February 19, 2013

Winston-Salem, NC-The Salem College basketball team is entering this weekend's Great South Tournament with their highest seeding ever. The Spirits will be the 2nd seeded team and will play Wesleyan on Friday at noon in the 1st quarterfinal game of the tournament hosted by Huntingdon. The Spirits are 2-0 against the Pioneers this season, with an 81-32 home win and a 79-24 road win.

The team tied with Agnes Scott as regular season runners-up, but they won a coin flip to earn the 2nd seed over the Scotties.  Huntingdon will be the 1st seed and Spelman is the 4th seed. If the Spirits get by the Pioneers in the quarterfinals, they will take on the winner of the Agnes Scott versus Trinity game on Saturday.

The Spirits, currently 15-10, are only one win short of equaling the most wins in school history for the basketball program. Satavia Taylor (Chicago, IL) leads Salem into the tournament averaging 17.5 points, 6 rebounds, 3.8 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game. Salem will also rely on Jasmine Shabazz (Buffalo, NY) who is averaging 10.8 points and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds. Shamaz Denerson (Atlanta, GA) and Amber Miller (Mebane, NC) will be playing in their last GSAC Tournament as the only seniors on the squad.

Salem split with the number one-seeded Hawks of Huntingdon in the regular season. Spelman and Pine Manor will be on the Hawks side of the bracket. The full bracket and links to the GSAC Tournament website and video portal are below:
http://www.huntingdonhawks.com/sports/wbkb/2012-13/2013GSAC