West Liberty-Salem’s girls state-ranked basketball team lived up to its ranking Saturday with a 77-14 pasting over Meadowdale in a Division III sectional tournament opener at Covington.
The top-seeded Tigers, who are ranked third in the state poll, are now 21-0 on the season. They advance to play 19th-seeded Northeastern Thursday in a sectional semifinal at 5:30 p.m.
WL-Salem’s offense came out firing in the first quarter with a 30-4 run. The Tigers used the second quarter to add a 25-3 run, giving themselves a 55-7 halftime cushion.
The Tigers let off the gas in the second half and outscored the Lions 22-7 over the final two quarters.
Selena Weaver highlighted the Tiger offense with 14 points, Bailey Poppe scored 11 points, Emily Hollar tallied nine points, Halle Smith had eight points and Lily Weaver added seven points.
WL-Salem finishes the regular season Tuesday at Northeastern for an Ohio Heritage Conference game.
WL-SALEM 77, MEADOWDALE 14
WL-SALEM (21-0)
L. Weaver 3 0-0 7; E. Hollar 3 3-4 9; M. Hollar 1 0-0 3; Poppe 5 1-2 11; Wiliams 2 0-0 6; Estes 3 0-0 6; M. Weaver 1 0-0 3; S. Weaver 6 2-3 14; Smith 3 0-0 8; Hutton 2 0-0 6; Cole 2 0-0 4. Totals: 31 6-9 77.
MEADOWDALE (1-11)
Moore 1 1-2 3; Bennett 4 3-4 11. Totals: 5 4-6 14.
Lions 4 3 5 2 —14
Tigers 30 25 11 11—77
Three pointers: WL-Salem 9 (Williams 2, Smith 2, Hutton 2, M. Hollar, M. Weaver, L. Weaver); Meadowdale 0. Rebounds: WL-Salem 32 (Poppe 6); Meadowdale 10. Steals: WL-Salem 18 (S. Weaver 4); Meadowdale 1. Assists: WL-Salem 18 (E. Hollar 5). Turnovers: WL-Salem 6; Meadowdale 22. Team fouls: WL-Salem 8; Meadowdale 9.