2017-18 Winter Preview: Salem Girls Basketball

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Salem girls basketball will be in a bit of a rebuilding mode after having to replace a six-player senior class that won 67 games in its four years and takes with it 76% of the points scored by Salem last year. That group included program-great Payton Curley.

“All six of those girls played major minutes since their sophomore season and most played a lot as freshmen,” Salem head coach Jake Reardon said. “Payton is an incredible player and put in a ton of work on her own to become the player she is. When you lose a player like that your program feels it, you can’t just replace a kid that was not only a starter and major contributor for four years, but also a team leader her whole career.”

One reason for optimism is that senior Baylee Bilyeu returns to anchor the Lady Tigers in the paint after averaging 11.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game as a junior. She already has the school’s career block record at 220 along with the top three single-season block totals.

If the Lady Tigers are to be successful, it will be Bilyeu leading the inexperienced roster.

“Baylee worked really hard this summer to adjust to her new teammates and learn their strengths and weaknesses. By the end of the summer she had gotten a lot better at setting each of them up to succeed and not putting them into spots they are not comfortable with,” Reardon said. “Baylee has been a team leader for years, but this year will be different because the rest of our girls will all be looking to her to lead us. It will be crucial for her to keep her head in tough spots and be a steadying force. Baylee has also put in a lot of time running and in the weight room, so physically she will be a beast and require a lot of attention from opponents.”

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No other returning player averaged more than 0.8 points per game.

Juniors Bailey Martin and Michaela Chilton along with sophomore Madison Woolf have shown themselves ready to compete at the varsity level in offseason workouts. Martin will help Bilyeu in the post. Chilton offers good size at 5’9 at guard. Woolf’s length makes her a thorn for opposing offenses on the perimeter.

Juniors Kirsten Golden, Hailey Corkell, Autumn Matney and Mackenzie Whitaker will also play a major role on varsity this year.

Freshmen guards Tatum Hatridge and Shelby Botkin should see immediate varsity minutes for the Lady Tigers.

Reardon wants his girls to excel at a few fundamental things on the court in hopes that success in the fundamental facets will lead to the win total they desire.

“Our team expectations are always high,” Reardon said. “We never talk about winning a certain number of games; our major goals are to be contenders for conference and district. To do that, we must excel at a few things: defense, rebounding, and ball security. If we take care of the ball on offense and make life hard for opponents on defense, we should put ourselves in a good spot.”

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