Local Sports
Lady Wildcats Begin Post Season Tonight
After a tumultuous regular season, the Salem Lady Wildcatsget to dial their record back to 0-0 as they begin post-season play tonight.
Salem finished 14-15 after a shaky 0-5 start.
At times, this
young team, with just one senior, showed flashes of brilliance and gave fans a
glimpse of what they can expect in years to come. At other times, the Lady Cats
made the small mistakes that grow large under the microscope of a loss.
Perhaps the biggest difference between when this team is on
and when this team is off is effort. Some nights the effort just wasn’t there.
Other nights, Salem is hustling after every loose ball and battling for every
jump ball.
Tonight, Salem opens the Class 3A Centralia Regional against
the host Orphan Annies. This is the fourth meeting this season between the
schools, the most recent being a 58-36 win the last Saturday of January, but
none of that matters when seasons hang in the balance, and Salem Head Coach
Janet Holst knows what her squad must do to be victorious.
“We’re going to have to go in ready to play basketball. You
know Abby [Holtkamp] is going to play the whole game. She didn’t play the
second half against us although we had put it away pretty much in the first
half. But it [previous match-up] doesn’t matter. If you go in with that mindset,
you’re in trouble. I don’t think our kids will do that. I think they’ll go in,
think about the post-season, and play hard.”
With the season on the line, Salem and Centralia battle
tonight in the first round of the Centralia Regional Tournament at 7:30.
Pre-game coverage will begin shortly before on AM 1350 WJBD and WJBDRadio.com with
Toby Gullion and Greg Mehochko.
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