Sports
VIDEO: Witches Fall Short Against Gloucester
Salem High girls hoops lost to Gloucester, 51-39, in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Div. 2 North tournament Sunday.
The girls basketball Witches reached the end of their playoff journey Sunday against Gloucester, falling 51-39, in a game that was closer than the final score.
Led by senior Captain Amanda Wilkins (12 points) and senior Jasmine Bryant (12), Salem kept within five points for most of the contest before a final fourth-quarter spurt by Gloucester put the game out of reach.
Gloucester's full-court press and aggressive defense proved too much for the Witches, Head Coach John Fortunato said.
Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"These kids had a great year, great run," Fortunato said. "Today, Gloucester was just too much, too many turnovers, we just couldn't survive."
Fifth-seed Gloucester (18-6) moved the ball well and managed to find the lanes, led by senior guard Hannah Cain, who had a game-high 17 points.
Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Salem got nine points from freshman forward Alix Bryant and six points from junior guard Maria Rodriguez.
Wilkins, a three-time , said the team worked hard to turn it around midway through the season, winning 11 of their last 15 regular season games to qualify for the tournament.
"We came from a horrible season last year and we really turned things around," Wilkins said. "I couldn't ask for a better season with a better group of girls."
