For the third straight year, the Salem girls basketball team will be heading to the city of Richmond.

This time, they are hoping for a more pleasant visit.

The Spartans beat Lord Botetourt 46-34 in a Group AA Division 4 quarterfinal Saturday at the Salem Civic Center, earning a berth in the state semifinals at VCU for the third straight year.

"It's such an amazing feeling," said Salem junior guard Maddie Price, who had 13 points and three 3-pointers.

The Spartans' season ended in that semifinal round the past two years, so the team would like a different outcome this time.

"This is all we've wanted, to be able to go to Richmond again and prove ourselves. Because the past two years, we've really fallen short," Price said.

Wake Forest signee Tay Taylor had 16 points and nine rebounds for Salem (24-3), which won its 16th straight game.

The Spartans will meet Loudoun County at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

"Every year you think, 'This is it. This is it.' And it hasn't been," said senior center Tessa Foley, who had 12 points, eight rebounds and six blocks. "But this year, I think we can do it. I think our chemistry is just so much better this year. ... There aren't really feuds within the team."

The Cavaliers (15-12), in the state tournament for the first time in four years, wept at game's end.

Salem won all three of its meetings with the Cavaliers this season.

"We knew that we could beat them," Price said. "Everyone was really confident."

Neither team shot well from the field, but the Cavaliers also hurt themselves with 20 turnovers.

"The game was very physical," said Lord Botetourt senior point guard Emily Wampler, who has signed with NCAA Division II member North Greenville (S.C.). "We tried to prepare for all their pressing."

Lord Botetourt shot 21.2 percent from the field.

"We're not used to playing in such a big building, and the walls are pretty far back," said Wampler, who had six points and was 2 of 11 from the field.

Salem shot 27.8 percent from the field.

"[It was] the depth perception, possibly - we're not used to playing on a court with so much space behind the backboards and not seeing a wall behind the backboards," said Taylor, a senior guard who was 6 of 23 from the field.

A senior boosted Salem in the first half, but it wasn't Taylor.

The 6-foot-1 Foley, who will likely attend Mary Washington as a nonplaying student, scored 10 of Salem's first 15 points.

"She's very good at getting the rebounds and keeping it high and putting it back," Wampler said. "We're not as tall as she is, so it's hard to defend that."

With the score tied at 7 late in the first quarter, Foley went on a personal 8-2 run to give Salem a 15-9 lead with 6:18 left in the second quarter. Salem led the rest of the way.

Taylor had 12 of her points in the second half.

Lord Botetourt went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 29-26 with 1:57 left in the third quarter. But Taylor answered with back-to-back baskets.

"Tay's a hard matchup for anybody because she's just all over the place and very physical," Wampler said.

The Cavaliers trimmed the deficit to 33-28 early in the fourth quarter. But Salem answered with five straight points, including three Taylor free throws.

Meaghan Catron had 10 points for Lord Botetourt. She was 3 of 18 from the field.

LORD BOTETOURT (15-12)

VanRavestein 0-5 0-0 0, Wampler 2-11 2-2 6, Toppel 2-7 1-2 6, Catron 3-18 2-4 10, Martin 2-6 0-0 4, Price 0-1 0-0 0, Helms 0-0 0-0 0, Ke. Spradlin 1-1 0-0 3, Duvall 1-2 0-0 2, Ka. Spradlin 0-1 2-2 2, Farmer 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 11-52 8-12 34.

SALEM (24-3)

Dishaw 0-2 1-2 1, Price 3-9 4-4 13, K. Migliarese 0-9 0-0 0, Taylor 6-23 3-6 16, T. Foley 4-7 4-5 12, M. Foley 0-0 0-0 0, M. Migliarese 0-0 0-0 0, Rich 0-0 0-0 0, Maxwell 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0, Plympton 2-4 0-0 4, Dennis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-54 12-17 46.

Lord Botetourt 7 9 10 8-34

Salem 9 14 10 13-46

3-point-goals - LB 4-21 (VanRavestein 0-2, Wampler 0-1, Toppel 1-6, Catron 2-10, Price 0-1, Ke. Spradlin 1-1), Salem 4-12 (Price 3-5, Taylor 1-7). Rebounds-- LB 43 (Wampler 7, Martin 7), Salem 40 (Taylor 9). Fouls-- LB 15, Salem 12. Assists-- LB 4 (Price 2), Salem 5 (K. Migliarese 2, Taylor 2). Turnovers-- LB 20, Salem 13.

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