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# Salem girls basketball gets much-needed win over Merrimack to keep pace in D1 (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/salem-girls-basketball-gets-much-needed-win-over-merrimack-to-keep-pace-in-d1-video/
- Published: 2019-02-20T15:00:11.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-20T15:00:11.000Z
- Description: MERRIMACK - A win doesn't count for any more than just that in the final week of the regular season, but for the Salem High School girls basketball team, getting one Tuesday night against Merrimack felt like more than one. Coming off a loss their last time out, and down a couple of players due to il
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, girls basketball, Merrimack, Salem, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

MERRIMACK - A win doesn't count for any more than just that in the final week of the regular season, but for the Salem High School girls basketball team, getting one Tuesday night against Merrimack felt like more than one.

Coming off a loss their last time out, and down a couple of players due to illness, the Blue Devils relied on their defense to overcome a rough offensive performance and beat the Tomahawks 35-28 in Division I action.

Salem used a 14-4 run that spanned nearly eight minutes of the second half to pull away from Merrimack and then survived a frantic final 2:30 that saw the Blue Devils turn the ball over five times. But the Tomahawks weren't able to take full advantage, although they cut the lead to six with 1:16 to play.

"We’ve got a couple of girls out sick," Salem coach Ricky Oliver said. "It was a solid team effort. There were some girls who don’t normally get a chance, who have been waiting to get that opportunity to play and they did well. That’s what we needed."

Jordyn Franzen led Salem (13-4) with 14 points, including two baskets at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Blue Devils take a double-digit lead. Carly Saif added 10 points before fouling out late in the game and Christine Aboujaoude had seven points, including Salem's only 3-pointer of the night.

Merrimack (9-9) got 12 points from Heather Rohr while Theresa Twardosky had eight points, including two 3-pointers in the first quarter that helped the Tomahawks take an early 10-6 lead.

"Holding a team like that, that has so many offensive weapons, to 35 points, I think that says a lot about our defense," Merrimack coach Courtney Cheetham said. "I loved the pressure and aggression that we showed at the end.

"I think when you start playing up-tempo like that, you’re going to turn the ball over when you’re trying to score in transition. I think some of it is them being in solid defensive position and putting a stop to us when we’re making drives."

Salem came in with a plan to focus on Twardosky, and after the sophomore hit her first couple shots, the Blue Devils were able to hold her scoreless until the final minute of the game.

"(Twardosky) is the shooter and we knew we had to contain her," Oliver said. "We also knew their pick-and-roll offense is so good. My goal was to use some kryptonite to derail that action and we did a really good job on it. They got a lot of passes to the flank underneath the basket and we’ve got to clean that up."

Baskets by Saif and Franzen at the end of the first quarter tied the game at 10 and Aboujaoude hit a 3 two minutes into the second to give Salem a 13-10 lead.

The offense dried up for both teams after that, as neither made a field goal for almost four minutes. A flurry of points at the end of the half left Salem with a 20-18 lead going into the break.

Rohr scored to tie the game at 20 just 50 seconds into the third quarter, but those would be Merrimack's only points of the frame. Franzen finally broke the tie with a pair of free throws with 4:20 left in the third and baskets by Aboujaoude and Saif gave the Blue Devils a 26-20 lead after three.

"They’re very good in man-to-man (defense), and we knew that," Oliver said. "That really … we’ve got to get better at that. We have offensive in the system that handles that piece, but we were a little disjointed because we were undermanned."

Saif opened the fourth quarter with a basket to give Salem an eight-point lead, but Rohr ended the Tomahawks' drought with a jumper at the other end. Back-to-back baskets by Franzen gave the Blue Devils a 32-22 lead, but Rohr answered again to cut the lead back to eight.

Another basket by Saif put Salem up by 10 with 4:27 to go, and neither team would score until Merrimack got back-to-back baskets from Riley Crampton and Twardosky, making a 34-28 Salem lead with 1:16 to play.

Salem ends the regular season on Friday when it hosts Londonderry, while Merrimack will wait for the start of the D1 playoffs on Feb. 27.