The good news for the Salem girls? They had just one senior on last year’s roster that finished 12-15 overall.
The bad news for the Salem girls? That senior was the record-setting Baylee Bilyeu. She averaged 14.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game in her senior year.
“(We will miss) her presence in the post on both sides of the court,” Salem coach Jake Reardon said. “She did so much that can’t be measured by stats.”
Michaela Chilton earned honorable mention all-conference honors after averaging 9.2 points per game.
“She (Chilton) had a nice summer,” Reardon said. “(I am) expecting her to grow as a leader, be a team player, and knock down the three.”
Senior Taylor Norris will be a welcome addition. She moved back from Ohio to Salem this year. She was a Lady Tiger from seventh to ninth grade.
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Replacing Bilyeu won’t fall to just one player this year.
“It’s really hard for me to choose one girl. I believe we will have different girls step up all year. We want to get it to the hot hand,” Reardon said.
Reardon will and the Lady Tigers will have a different pace of play this season.
“(Our strength will be) speed,” Reardon said. “We played half-court basketball with Baylee. (We) wanted teams to set up. (We are) trying to open it up a bit this year.”
Salem will look to improve throughout the season with a tightknit team.
“We have a good group of girls. They like each other and play hard for each other. It will be a fun season, looking forwards to going to battle with them,” Reardon said.
Salem will open the season on Nov. 19 at home against Plato.
