Women’s Basketball Drop Season Finale to Salem State

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Women's Basketball team concluded its season this afternoon, welcoming Salem State University to the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium. Hailey Peabody led all scorers with 25 points while pulling down a dozen rebounds, but the Vikings were paced by 16 points off the bench by Sunali Carter and 15 points by Mario Orfanos to secure the road team's eighth conference win.

THE BASICS

• Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026
• Score: Salem 52, MCLA 35
• Records: Salem State University Vikings 12-13 (MASCAC 8-6) | MCLA Trailblazers 0-20 (MASCAC 0-14)

SENIOR DAY

Before the first game, the Trailblazers recognized the Women's Basketball program's graduating class as part of their senior night celebration. Lauren Kimball (Crown Point, NY), Jaydence Meribela (Volcano, HI), Hailey Peabody (West Springfield, MA), and Ashlyn Bill (Norwich, CT) were honored by coaches, teammates, family members, and fans for their time with the basketball program. Although their time with the program may end, they will forever be a part of the MCLA family.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• Salem State's stifling defense kept the Trailblazers off the scoreboard during the first quarter, but MCLA's senior guard/forward Hailey Peabody (W. Springfield, MA) cleaned up on the boards, pulling down seven rebounds in the first quarter.
• The Vikings scored 16 points in the opening frame before adding 14 more in the second half to take a 30-8 lead into the locker room at halftime.
• MCLA rallied in the third quarter, powered by a 7-0 run made up entirely of points by Peabody. Starting with a driving layup with a bit over six minutes to play, followed by a three from the top of the key that was assisted by sophomore forward Amare Williams (Woburn, MA) on the next possession. With about four and a half minutes left in the quarter, the senior capped the run with another layup that was assisted by sophomore guard Abigail Scialabba (Williamstown, MA).
• The Trailblazers had another run late in the quarter with Peabody turning defense into offense, sandwiching a layup by senior forward Ashlyn Bill (Windham, CT) between a pair of steals and layups by Peabody. Bill recorded six of her game-high 14 rebounds in the third quarter.
• While the Vikings were still leading 43-23 after three quarters, MCLA again cut a couple of points off that lead in the fourth quarter. Led by six points each by Peabody and Scialabba.
• The Trailblazers' Peabody finished a double-double of a game-high 25 points to go with 12 rebounds. The Vikings were led by a double-double of their own by Sunali Carter, who scored 16 points while pulling down 12 rebounds. Maria Orfanos contributed another 15 points while Kylie Schrock had ten boards.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Field Goals / %: Salem 18-66 / 27.3%, MCLA 14-67 / 20.9%
• 3 Points / %: Salem 5-17 / 29.4%, MCLA 2-22 / 9.1%
• Free Throw / %: Salem 11-20 / 55%, MCLA 5-10 / 50%
• Rebounds: Salem 62, MCLA 46
• Points off Turnovers: Salem 18, MCLA 12
• Second Chance Points: Salem 14, MCLA 4
• Points in the Paint: Salem 20, MCLA 24
• Bench Points: Salem 20, MCLA 0

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