talk about our defense in rivalry games. We try our best to hold them to 10 points or less every quarter and keep our best players from scoring, and we were able to do that tonight.” I think so.”
With this setback, Salem is now 2-3 overall and 1-3 in EBC play.
“I was very proud of our defensive effort tonight.” Said Salem head coach Matt Mowry. “The girls scrapped and scratched and in the West Division-Salem rivalry, no matter what sport we play (it’s always competitive). There was a little foul at the end that put the game on hold. It was a much closer game than the score indicated.”
Need two examples of the impressive defense both the Warriors and Quakers played in the game? No players on either team reached double digits, and both teams shot less than 20 percent from the field. There were no easy baskets in this game.
“I had a hard time scoring on basketball.” said Mowry. “It was a game where the momentum was a little shaky, but we didn’t score, and that was the result. We had some chances in the lane, but we couldn’t finish. The ball wasn’t going to come to us. .”
West Branch’s last-minute 10-point win is somewhat deceptive, as the game was within two to five points for most of the night.
Leading the scoring for West Branch was senior guard Audrey Eaton, who scored eight points, including eight points as the Warriors overcame a four-point deficit (23-19) after three periods and outscored the Quakers by 11 after Salem. Including six points in the decisive fourth quarter when they defeated the Reds by five. He was forced to foul in the final stages of the game, resulting in a 10-point lead.
“She (Eaton) is a talented player and will make plays for us.” said DeShields. “She was struggling early, so I just kept telling her, keep shooting, you make plays for us, you’re a great player, and she always does. She had to overcome her mistakes. Credit to her because she kept playing and made some big plays at the end.”
Talley Muniz added seven points for West Branch, and guard Ali Kanaji had five points, including a 3-pointer.
“We didn’t have our best shooting night, but they’re going to continue to play defense so it’s okay.” DeShields observed. “The best part is that even if they miss a shot or make a mistake and have a turnover, they come back on defense and that gets you to big games on the road. ”
Abby Knickerbocker led Salem with seven points, while Reese Davidson-Chuck and Maddie Andres each finished with six points.
West Branch built a 7-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Salem, which never led in the first half, pulled the Warriors within two points (9-7) on a steal and layup by standout Reece Davidson-Chuck with 2:26 left in the first half.
But West Branch outscored the Quakers 5-2 in the remaining period, and Kanagy hit a three-ball 35 seconds before intermission to give the Quakers a seven-point (14-7) lead. The Quakers closed the gap, scoring five points (14-9) on a fielder’s hit by Riley Davidson-Chuck with 17 seconds left. The score remained the same at halftime.
Andres made two free throws to give Salem its first lead of the game, giving the Quakers a 17-16 lead at the 4:27 mark of the third quarter. However, the Warriors outscored the Quakers 7-2, building a 23-19 advantage after three games.
Salem pulled within two points (23-21) of West Branch with six minutes left, but the Warriors were able to force several Salem turnovers in the final minutes (the Quakers had 19 points on the night). The Warriors’ 13 points allowed the visiting team to score. They outscored Salem 11-3 in the remaining time to secure the victory.
“I really think we came through and made more plays in the last few minutes of the game.” DeShields observed.
“Especially in the first half, we didn’t rebound the ball well.” said Mowry. “We got rid of that in the second half. We had another chance, but against a team like West Branch, we need to make fewer mistakes than we did tonight.”
“Playing in Salem is never easy.” said DeShields, one of the all-time greats in Salem basketball history. “No matter what team comes here, it’s a backyard rivalry and they (Quakers) played hard and we played hard.”
Precautions
West Branch also defeated the Quakers 25-14 in the junior varsity final.
￣The Quakers return to action Saturday afternoon in an independent game at Canton Central Catholic.
West Branch will be inactive until next Wednesday night when the Warriors travel to Austintown Fitch to take on the Falcons.
WB: 7-7-9-11–34
SA: 4-5-10-5–24
West Branch Scoring: Ellie Tucker 1-4, Zoe Carreon 0-0-0, Daniela Benitez 0-0-0, Allie Kanagy 1-2-5, Matty Hawk 0-0-0, Presley Egli. 1-0-2, Carter Shepard 0-1-1, Sammy Beatty 1-0-3, Tully Muniz 3-1-7, Halivy Burton 1-2-4, Audrey Eaton 1-5-8. Team total: 9, 13-20:34
Salem Scoring: Carly Sampson 0-0-0, Garyn Rome 0-0-0, Peyton Colbert 0-0-0, Abby Knickerbocker 2-3-7, Maddie Andres 2-2-6, Riley. – Davidson Chuck 2-0 -4, Muilin Lesko 0-0-0, Emily Lewis 0-1-1, Reece Davidson-Chuck 3-0-6. Team total: 9, 6-12: 24
3-Point Goals: West Branch 3 (Audrey Eaton 1, Sammy Beatty 1, Ali Kanaji 1).
Total fouls: West Branch 11, Salem 21. Foul out: None.
