Opponent:
Salem at Greensboro | Greensboro, N.C. | 2 p.m. | January 27 | Hanes Gym

THREE GAMES IN SEVEN-DAY STRETCH
After facing Meredith on Tuesday evening, Salem heads to both Greensboro (Jan. 27) and Methodist (Jan. 30) in search of two more road wins this season as the Spirits look to improve on their 7-10 overall mark and 3-7 record in the USA South Conference. The Spirits begin their quest for their eighth victory at Greensboro on Saturday afternoon.

MEREDITH STAVES OFF SALEM'S FOURTH QUARTER COMEBACK
Meredith held off a 21-point fourth quarter surge by Salem, which resulted in Dionne Sampson closing with 22 points and Isabella Childs adding 11, to earn a 67-60 USA South Conference victory at Varsity Gym on Tuesday evening in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Trailing by 10 points, 49-39, heading into the final quarter, Lee opened scoring with a free throw. The lead quickly dwindled to six, following a 3-pointer from Sampson less than one minute into the quarter. Sampson would eventually trim the margin to four, 49-45, at the 8:30 mark. Just over three minutes later, Sampson calmly knocked down two free throw to make for a 51-48 contest.

Defenisvely rebounding, coupled with three points from Lee, brought the game to a climatic 51-51 tie. Carriere broke the deadlock with a layup and the Avenging Angels added buckets in succession from Ray and Carriere in succession to extend the margin to 61-54 with just under two minutes left. Salem would eventually pull to within four, 63-59, on a Sampson jumper with 52 seconds remaining. Meredith would score four of the final five points to complete the seven-point victory.

The Avenging Angels, who were led in scoring by Danika Ray (18) and Piper Carriere (13), finished 27-of-60 (45%) from the field and were 13-of-28 (46.4%) at the charity stripe. Danika was efficient throughout the course of the game, knocking down 8-of-13 from the floor, while Piper converted 6-of-12 from the field. Piper also made five free throws in eight trips to the line. The biggest difference for the Avenging Angels came in the paint, where they owned a 32-12 advantage along with an 18-5 lead in points in the paint.

Salem's offensive catalyst was Sampson, who drove home 22 points after hitting 8-of-14 from the floor, knocking down three 3-pointers along the way, and converting three free throws. Childs provided a lift off the bench with 11 points and three rebounds. The Spirits, who were 20-of-53 (37.7%) from the floor and 4-of-6 (66.7%) from beyond the arc, also got a solid all-around performance from Ti'Erra Lee. Lee delivered nine points, while grabbing seven rebounds (six offensive), to go along with two blocks.

MUNN WITH THREE DOUBLE-DOUBLE PERFORMANCES IN 2023-24
Senior Alize Munn has been the only player to deliver a double-double performance in the 2023-24 campaign for Salem.

Munn has three double-double outings to her credit. Her first came as part of a 17-point, 14-rebound performance against Trinity (D.C.), resulting in a 69-62 victory. She followed that by having 27 points and 10 rebounds in the clash with Agnes Scott, also marking a Salem win (72-54).

That capped off an impressive three-game stretch where she scored 68 points and grabbed 33 rebounds by earning USA South Player of the Week honors in an announcement from the league office on Monday, November 20th.

Munn was instrumental in helping the Spirits start a season 3-0 for the first time in program history, hitting 29-of-49 (59.2%) from the floor and 10-of-12 (83.3%) at the charity stripe. She also climbed the glass for 33 rebounds, including 15 offensive boards, while forcing 10 steals and finishing with two blocked shots during that three-game stretch.

Munn's most recent double-double against William Peace, which came on January 10th, placed her in unique company at Salem. She became the seventh player in program history to notch a double-double as part of a 30-point outing. Munn climbed the glass for 14 rebounds, tying William Peace's Tanesha Ellison for the game-high in that category.

With that double-double, Munn was the sixth Spirit to have a double-double by virtue of points and rebounds in a 30-point outing and the seventh player in program history to amass a double-double as part of her 30-point performance. Dionne Sampson is the only Spirit to have a double-double by virtue of points and assists in a 30-point effort.

SAMPSON MAKING HUGE IMPACT ON SALEM LINEUP
Graduate senior guard Dionne Sampson is making a huge mark on the Salem lineup, where she has accrued 288 total points, 67 rebounds, 47 assists and 41 steals on the season. She is one of just two Spirits, along with Alize Munn, with at least 200 points, while Cree Bass is third on the unit with 134 points.

Sampson has not only converted the most field goals (97), but she has also knocked down a team-best 84 free throws in 2023-24. While she has the most assists on the unit, she trails Nykerah Engle in total steals by just five.

With 16 double-digit point performances in 17 contests this season, Sampson has strategically moved herself to 963 points in her career. The only opponent to hold her shy of double figures was Montreat, who limited the Burlington, N.C., native to six points.

Sampson, who entered the season with 675 points to her credit, needs just 37 points to become the fourth different scorer with 1,000 points at Salem. The others include Sabrina Shepherd (1,493), Quntashea Lewis (1,208) and MiKayla Seivers (1,126).

This season, Sampson has reached the 20-point plateau on five occasions. The first came with a 25-point effort against Brevard (Dec. 2) and a 21-point outing versus Ferrum (Dec. 15). Earlier this month, Sampson notched back-to-back 20-point games on January 6th and January 10th and sparked the Spirits to consecutive wins along the way.

She came through with 27 points against Greensboro, as Salem claimed the second league victory of the season. Four days later, Sampson scored 24 points at William Peace in the 12-point Spirits' victory. The Burlington, N.C., native delivered her fifth 20-point outing of 2023-24 against Meredith on Tuesday evening, when she converted 8-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the free throw line in a 22-point performance.

Sampson has notched at least 20 points on nine occasions in her Salem career, including a career-best 30, which came against William Peace on February 12, 2022. Last season, Sampson also delivered three 20-point scoring efforts, which came against Mary Baldwin (22 | Jan. 25), Meredith (24 | Feb. 11) and Greensboro (21 | Feb. 21).

LOOKING FOR EIGHTH OVERALL WIN
Salem head coach Sharee' Boyd takes her team to Greensboro in search of the eighth win in the 2023-24 season. It would mark the first time since 2017-18 that the Spirits have at least eight wins in a single season.

The last coach to guide Salem to at least eight wins was Britni Mohney, who delivered 10 wins in 2017-18. Two years earlier, in 2015-16, Mohney and the Spirits won nine games after Mohney collected eight wins in her first year at the helm of the program in 2014-15.

ANALYZING GREENSBORO THROUGHOUT 2023-24
The Spirits heads into Saturday clash against The Pride looking to earn the first regular season sweep of Greensboro in program history. The opportunity presents itself after Salem earned an 88-64 victory against Greensboro on January 6th at Varsity Gym.

Greensboro is 3-14 overall this season and with all three of those victories coming in USA South Conference action. Furthermore, The Pride have picked up two of those wins in front of a raucous Hanes Gym crowd.

The most recent win for The Pride came against Pfeiffer on Tuesday evening, which came by a score of 67-61. It marked the second win of the last three games for Greensboro, who downed Mary Baldwin (63-58) on January 17th.

Azuria Barrino has sparked the Greensboro offensive attack this season with a team-high 178 points, hitting 73-of-206 field goal attempts while knocking down 32-of-50 at the free throw line, both team highs. She has 104 rebounds (67 defensive) to her credit, five off the pace established by teammate Kensie Harris.

The top 3-point shooter for Greensboro's lineup is Tamera Hooker, who is 14-of-74 from beyond the arc. Teammate Nataya Atwater has also reached double-digit 3-pointers (10) on the slate.

Salem vs. Greensboro Recap (Jan. 6): Dionne Sampson exploded for a season-high 27 points, hitting 9-of-14 from the floor and converting 8-of-9 free throws in the process, while teammates Cree Bass and Alize Munn added 16 and 10 points, respectively, to help Salem halt a 15-game losing skid against Greensboro with an 88-64 victory over their USA South Conference rivals at Varsity Gym on Saturday afternoon.

Sampson, who has reached double figures in 10 of 11 contests this season, led a Salem lineup that finished 30-of-61 (49.2%) from the floor. By virtue of hitting 49.2 percent from the floor, that ties for the third-best shooting performance by a Spirits squad in a USA South opponent in program history. The last time that this took place was against Brevard on December 3, 2022, where Salem also hit 49.2 percent.

Bass reached double figures by hitting 6-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long distance, in 27 minutes off the bench. Munn, who led all Spirits in rebounding with eight, delivered her eight double-digit scoring performance of the campaign by virtue of hitting 4-of-9 from the floor and two free throws.

The Spirits also received solid outings from Nykerah Engle, who tallied nine points and six rebounds, and Lily Gorum, who posted five rebounds. Ti'Erra Lee capped off the game with eight points in reserve, as did Aliyah Corpening.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Greensboro)