West Liberty-Salem’s girls basketball team continued its winning ways Saturday, Feb. 21, with a dominant 59–26 victory over National Trail in their Division V Southwest District, Region 20 tournament game.
The Tigers, now 20–3 on the season, used balanced scoring and steady defensive pressure to pull away early and never looked back, holding the Blazers (9–12) to single-digit scoring in multiple quarters.
Addie Wallen and Ava Astorino led WL-S with 14 points apiece, setting the tone offensively while helping control the tempo. Emily King followed with 12 points, providing a consistent presence in the paint, while Lucy Cole added seven points.
Ellery Wygal and Ella Jacobs each finished with five points, and Ava Poppe chipped in two as the Tigers showcased their depth, with seven players scoring in the win.
National Trail was led by Reynolds with seven points, while Cordle scored six and House added two. The Blazers struggled to find offensive rhythm against the Tigers’ pressure, finishing 1-for-1 at the free-throw line.
West Liberty-Salem went 4-for-8 from the foul line and connected on 21 field goals overall.
The Tigers “started a little slow but had a great second quarter run out scoring National Trail 20 (points),” WL-Salem head girls basketball coach Dennis McIntosh said.
West Liberty-Salem advances to the district sectional final, where the Tigers will meet Arcanum Tuesday night, Feb. 24, at Covington with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Looking ahead to the next round, McIntosh added, “Arcanum has a very good senior post player and quick physical guards. We will need to limit their post touches and stop the guards from penetrating. We need to limit our turnovers and control the defensive boards.”
