Nansemond River High School’s girls’ basketball season ended Monday night after a 58-39 loss to Salem High School in the 5A-South regional tournament.

The Lady Warriors took on Salem in the quarterfinals of the tournament at Kempsville High School. Nansemond River finished first in the Conference 10 regular season, while Salem was the runner-up in Conference 9.

“I think we played hard. We just didn’t execute well,” Lady Warriors coach R. Calvin Mason Sr. said. “At that level of play, you don’t have the luxury of having stretches where you don’t execute and play well. We did some things we needed to do. We just didn’t do enough of them.”

After the first quarter of play, Salem had a 17-9 lead over Nansemond River. The second quarter was relatively slow for both teams, as Salem outscored Nansemond River 9-4, giving them a 26-13 lead at the half. Salem further increased their lead in the third quarter, giving them a 39-22 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Nansemond River had their strongest quarter in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough. The Lady Warriors were shorthanded without Daijah Norris, a vital starter for the team inside. Without her presence, the Lady Warriors weren’t able to exploit the matchups they originally wanted to do.

“We had a starter out, so it kind of made us a different team than we wanted to be,” Mason said. “At this point of the season you want to be at full strength, and we weren’t.”

Despite the loss, the Lady Warriors enjoyed a successful season where they finished first in the conference. In two years, the Lady Warriors have two conference losses. They also had four players on all-conference teams. Mason liked the way his team continued to work hard to have a successful season.

“There was never a doubt about their commitment to be better,” Mason said. “We started out great and hit a stretch in the middle where we didn’t play well, and we got it back together again. I’m happy with how they approached the game.”

Nansemond River will graduate four seniors this year, and Mason commended them on their commitment to the program all season. Briana Autrey, a first-team Conference 10 player, will headline players returning next season for the Lady Warriors.