SALEM — West Virginia Wesleyan guard Sydney Baird blazed across the hard court to rack up more than half of the Lady Bobcat total as she and her team claimed its fourth straight victory with a 66-53 win over Salem University on the road Saturday afternoon.
Not only did the Webster Springs freshman launch the ball from the field 21 times for four two-pointers and four three-pointers, she was a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line as Tiger defenders could only grab personals because of her tenacious play.
Baird is tops in the Mountain East Conference in free throw percentage with a .946 average. Her 34 points is a personal best and follows in line with her accelerating performance during the Lady Bobcats’ current winning streak, claiming 11, 15 and 21 points in three successive games.
Wesleyan’s Courtney Wilfong and Emma Witt tied for second most points for the Lady Bobcats with seven points each and both players were also perfect from the line to help the team go 17-of-17 from the charity stripe. As a team, Wesleyan is tied for first (with Frostburg State) in the MEC in free throw percentage with a .766 average.
Salem’s Elena Pericic led the Tigers with 14 points and nine rebounds. Cassandra Smith and Anna Machykova each added 10 points.
Wesleyan goes on the road Wednesday, Feb. 7 to take on Wheeling University for a MEC tipoff slated for 5:30 p.m.
