Site:
Fayetteville, N.C.

Score:
Methodist 67, Salem 46

Records:
Salem (7-12, 3-9 USA South) / Methodist (14-5, 11-1 USA South)

Next Games:
Pfeiffer at Salem | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 5 p.m. | February 2 | Varsity Gym
Mary Baldwin at Salem | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 2 p.m. | February 3 | Varsity Gym

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Methodist used an all-around performance, which resulted in 13 players notching at least one point, along with a 12-point outing from Jillian Peterson to claim its 14th victory of the season by 67-46 margin over Salem on Tuesday evening at the March F. Riddle Center.

The Monarchs capitalized on 39 bench points, including the aforementioned 12 from Peterson and 11 from teammate Arriana White, to pick up their 11th USA South Conference win of the slate. Collectively, Methodist hit 27-of-68 (39.7%) from the floor, 9-of-13 (69.2%) at the free throw line to go along with four 3-pointers.

Meanwhile, Salem was led in double figures by Dionne Sampson and Aliyah Corpening, who tallied 15 and 13, respectively. Sampson, who moved within three points of 1,000 in her career, finished 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-3 at the free throw line. Corpening finished one point shy of her single-game season-high by virtue of hitting four field goals and 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. She also came through with five rebounds, one shy of team leader Cristina Battistini.

Anayah Noell was also active on the glass with five boards, while teammate Ti'Erra Lee finished with six off the bench for Salem. The Spirits converted 17 field goals in the contest, while knocking down 11-of-17 (64.7%) at the free throw line.

FIRST QUARTER
Battistini provided Salem with the early 3-0 lead and Nykerah Engle converted a layup of her own to stretch the margin to 5-2 early in the first quarter. Peterson led the rally for Methodist, which took its first lead of the game on a layup with 4:41 left in the frame. With the Spirits facing a 12-7 deficit, Engle and Isabella Childs answered with buckets, resulting in a 16-11 deficit at the close of the quarter. Engle lead all Spirits in scoring with four points, as Salem was 5-of-11 from the floor.

SECOND QUARTER
Methodist opened the second by scoring four of the first six points, stretching the lead to 20-13, before a series from Corpening coupled with a Lee jumper sliced the deficit to 20-17 just 2:10 into the quarter. Triana Smallwood kept the Salem offense going with a free throw and Sampson added a layup of her own at the 5:34 mark as the Spirits cut the margin to 22-20. Methodist would head to the intermission with a seven-point lead, following a 9-2 run to close the quarter.

THIRD QUARTER
Both teams came out with a strong performance in the third quarter with Salem hitting 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the field and Methodist scoring 23 points in the frame. The Monarchs scored the first five points of the quarter, stretching their lead to 34-22, as part of a 14-2 run that carried over from the waning stages of the second quarter. Salem cut the lead to 10 with a Lee conversion, but Jessica Drake followed with free throws to make for a 36-24 advantage. Corpening scored four straight points and Sampson knifed through the lane for a bucket of her own as the Spirits trimmed the lead to 36-32 with 5:24 left. Methodist countered with a 7-0 run, moving in front by 11, but it was the combination of Sampson and Lee that helped Salem narrow the deficit to 50-37 through three quarters.

FOURTH QUARTER
After a hot-shooting third quarter, the Salem offense managed just one field in the fourth quarter that was highlighted by seven free throw conversions. Sampson led all Spirits with four points, hitting two free throws along the way, while Methodist's starters accounted for 11 of the team's 15 fourth quarter points. The regular season sweep moves the head-to-head record to 17-6 for the Monarchs.