Opponents:
Salem at Mary Baldwin | Staunton, Va. | 5 p.m. | February 14 | Physical Activities Center
Salem at Brevard | Brevard, N.C. | 2 p.m. | February 17 | Boshamer Gym

SPIRITS CONCLUDE 2023-24 REGULAR SEASON ON THE ROAD
The Salem basketball team wraps up the 2023-24 regular season with a pair of road contests at Mary Baldwin (February 14) and Brevard (February 17).

WATCHING THE SCOREBOARD AS THE STANDINGS SHUFFLE
Salem will be paying close attention to the scoreboard this week as the Spirits are in a battle for eighth in the USA South Conference standings with Pfeiffer.

Both teams sit 4-12 in the league standings are jockeying to land the No. 8 seed in the 2024 USA South Conference Tournament. Pfeiffer has an advantage in the head-to-head series with the Spirits this season, earning a 65-58 win in Misenheimer, N.C., on January 20th and a 65-56 victory against Salem on February 2nd.

The Spirits and the Falcons will also be watching the outcomes from Southern Virginia and Methodist as well. Southern Virginia enters the week with No. 1 seed, owning a 16-1 record in league play, while Methodist is second with a 15-1 mark.

THREE SALEM SENIORS CLOSE OUT LAST HOME GAME AT VARSITY GYM
Salem received a pair of double-double performances from Cree Bass (12 points / 10 rebounds) and Isabella Childs (21 points / 12 rebounds), but it was a 38-point outing from William Peace's Tanaesha Ellison that proved to be the difference as the Pacers edged out Salem 87-84 on Senior Day.

Bass closed out her final game at Varsity Gym by hitting 4-of-17 from the field, knocking down three 3-pointers along the way, while hauling in 10 rebounds, including nine defensive. Meanwhile, Childs came off the bench to score 21 points by virtue of hitting 9-of-19 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. Childs grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, pulling down eight defensive, as Salem closed the game with 56 total rebounds (41 defensive).

Dionne Sampson, who competed in her last regular season game at home, closed with 18 points by virtue of hitting 7-of-19 from the field, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, while knocking down 2-of-2 free throw attempts. Sampson was also responsible for five assists, a team-high.

Salem finished 35-of-83 (42.2%) from the field, including six field goals from beyond the arc, while converting 8-of-13 at the charity stripe.

Ellison, one of three Pacers to reach double figures, finished 14-of-26 from the field and was successful on a pair of 3-pointers. She also knocked down 8-of-12 at the free throw line, leading the way for a William Peace unit that converted 17-of-30 trips to the charity stripe. Joining Ellison in double-digit scoring was Nautica Smiley (18) and Hannah Lewis (16). Ellison also made her presence felt on the glass with 12 boards, grabbing nine defensive rebounds along the way.

William Peace assistant coach Sabrina Shepherd, who finished her career as Salem's all-time leading scorer, claimed her first win in the absence of Lori Drake.

NEWEST MEMBER OF THE CLUB
With a 10-point performance against Pfeiffer on February 2nd, Dionne Sampson now etched her name among Salem basketball's elite scorers by becoming the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Sampson, who reached the milestone in the second quarter against the Falcons, joined Sabrina Shepherd (1,493), Quntashea Lewis (1,208) and MiKayla Seivers (1,126) as the only players in program history with 1,000 points.

With two regular season contests remaining and potentially one USA South Conference Tournament contest for Salem at least on the docket, Sampson needs just 66 points to tie Seivers for third-most points in school history.

HOW SAMPSON REACHED 1,000 IN 2023-24
This season, Sampson has reached the 20-point plateau on six 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's most recent 20-point outing came when her team needed her the most—in a clash with Mary Baldwin on Saturday, February 3rd. She finished 8-of-22 from the floor, converting a trio of 3-pointers along the way, and knocked down 5-of-8 at the charity stripe to tally 24 points against the Fighting Squirrels. The eight-point win helped Salem earn its fourth league win of the campaign and put the Spirits in a three-way tie alongside William Peace and Pfeiffer for seventh in the USA South Conference Tournament.

Sampson has notched at least 20 points on 10 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).

TWO TIMES THE DOUBLE DOUBLES
For the 25th time in Salem basketball history and the first time since February 12, 2022, the Spirits had at least two players notch a double-double in the same contest. It took place when Cree Bass and Isabella Childs both delivered double-double performances in the regular season home finale against William Peace on Saturday.

Bass finished off her final home game at Salem by scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Childs delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in reserve.

Salem has now seen at least two players notch a double-double in the same contest by virtue by a combination of points, assists and rebounds in program history. On five occasions, three players have combined for double-doubles in the same game by points, assists or rebounds.

SPIRITS MAKING THE IMPACT ON THE LINEUP IN 2023-24
Dionne Sampson has put together one of the best performances in Salem basketball lore, notching the ninth-most points (385) in program history as she leads the team in 2023-24.

Sampson has scored her points from a variety of ways, leading the team in field goals (135) and free throws (99) made, while converting the second-most 3-pointers (16) on the unit.

With her 385 points, a single-season career-high, Sampson is the seventh different player in program history to notch at least 300 points at least twice in a single season in program history. She needs just 15 points to become the fifth different player in school history to score at least 400 points in a season.

The other five players to score at least 400 points in a single season in Salem history are: Quntashea Lewis (539), Satavia Taylor (517), Sabrina Shepherd (493, 490) and MiKayla Seivers (412).

Alize Munn, who has missed the nine eight games due to injury, is second on the unit in points with 202. Nykerah Engle ranks third on the unit in points with 173, two more than teammate Cree Bass, who has accounted for 171. Bass is the top 3-point shooter on the unit with 37 conversions

Ti'Erra Lee leads the unit in rebounding with 113 (58 defensive), followed by Munn (98 rebounds) and Lily Gorum, who has hauled in 97 rebounds (62 defensive).

Defensively, the backcourt tandem of Engle and Sampson lead the way in steals. Engle has three more steals (63) than Sampson on the slate. Meanwhile, Munn has a team-best 13 blocked shots.

LOOKING FOR NINTH OVERALL WIN
Salem head coach Sharee' Boyd picked up her eighth win of the season on Saturday, February 3rd, when the Spirits emerged with a 70-62 win over Mary Baldwin. That victory marked 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.

BREAKING DOWN MARY BALDWIN & BREVARD THIS SEASON
MARY BALDWIN: Mary Baldwin has faced just one team—Meredith—since squaring off against Salem on February 3rd. The Fighting Squirrels suffered a 56-42 setback at Meredith on Saturday, February 10th.

A'Cetta Farrait led the way for Mary Baldwin with 20 points, finishing 8-of-16 from the floor and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. She also came through with nine rebounds, tying the team-high with Gianna Gilmore. Farrait is still tops among scorers on the season with 270 points, while Codie Heilig is second with 256 and Aryauna Brent with 253.

Recap vs. Fighting Squirrels (Feb. 3, 2024): Dionne Sampson posted a game-high 24 points, topping the 20-point margin for the sixth time this season, as Salem earned its third home win of the season by a 70-62 margin over Mary Baldwin.

Sampson capped off a solid two-game in two-day performance to finish 8-of-22 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc in the eight-point victory over the Fighting Squirrels. Sampson also came through with eight steals, four rebounds and three assists, all while hitting 5-of-8 at the free throw line.

Nykerah Engle also reached double figures, finishing with 10 points after knocking down 3-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 at the free throw line. Ti'Erra Lee led the Spirits in the paint with 11 rebounds, hauling in seven on the defensive glass, while Engle added six and Lily Gorum came through with five.

Salem was 22-of-73 (30.1%) from the field and 20-of-35 (57.1%) at the free throw line. The Spirits knocked down six of their 22 field goals from 3-point range.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Mary Baldwin)

BREVARD: The Spirits met Brevard for the second contest of the USA South Conference slate.

The Tornados are 15-7 overall and 10-6 in USA South Conference play in 2023-24, owning an 8-3 mark at Boshamer Gym. Brevard is locked into fourth in the league standings and with two wins and two N.C. Wesleyan losses could move into third.

Josie Hester leads all Tornado scorers with 230 points, hitting 83 field goals and a team-best 43 3-pointers over the course of the season. Teammate Olivia Miller is the only player on the unit with 100 field goals, hitting 104-of-199 (52.3%) from the field.

Miller also leads the way in rebounds (101), notching one more than Chyna Pouncey. Lexi Shepard tops the lineup with 74 assists and 39 steals.

Recap vs. Tornados (Dec. 2, 2023): Senior guard Dionne Sampson poured in a game-high 25 points, hitting eight field goals and a trio of 3-pointers in the process, but it was the Brevard duo of Olivia Miller and Makenna Parkins, who combined for 31 points, that proved to be the difference as the visiting Tornados emerged with 66-46 victory in Varsity Gym.

Sampson led the way with 25 points, converting 8-of-17 from the floor and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, while knocking down all six free throws. Teammate Alize Munn added eight points, finishing with three points and two free throws, while adding four steals, three rebounds and two blocked shots. Nykerah Engle came through with six points and two rebounds to round out the top Salem scorers.

The Spirits struggled to find their offensive rhythm in their second USA South Conference game of the season, hitting just 14-of-47 (29.8%) from the floor and 3-of-13 (23.1%) at the free throw line. The one bright spot for Salem was hitting 15-of-24 (62.5%) free throws.

Olivia Miller was the top scorer for the Tornados, closing with 16 points by virtue of 7-of-13 shooting, grabbing nine rebounds (seven defensive) along the way. Parkins tallied 15 points, while equaling her teammate in total rebounds, hitting 6-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the charity stripe.

Brevard finished 26-of-56 (46.4%) from the floor, despite missing all eight 3-point attempts, and knocked down 14-of-20 (70%) at the free throw line.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Brevard)