By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.–  Riverdale came out with everything they had against Salem Academy Tuesday night at Salem Academy.  

The Mavericks were physical, fighting for the ball.  Aggressive, making those passing lanes hard.  They shot well.  Abby Zurasky went off for 11 points as Riverdale hit on seven three-pointers.  All-and-all, the Mavs made things difficult for the Crusaders in Salem Academy’s 59-41 victory.  

A win that moved the Crusaders to 7-0 on the season as the home squad turned it on in the second quarter to dictate the remainder of the game.  Turning a 7-7 ball-game after the opening eight minutes and led the traveling Riverdale squad 28-14 by the halftime break.  The lead ballooned out to 38-17 after a Haley Ferry lay-in nearly four minutes into the second half before the Mavericks began to chip away at the lead.

“It was very chaotic (at the beginning).  I just feel like we didn’t play how we like to play.  We didn’t run our plays very well and we were just kind of out of it,” starts Sophie Pass.  “Then in the second quarter, we started playing our plays  and being a little more free with manipulating them to getting it to our post, which was very helpful.  If we’re going to continue this, we’re just going to have to come to the game every time prepared.”

Pass was one of three Salem Academy athlete’s who scored in double-figures, scoring 11 points as Ferry (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Aly Herber (15 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Crusaders.  Salem Academy had seen their 21 point lead reduced to 14 going into the fourth quarter however as Riverdale gained some momentum going into the final frame. 

But the Crusaders answered strongly and managed to push through the adversity and everything the Mavs threw their way Tuesday night as Salem Academy turns their focus to the Crusader Classic next week.

“I feel like our second quarter was our best.  Our first, third and fourth were about similar, we kind of matched them.  So I think it’s just important at least one time we push more than the other team.  They had a really good guard, they had really good players and I think it was good that we saw all the different types of players.  We see big posts, we see fast guards and learn how to control them so when the tournament starts, or when league starts, we’ve seen everything and we know how to cover it,” Pass said.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald