Opponent:
Salem vs. Brevard | Saturday, Dec. 2 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Varsity Gym | 2 p.m.

SECOND HOME GAME IN FOUR-DAY STRETCH
After winning four road games during a seven-day stretch, which spanned from November 14th through November 21st, the Salem basketball team opened up the 2023-24 home schedule with a 74-72 triumph over Bob Jones on Thursday evening. Salem will look to stretch its winning streak to six games, two at home, when the Spirits host Brevard at 2 p.m. in a USA South Conference clash.

HOW SALEM GOT TO 5-0 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY
For the first time in Salem basketball history the Spirits have opened a season with five consecutive wins.

Salem began the season with a 75-69 victory over Warren Wilson on November 14th. The Spirits quickly followed that triumph with a 69-62 win over Trinity (D.C.) in the All-Women's Tip-Off Tournament in Roanoke, Va.

The Spirits moved their record to 3-0 for the first time in program history following a decisive 72-54 victory against Agnes Scott in the second day of the All-Women's Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Hollins.

The record moved to 4-0 on Tuesday, November 21st, when Salem posted a 65-53 win at Meredith to begin USA South Conference play.

The streak reached five straight contests as Salem used its offensive rebounding prowess to hold Bob Jones scoreless for the last minute of play, while grabbing three offensive boards, to secure the 74-72 win on Thursday, November 28th.

SPIRITS STREAKS TO FIVE, DOWNING BOB JONES
Senior Alize Munn scored a team-high 17 points, hitting seven field goals along the way, to lead Salem to a 5-0 start with a 74-72 win in the home opener over Bob Jones on Tuesday evening at Varsity Gym.

Munn, who topped the double-digit mark for the fourth time this season, returned to the lineup and was 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. She also climbed the glass for six rebounds. Teammate Dionne Sampson emerged with 16 points, knocking down 6-of-12 from the floor, along with all four free throws.

Aliyah Corpening and Nykerah Engle rounded out double-digit scoring for Salem with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Corpening finished 7-of-10 from the floor, while Engle was successful on 4-of-11 field goals along with five free throws in the victory.

Cree Bass came off the bench to notch six points and five rebounds, while Lily Gorum hauled in a team-high seven board, five on the defensive glass.

Trailing 42-37 at the intermission, Salem came through with a 28-point third quarter that was highlighted by nine points from Engle. Engle was 3-of-4 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 at the charity stripe, while Sampson added eight points of her own, sparking the Spirits to 65-62 lead at the close of the frame.

Salem managed to overcome a difficult shooting first half to finish 11-of-17 (64.7%) from the floor, while holding the Bruins to nine field goals in the process.

With momentum on its side, Salem Engle and Corpening helped push the lead to four in the early stages of the fourth. Munn and Bass connected on shots of their own to help the Spirits offense down the stretch.

Salem held onto its two-point lead inside the final minute of action, grabbing three offensive boards to secure the first 5-0 start in program history.

SECOND LONGEST WINNINGEST STREAK
The 2023-24 team has not only established the best start through four games in program history, but it has also moved itself into a three-way tie for the second-longest winning streak in school history.

The current Spirits have equaled both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 units for the fourth-longest winning streak (five games) in program history.

The next longest winning streak after that belongs to the 2013-14 team, which rattled off a program-best 16 wins from November 23, 2013 through January 30, 2014 under then head coach Anita Howard.

SALEM ALL-TIME WINNING STREAKS

SAMPSON, SPIRITS MAKING THEIR MARKS EARLY IN 2023-24
Through the first five games of the season the Spirits have had two double-double performances, both from senior Alize Munn, along with Dionne Sampson moving her career totals to over 700 points.

Munn became the first player in the 2023-24 campaign to notch a double-double, which came as part of a 17-point, 14-rebound performance against Trinity (D.C.). She followed that by having 27 points and 10 rebounds in the clash with Agnes Scott.

Sampson, who entered the season with 675 points to her credit, has scored 76 points in the first five games of the season. With 751 points in her career, including five double-digit performances in 2023-24, Sampson needs just 249 points to reach 1,000 in her career. She would become the fourth different Spirit to reach that milestone. The others include Sabrina Shepherd (1,493), Quntashea Lewis (1,208) and MiKayla Seivers (1,126).

SPIRITS OPEN USA SOUTH SLATE WITH VICTORY AT MEREDITH
For the first time in six years the Salem basketball team opened its USA South Conference schedule with a victory and coincidentally extended the program's best start to open a season to 4-0. The 65-53 triumph on Tuesday evening came at league rival Meredith, the same program that the Spirits defeated on November 26, 2017, when Salem last started USA South Conference play 1-0 in the 2017-18 campaign.

Fifth-year senior guard Dionne Sampson led the way for the Salem offense with a game-high 17 points, while Cree Bass poured in 11 points. Sampson was 6-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-7 at the charity stripe, while Bass came through with three field goals, including two from 3-point range, along with three free throws. Aliyah Corpening put together a solid outing for Salem with eight points, converting four at the charity stripe.

Ti'Erra Lee anchored the Salem post game with nine rebounds, grabbing six defensive boards, while adding seven points after hitting 3-of-6 from the floor. Corpening and Nykerah Engle were also active on the glass with five rebounds apiece. Engle also made her impact felt on defense with a game-high six steals.

Salem capped off its fourth win of the season by knocking down 22-of-60 (36.7%) from the floor and 2-of-8 (25%) at the free throw line. The Spirits hit 19-of-30 (63.3%) from the floor and held a 19-11 advantage in bench points. Salem's offense took advantage of 14 steals, outscoring Meredith 20-6 in fast break points.

SALEM ALL-TIME HISTORY WITH BREVARD
The Spirits will face Brevard for just the third time in program history on Saturday afternoon. The two teams first met on December 3, 2022, with the Tornados coming away with a 96-84 win in Brevard.

The return trip came on February 18, 2023, with the Tornados closing out a 66-54 win in Varsity Gym.

Recapping last game vs. Brevard (Feb. 18, 2023): Salem's Savanah Atkins put the finishing touches on her final appearance at Varsity Gym by scoring a career-high 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds, but it was Lexi Shepard's 21-point performance that helped Brevard earn a 66-52 victory over Salem in the regular season finale for the USA South Conference teams on Saturday, February 18th.

Atkins established her single-game career-high by finishing 5-of-6 from the floor, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, and knocking down a free throw. She was also active on the glass with seven rebounds, including three offensive.

Alize Munn was also integral to Salem with 12 rebounds, a single-game career-high, which included nine on the offensive glass. She delivered eight points, hitting four field goals along the way, to go along with two blocks.

BREAKING DOWN THE TORNADOS
Brevard saw its three-game winning streak come to an halt with a 71-59 setback to N.C. Wesleyan on Thursday evening. Prior to that the Tornados had claimed consecutive victories over Meredith (67-53), Warren Wilson (85-69) and Berry (63-62) from November 17 through November 21.

Brevard, which is 4-2 on the slate, has played just one away game in 2023-24, which came against Guilford. The Quakers emerged from that contest with a 78-65 win on November 16th.

Josie Hester leads all Brevard scorers through the first six games of the season, netting 81 points after hitting 30-of-72 (41.7%) from the floor along with a team-high 12 3-pointers. Hester, who is averaging 13.5 points per contest, also also grabbed 27 rebounds (21 defensive) and dished out 15 assists.

The most efficient shooter for Brevard through the first six games is Chyna Pouncey, who is 10-of-18 from the floor (55.6%) and 9-of-12 (75%) at the free throw line. Pounced has scored 23 points as a results.

Defensively, Olivia Miller leads all Tornados on the glass (37 rebounds) and is tied with Hester for most blocks on the unit with six. The trio of Hester, Makayla Street and Lexi Shepard have each forced a team-high 11 steals for Brevard in the first six contests.