Both Salem High School basketball teams were in early holes during their games on Friday, Jan. 29. It took the girls the next three quarters – and then some – to dig out and bury the visitors from Londonderry High. The SHS boys piled it on quickly to continue their long, arduous climb up the Class L mountain.

The Lady Blue Devils overcame a 16-4 deficit after one quarter, chipping away behind good team defense and fine outside shooting from seniors Nora Galvin and Sarah Raye, as well as junior Gina Righini, in a 45-43 overtime win to begin the doubleheader.

The Salem boys, while the girls whooped it up in the locker room, allowed two backdoor layups and trailed, 4-0. However, following a fast timeout SHS outscored the visitors, 25-9, for the remainder of the first half, cruising to a 62-42 victory.

Salem girls persevere Elizabeth Briggs, head coach of the Salem girls, said her team has yet to put together a complete game – one half has been solid play, the other subpar – in posting a 4-6 record through January.

However, two of those wins came against teams over .500, 7-3 Nashua North and 6- 4 Londonderry.

“Class L is too brutal to continue playing inconsistently like that,” said Briggs. “We kept plugging away (against Londonderry), though. Not to say we’re where we want to be, but hopefully this kind of win gets us going.”

Salem outscored Londonderry by four points in each of the final three frames to forge a 38-all tie. Then, in the extra period, with her team trailing by two and less than one minute remaining, Raye drained her second threepointer of the night to give the Blue Devils the lead.

Galvin, who finished with a team-high 16 points, added a free throw to account for the final score.

Raye and Righini both scored nine points, while sophomore Kerry White chipped in five. Junior Jennifer Bujnowski netted four markers, and senior Olivia Connors added a deuce.

Salem boys heating up
According to head coach EJ Perry, Salem’s boys team, which closed January with a disappointing 3-5 record, remains very dangerous.

“We may look back on this year and say that the turning point of the season came on Alex La Rosa’s three-point shot,” said the mentor.

He was referring to the senior star’s trey with 0.3 seconds remaining in a contest with unbeaten Bishop Guertin on Jan. 26. The clutch hoop turned a loss into a 48-47 win. Perry was furious with his charges for the early-game defensive lapses against Londonderry.

That quick timeout, though, did the trick. Joe Gallant and Matt Cannone, juniors both, turned in stellar two-way games, while sophomore Josh Klecan filled the box score: two points, five steals, four rebounds and five assists.

Yes, La Rosa, who scored 24 points and dished seven helpers against LHS, makes the team go. Yet Perry said Gallant, Cannone and their classmate Mike Lorenz all must score at or near double figures if the team plans to go far.

Kyle Henrick scored four points, grabbed four rebounds and nabbed a pair of steals against the Lancers.

Perry also said key reserves Marcus Baldwin and all-state football cornerback Jake Matthews give the team, along with Henrick, an intense look off the bench.

“The biggest difference (between) this team and teams of the past is that I do use a nine-man rotation,” said Perry. “I tell the kids all the time that I used to have a six-man rotation, but this year’s team has more depth.”