Site:
Rocky Mount, N.C.

Score:
N.C. Wesleyan 107, Salem 67

Records:
Salem (5-5, 1-2 USA South) / N.C. Wesleyan (4-6, 4-0 USA South)

Next Game:
Greensboro at Salem | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 2 p.m. | Varsity Gym | January 6, 2024

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Dorinda Jordan closed with a game-high 22 points, while Anya Hall added 20 as N.C. Wesleyan picked up its fourth USA South Conference victory and eighth straight in the head-to-head series with a 107-67 victory at Everett Gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon.

The game marked the second time in program history that an N.C. Wesleyan squad scored 100 points against the Spirits. The other came on February 2, 2020, when the Battling Bishops finished with 111 points. It is the 10th time in Salem basketball history that an opponent reached the century mark.

Salem was led offensively by senior Cree Bass, who finished 6-of-15 (40%) from the floor and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. She also grabbed six rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and forced one steal. Alize Munn joined Bass in double figures with 12 points, while grabbing a team-best 11 boards (six defensive) along the way to her third double-double of the campaign. Munn knocked down 5-of-7 from the floor and both free throws in the victory.

Dionne Sampson finished with 11 points, after converting 4-of-14 from the floor, to go along with three assists. Both Nykerah Engle and Cristina Battistini had solid efforts with eight and seven points, respectively. As did Ti'Erra Lee, who came through with five rebounds as she earned the starting nod for Salem.

Salem capped off the game by hitting 40 percent (26-of-65) from the field and was successful on nine free throws and six 3-pointers.

FIRST QUARTER
The Battling Bishops capitalized on 52.2 percent shooting, hitting 12-of-23 from the floor, to establish a 26-11 lead at the close of the first quarter. Bass broke a two-all tie with a 3-pointer inside the first minute, giving Salem a three-point advantage, but the Battling Bishops countered with an 11-0 run that was capped off by a layup from Corynthian Williams at the 4:50 mark. Lee and Aliyah Corpening helped Salem remain within striking distance, 16-9, with a series of buckets. Munn knocked down a jumper at the 3:02 mark, slicing the lead to 16-11, but N.C. Wesleyan closed out the frame on a 10-0 run.

SECOND QUARTER
Salem bounced back from a difficult shooting opening frame to convert 8-of-15 (53.3%) from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, but N.C. Wesleyan again delivered 25 points as the lead stood at 51-30 at the intermission. Lee delivered the first Salem points of the quarter before buckets by Sampson and Munn helped trim the margin to 28-17 at the 7:39 mark. Areina Harris capped off a 7-0 run for the Battling Bishops, who extended their lead to 18, but Munn answered with a pair of her own to make for a 37-24 margin just over four minutes later. A pair of 3-pointers from Bass marked the only points by Salem in a 14-6 N.C. Wesleyan run to close the half.

THIRD QUARTER
The Spirts enjoyed their first 20-point quarter of the afternoon in the third by virtue of seven field goals and two 3-pointers. N.C. Wesleyan picked up where it left off in the first half, scoring the first five points of the frame, but it was a pair of free throws by Battistini that got Salem on the board. Battistini followed with a 3-pointer of her own and Bass connected on a jumper to make for a 57-37 contest. Battistini continued her solid play with a jumper, following a Munn pass, at the 6:40 mark. At just over the halfway mark of the quarter, Salem's Engle hit two free throws to make for a 64-43 Battling Bishop lead. Engle followed that with a layup at 3:07, but the margin stood at 70-47. Dashe'na Hopkins converted the final field goal, a 3-pointer, as N.C. Wesleyan 78-50 entering the fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER
N.C. Wesleyan, which hit 49 percent (49-of-98) from the field for the contest, was 14-of-29 (48.3%) in the fourth quarter. With a 28-point lead, the Battling Bishops used a Hall bucket to score their 80th point. Engle countered with a conversion for the Spirits, while Bass drained a 3-pointer, to make for an 84-57 N.C. Wesleyan lead. Hall drove through the lane to extend the lead to 90-57 for the Battling Bishops. Bass came through with a trey and Munn added a layup, but N.C. Wesleyan extended its lead to 99-63 with 3:18 remaining. Hall put the Battling Bishops over the century mark with a bucket, while the defense allowed just four points over the remainder of the contest.