By Amanda Perkins
With seven seasoned varsity players returning from last year’s SCA championship team, the Salem Lady Tigers once again present a serious threat to their opponents.
The 22-5 team took top honors in the All-SCA basketball awards after going undefeated in the conference, with Payton Curley earning Player of the Year and Jake Reardon named Coach of the Year. This was their second straight conference championship, and they ended their season in district play with a four-point loss to Osage.
Unlike many of their competitors, the team has lost zero players to graduation, and the Lady Tigers have high expectations for the season.
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Salem’s varsity roster includes six seniors, one junior, and an assortment of underclassmen. “The senior group enters the season with a wealth of experience,” said Reardon, “as Payton Curley, Kari Hatridge, and Kaleigh Nash have all played significant varsity time since their freshman season and Shelby Carr, Kara Powell, and Camryn Pryor have logged major varsity time since their sophomore seasons. The lone junior on the roster, Baylee Bilyeu, has two varsity seasons under her belt as well.”
Payton Curley is the headline player for the team, entering the season with less than 300 away from 1500 career points, and just over 200 points shy of the second all-time leader in program history. She averaged 20.1 points, 2.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game last season. A skilled scorer inside and out, the 5’10” senior point and shooting guard is also key to the team’s defense.
Kari Hatridge added 6.6 points, 5 rebounds and nearly 3 assists per game, connecting on 9 field goals in a single game last season. Kaleigh Nash had a similar stat line, pulling down close to 5 rebounds and adding 6 ppg last year. Coming off a record-breaking softball season, Camryn Pryor stands to improve upon her 3.8 points per game last year. Baylee Bilyeu added 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks, while Shelby Carr and Kara Powell each yanked down over 4 rebounds per game in 2015-16.
The Lady Tigers have a combination of experience and depth thanks to returning players and a promising group of underclassmen, and they will be looking to build on last season’s successes. They have improved their schedule to ensure they are battle-tested come district time. They open the season with district opponent Eldon, who won 15 games last season, and also add Class 5 Jefferson City, who went 22-5 last year. Salem joins the Sullivan Tournament and also adds another new Class 5 opponent with Ozark, a team with a current 14-win record.
“We have all been looking forward to this season since the last one ended,” said Reardon. “None of us were happy with how things ended last spring. We were in a unique position last season, having no seniors, so when the season ended, we went back to the locker room and told them this wasn’t the end, we have unfinished business.”
