March 04, 2014

Indianapolis, IN-The Salem College basketball team will travel to Thomas More in Kentucky for the first round of the NCAA DIII NCAA Tournament. The Spirits, led by Great South Player of the Year, Satavia Taylor (Chicago, IL), will take on the Saints on Friday at 7:00. Salem defeated Pine Manor, 82-72, in the Great South Championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Taylor is averaging 23.4 points per game, which ranks her in the top ten in the nation. Taylor also is averaging 9.2 rebounds per game. She is joined by Jasmine Shabazz (Buffalo, NY), who earned her second straight Great South All-Conference honors. Shabazz is averaging 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. Quntashea Lewis (Hartford, CT) had a very impressive GSAC Tournament for Salem. She averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two games in the tournament.

Salem is currently 21-4 for the season. They have been blowing out their competition all season long. They average 76.4 points per game this season, and they have been holding their opponents to 50.4 points per game for a margin of 26 points. The Spirits are 9-2 on the road this season.

The Saints (28-0) earned the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament after winning their eighth-straight PAC Championship Tournament.

If Salem gets by the Saints, they will take on the winner of the John Carroll Blue Streaks and Texas Lutheran Bulldogs.

The Blue Streaks (21-4) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as they were the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular-season co-champions, but fell in the conference tournament semifinals.

The Bulldogs (23-5) earned the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) automatic bid to the NCAA Touranament after winning the SCAC Tournament.