Salem girls avenge loss to Courtland in a big way  

RICHMOND — Salem’s girls basketball team showed a crack in its previously impregnable defense.

The Spartans allowed 40 points for the first time this postseason. But after losing by that margin in last year’s girls semifinals, nobody in Salem’s crew was too worried about giving up a couple of extra buckets on Saturday night.

The Spartans throttled Courtland 51-44, holding the Cougars to 27.1 percent shooting while claiming their first state championship in girls basketball.

The Cougars didn’t hit 40 until there was 29.5 seconds left on the Siegel Center clock. It got a little dicey there after that with a stretch of three missed Kim Migliarese foul shots in a four attempts, but she eventually made up for by nailing a pair to push the lead to 51-42 and seal it with :06 left.

The celebration was on. Fortunately, nobody got hurt.

In the game, that is.

This one set the standard for physical. Salem (26-3) toughed it out.

“I think it was about 10 games ago that I figured out that defense was going to win the game for us,” said Salem coach DeWayne Harrell, who has taken the Spartans to the final four three years in a row. “We did a good job of changing and adjusting.”

Before Saturday’s game, Salem’s opponents had averaged just over 30 points per game. The average victory margin was 18 points.

Three players scored for the Cougars (28-4), who thrashed the Spartans 70-30 in last year’s semifinals. Janae McNeal had more than half with 28 points to go with six steals in 32 minutes. Jessica Hairston added 13 points and 13 rebounds but shot just 3 for 12 from the floor. Courtland was 13 for 48 for the game.

“We remembered from last year that they ran the flex offense and that they scored what felt like to us everything that went up went in,” Salem four-year-starter Tay Taylor said. “We just basically wanted to get revenge and we knew the third time was going to be the charm so if we were going to come out and play, then we might as well come out and win.”

Taylor was a difference maker in a number of respects. For one thing, unlike last year, when she ran point guard for the Spartans, she was stationed on the wing. That gave her lots more looks at the basket and she responded by scoring 22 points to go with six assists and four rebounds.

She made 10 of 14 foul shots including 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter. Salem needed every one of them; the Spartans were 19 for 29 for the game.

“These girls played quite a bit,” Harrell said, referring to center Tessa Foley, Taylor and Migliarese, who played 29, 31, and 32 minutes. “It’s the legs. It’s a long game, long season.”

Migliarese hit five of eight foul shots in all while scoring seven points to go with 10 rebounds.

Foley added eight point and eight rebounds as Salem won the backboards 41-32. Foley didn’t take a foul shot.

“I’m used to not getting any calls,” she said.

Courtland coach J.T. Nino, who coached against both Salem’s girls and boys in the state tournament (he was the coach when the Cougars boys beat the Spartans 93-69 in the 2009 title game), said moving Taylor away from the point made a big difference.

“When [Taylor] was running the point, it was a much easier job to keep her shadowed and having two or three defenders around her,” he said. “Moving her to the wing was a good job on their coach’s part because the limits the number of players we have to help on her.”

Taylor was at her best handling the ball and penetrating. Rarely did a shot not go up by her or a teammate.

Not all of them went in — Salem was 16-for42 for the game with no 3-pointers — but Taylor was a constant trouble-maker.

“She kept making plays,” Nino said.

Taylor’s effectiveness in part offset 22 Salem turnovers ­— seven more than Courtland.

Neither coach could agree on who the tough beat-and-bang play favored. Each said it was the opposite team. Each team was called for 21 fouls. McNeal wasn’t making any excuses.

“You have to play through it,” she said.

This state championship being a new experience for Salem girls basketball was going to take some getting used to, especially for Migliarese.

“It’s definitely a great feeling even thought I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” she said. “I tried crying, but I couldn’t.”

SALEM (26-3)

Dishaw 1-1 2-2 4, K.Migliarese 1-6 5-8 7, T.Foley 4-11 0-0 8, Taylor 6-17 10-14 22, Price 2-3 1-1 5, M.Migliarese 1-2 1-4 3, Plympton 1-2 0-0 2, M.Foley 0-0 0-0 0, Rich 0-0 0-0 0, Maxwell 0-0 0-0 0, Dennis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-42 19-29 51.

COURTLAND (28-4)

Bradley 0-2 0-0 0, Fennell 0-10 3-4 3, Hairston 3-12 6-8 13, McNeal 10-23 7-11 28, Demps 0-0 0-1 0, Amrhine 0-1 0-0 0, Stokes 0-0 0-0 0, Buckley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-48 16-24 44.

Salem 17 6 13 15—51

Courtland 9 8 10 17—44

3-point-goals — Salem 0-3 (K.Migliarese 0-1, Taylor 0-2), Courtland 2-14 (McNeal 1-4, Hairston 1-7, Amrhine 0-1, Bradley 0-2). Rebounds — Salem 41 (K.Migliarese 10), Courtland 32 (Hairston 13). Assists — Salem 9 (Taylor 6), Courtland 3 (Hairston 2). Total fouls — Salem 21, Courtland 21. Fouled out — Bradley, McNeal.

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