WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem basketball team begins the home portion of its 2021-22 schedule on Saturday, November 13th, when the Spirits host Virginia Wesleyan at Varsity Gym in a 1 p.m. contest. The Spirits are looking to open the home slate with a victory for the first time since November 15, 2017, when they downed Hollins by an 87-46 margin in Winston-Salem.

SPECTATOR POLICY REMINDER: All non-Salem faculty/staff/students will need to show a vaccination card or a negative test within 72 hours of the event.

DONATE A CANNED ITEM: The holidays are a time to give thanks and appreciate the blessings in one's life. The members of the USA South Athletic Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) realized that not everyone is as fortunate as they are and wanted to do something to help make it a happier holiday in their communities, thus Cans Across the Conference was initiated in 2004.

SAAC organized the canned food drive as a community service competition amongst the institutions in the USA South. Each campus SAAC collected cans and other non-perishable items at their school to benefit a local charity. It was up to each institution to decide how they wanted to collect and to which group the donation would go. The institution with the most items collected would be crowned the Cans Across the Conference Champion.

The Salem basketball team and Salem College SAAC is asking those in attendance at the game to donate two non-perishable food items, donated to local food pantries, to assist in these efforts.

SPIRITS OPEN SEASON WEDNESDAY AT RANDOLPH: Kylie Stark was responsible for a game-high 14 points while teammates Natalie Clark (13) and Cierra Cook (10) reached double figures to help lead Randolph to a 62-37 win over Salem on Wednesday, November 10th in Lynchburg, Va. It marked the fifth straight win in the head-to-head series for the Wildcats, who also improved to 3-0 on the season.

Salem (0-1) was led offensively by the duo of Tyler Davenport and Dionne Sampson, who finished with 10 and nine points, respectively. Davenport reached double figures after hitting 2-of-5 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Sampson converted a team-high four field goals, including one from beyond the arc.

Lauren Privette led the Spirits in rebounding with seven, grabbing six defensive boards along the way. Davenport and Tamsi Echendu were also active on the glass with six rebounds apiece. Defensively, Davenport and Kyana Thomas forced two steals for Salem.

THIRD ALL-TIME MEETING WITH VIRGINIA WESLEYAN: Saturday's game marks the third all-time meeting between the Spirits and Virginia Wesleyan. The two teams last meet in the 2015 calendar year with the Marlins posting an 85-71 win in the first-ever meeting on January 6, 2015. In November of that year, Virginia Wesleyan made its first and only trip to Salem, defeating the Spirits by a 67-59 margin.

Virginia Wesleyan enters the weekend with an 0-1 mark after suffering an 80-54 setback to Salisbury. The Marlins were led on offense by the tandem of Imani Felton (15 points) and Celeste Rucker (11), while Adaje Williams controlled the glass with 15 rebounds.

Felton knocked down 5-of-13 field goals, including two from 3-point range, while Rucker converted 4-of-10 field goals and was successful on two free throws. Williams hauled in nine defensive boards and also came through with a pair of blocks in the loss.

All-Time Series (vs. Virginia Wesleyan)
Marlins lead series 2-0