The Salem girls varsity basketball team rolled Clarke Central Tuesday night for its fourth consecutive win of the season, defeating the Lady Gladiators 58-39 at home.

The Lady Seminoles’ defense forced 22 turnovers, while four players scored in double figures for Salem.

Ayanna Mitchell led Salem with 18 points, shooting 73 percent from the field in the 19-point victory. Shay Tarver, Taylor King and Jennifer Tindi finished with 17, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Salem pushed its lead by as much as 21 in the second half, extending their lead to double digits in the third quarter on a King 3-pointer. King’s basket started the Lady Seminoles on a 10-1 run, allowing Salem to just out to a 45-28 lead.

The Lady Gladiators were locked in an even 22-22 contest with the Lady Seminoles with over three minutes to go until halftime, but Salem scored the final nine points of the first half, including a pair of buckets from Mitchell, giving Salem a 31-22 lead at the break.

Mitchell also finished with 17 rebounds and three assists, while junior Rosie Kyles finished with a team-high five assists and seven steals.

Jasmin Bell led Clarke Central with 17 points in the loss.

Seminoles falter

The Salem boys varsity basketball team lost its third consecutive game of the season Tuesday night at home to Clarke Central, falling 78-49 in region play to the Gladiators.

The loss drops the Seminoles to 3-4 overall after beginning the season 3-1.

Salem was limited to just 22 points in the first half, while the Gladiators’ offense exploded for 31 points in the opening quarter.

The Seminoles stayed within striking distance of the Gladiators with 2:30 to go in the first half, as Robert Baker sank a free throw to cut Clarke Central’s early lead to 10-7, but the Gladiators closed the period on a 21-5 run with three points from Cameron Johnson, Jaquan Dowdy and Jahkiem Ellison.

Salem scored 20 points in the third quarter while limiting the Gladiators to 12, but the Seminoles scored just seven points in the final period of play in the 29-point loss.

Demyon Greenwood led Salem with 12 points, while Austin Samuel finished with 10 in the loss.

Johnson finished with a game-high 25 points for the Gladiators.

Salem returns to action Monday at home against Heritage. The rivalry contest will begin with the girls’ contest at 6 p.m., with the boys’ game to follow.