Opponents:
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

TWO GAMES, TWO DAYS CAPS OFF THREE-GAME WEEK FOR SPIRITS
The Salem basketball team opens February with a two-game in two-day stretch when it hosts Pfeiffer and Mary Baldwin on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Salem will look to avenge a recent 65-58 setback to the Falcons at 5 p.m., before facing Mary Baldwin for the first time this season on Saturday at 2 p.m.

GRAB YOUR POPCORN...
Members of the Salem Academy & College faculty and staff are encouraged to come out and support the Spirits this weekend. There will be popcorn available (beginning at 1:30 p.m.) thanks to Salem's Rosa Otero. 

SALEM CLOSES OUT JANUARY WITH ROAD SETBACKS TO GREENSBORO, METHODIST
at Greensboro (January 27): Greensboro used a 25-point fourth quarter outburst, overcoming a 43-37 deficit entering the frame, and earned a 62-56 victory over Salem when the two teams clashed at Hanes Gym in a USA South Conference contest.

Salem collected 44 of its 56 points from the trio of Dionne Sampson (19), Nykerah Engle (15) and Cristina Battistini (10). Sampson was not only active as a scorer, but also in the paint with seven rebounds, while Engle forced six steals and Battistini provided three rebounds and two steals. Sampson finished off her afternoon by hitting 8-of-20 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the line. Engle picked up 11 of her points at the charity stripe, where she was successful on 11-of-12 attempts. Battistini converted 5-of-6 at the free throw line.

The trio helped the Spirits to finish 16-of-53 (30.2%) from the floor and 22-of-28 (78.6%) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Greensboro countered with 19 field goals and 22-of-31 (71%) at the free throw line in the contest. The two teams were separated by just eight rebounds, with Greensboro holding a 45-37 edge. The biggest statistical discrepancy came in fast break points, where The Pride accounted for 24 points compared to Salem's 10, along with 9-0 edge in second chance points.

at Methodist (January 30): 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.

COUNTING DOWN TO 1,000 IN 3, 2, 1 …
Dionne Sampson heads into the weekend needing just three points to become the fourth player in Salem basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark in their career. 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 two came with a 25-point effort against Brevard (Dec. 2) and a 21-point outing versus Ferrum (Dec. 15).

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 capped off January with three 20-point outings, the most of any one month this season.

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 January 23rd, 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).

SPIRITS MAKING THE IMPACT ON THE LINEUP IN 2023-24
Dionne Sampson has been the catalyst to the Salem offense this season with a team-best 322 points through 19 games. Sampson leads all Spirits in field goals made (111) and free throws made (89), while knocking down 11 3-pointers along the way.

With her 322 points, a single-season career-high, Sampson becomes the seventh different player in program history to notch at least 300 points in a single season in program history.

Alize Munn, who has missed the last six games due to injury, is second on the unit in points with 202. Meanwhile, Nykerah Engle ranks third with 146 points, followed by Cree Bass (136) and Ti'Erra Lee (136). Bass is the top 3-point shooter on the unit with 29 conversions, while Lee is second in rebounding with 93 (57 defensive). Lee trails Munn by five total rebounds for most on the unit.

Defensively, the backcourt tandem of Engle and Sampson lead the way in steals, with 53 and 49, respectively. Meanwhile, Munn has a team-best 13 blocked shots.

LOOKING FOR EIGHTH OVERALL WIN
Salem head coach Sharee' Boyd returns to Varsity Gym for the first time since taking on Meredith on February 23rd and looks to guide her squad to 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 person to coach 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.

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.

BREAKING DOWN PFEIFFER IN 2023-24
Pfeiffer (4-13, 3-10 USA South) and Salem lock horns for the second time in a 13-day span when the two clash on Friday afternoon at Varsity Gym. The Falcons have gone 0-3 since posting a 65-58 win over Salem, dropping games to Greensboro (67-61), Methodist (55-45) and Brevard (64-54) in succession.

The Falcons are 1-8 on the road this season and close out the road portion of their 2023-24 regular season schedule this weekend by facing both the Spirits and N.C. Wesleyan.

Hannah Isley is one of four players on the roster with at least 100 points, scoring 172 on the campaign. Isley has knocked down 63 field goals, including four from beyond the arc, and has been successful on 42-of-60 free throws on the season. Leading the team in field goals made, with 64, is Alexis Bynum, who has 169 points to her credit. Bynum is also an efficient 3-point shooter with 15, while adding 26 free throws.

The top marksman for the Falcons is Kenadie Hudler, who has 23 on the season. On the glass, Lola Cabaniss-Ali leads the way with 124, including 61 on the offensive glass. She also accounts for 25 steals, nine short of leader Miya Horton. Isley is also among the top defenders with 14 blocks on the season.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Pfeiffer)

BREAKING DOWN MARY BALDWIN IN 2023-24
Mary Baldwin (2-18, 1-12 USA South) will face Salem for the first time on Saturday when the two meet at Varsity Gym at 2 p.m. The Fighting Squirrels are on a 13-game losing streak, which began with a 64-57 setback to Greensboro on December 9th.

The lone victory in USA South Conference play came against Pfeiffer (38-37) on December 2nd in Misenheimer, N.C. That was one of two road victories for the Fighting Squirrels in 2023-24, who also took down Hood on November 11th by a 55-51 margin.

The trio of Aryauna Brent (253 points), A'Cetta Farrait (238) and Codie Heilig (217) lead the Fighting Squirrels' offense, which has tallied 1,022 points on the season. Brent leads all scorers with 91 field goals, while Farrait has the most 3-point field goal conversions with 24. Heilig rounds out the trio's contributions with a team-best 63 free throw conversions.

Gianna Gilmore tops all Mary Baldwin players in rebounds (147), grabbing 100 on the defensive end. Meanwhile, the duo of Farrait and Brent are tied for most steals, with 31, and Farrait leads the way with six blocked shots.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Mary Baldwin)