Salem vs. Virginia Wesleyan | November 19 | TowneBank Arena | Virginia Beach, Va. | 6 p.m.
Salem vs. Mary Washington | November 20 | TowneBank Arena | Virginia Beach, Va. | 2 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Salem sophomore Tamsi Echendu finished with a career-high 22 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds in an 82-57 non-conference setback to Randolph, when the two teams clashed at Varsity Gym on Saturday, November 12th.
Echendu came off the bench to knock down 6-of-11 from the floor as well as 10-of-22 from the free throw line en route to a game-high against the WildCats and career-high in the process. She was also active in the paint, pulling down eight rebounds, including three on the offensive glass. Echendu's 22-point effort topped her previous career-high (20), which came in a 74-61 win over Meredith on January 29, 2022.
Teammates Dionne Sampson and Alize Munn also reached double figures for the Spirits by closing with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Salem capped off the game by hitting 18-of-40 (45%) from the floor and converting 17-of-34 (50%) at the charity stripe.
Like Echendu, Munn was an active defender with five rebounds (three defensive), helping Salem close with 25 rebounds. Cree Bass made her presence felt with a game-high six assists, forcing four steals.
FAMILIAR FACES CLASHING IN VIRGINIA BEACH
Saturday afternoon will pit Salem alumnae Quntashea Lewis against her former team for the first time since she accepted the head coaching position at Virginia Wesleyan on August 3, 2022.
Lewis capped off her playing career at Salem by ranking first in Salem's career history in offensive rebounds (335), defensive rebounds (472) and total rebounds (872). She also ranks second in Salem's career history in field goals made (475), points (1208) and points per game average (20.7).
Lewis closed out her Spirit career by ranking third in Salem history in minutes played (2508), games played (96), field goals made (475), field goals attempted (980), field goal percentage (.485), free throws made (241) and free throws attempted (385). Her accomplishments on the courts of Varsity Gym did not stop there, as she tallied 34 double-doubles as a Spirit. She holds the programs' single-game marks in defensive rebounds (17 {2x}) and total rebounds (28).
She parlayed a solid playing career at her alma mater into her first head coaching position, when she took over the reins as the fourth head coach in program history in 2019-20. Battling through a difficult 2019-20 season along with missing the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewis guided the Spirits to four victories in 2021-22.
ODAC TRIUMPHS
A triumph over the Marlins would give Salem its second win in as many seasons against Virginia Wesleyan. On November 13, 2021, Salem took down Virginia Wesleyan by a score of 73-67 at Varsity Gym, marking the first win in the heading coaching career of Quntashea Lewis.
A victory this weekend against Virginia Wesleyan would mark the third over an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) program since the 2017-18 campaign. The Spirits other ODAC win came over Hollins (87-46) on November 15, 2017.
POINTS IN RESERVE
Salem has been lead in points by a non-starter in each of its first two games of the season.
In the opening game of the slate, Cree Bass exploded for a team-high 25 points, hitting 8-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-12 at the free throw line, to establish a new single-game career-high. In 31 minutes off the bench, Bass also handed out three assists and pulled down three rebounds in Salem's 87-66 victory over Warren Wilson.
Teammate Tamsi Echendu followed Bass' lead in the second game, posting a career-high 22 points while coming through with eight rebounds against Randolph. Echendu, who was 6-of-11 from the field, converted 10-of-22 free throw attempts to reach the 20-point mark. On the glass, she grabbed five defensive rebounds and forced three steals along the way.
ANALYZING VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
The Marlins enter the weekend with a 1-2 record following a 58-37 setback to Guilford in their first ODAC clash of the early season.
Virginia Wesleyan opened the 2022-23 campaign with a 77-36 setback at Salisbury on November 9th, but rebounded to claim a 55-35 victory in its home season-opener against Regent four days later. Led by Sariya Monroe's 10 points, the Marlins managed to hit just 12-of-56 (21.4%) in Wednesday's game against Guilford.
Jadia Norman leads all Marlin scorers with 21 points on the season, while Sarah Ellis and Nat Collier are second and third in scoring with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Collier is tops among rebounds with 20, while Ellis is second (19) and Monroe has 18.
The Marlins have struggled to find their offense in the early going, hitting 26.5 percent (43-of-162) through the first three games. As a unit they are 7-of-36 (19.4%) from 3-point range and 35-of-64 (54.7%) at the charity stripe.
ANALYZING MARY WASHINGTON
Mary Washington opens the two-day tournament in Virginia Beach, Va., by clashing with Mary Baldwin on Saturday evening at 6 p.m.
The Eagles enter the weekend averaging 76.7 points per contest after posting victories over Franklin & Marshall (57-40), Randolph-Macon (75-62) and Gettysburg (53-39).
The University of Mary Washington women's basketball team was picked fourth in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference's Preseason Coaches Poll, announced on November 7, 2022.
Mary Washington enters the 2022-23 season with great optimism, as All-C2C selection Jordan Carpenter and C2C Defensive Player of the Year Ashley Martin return, headlining a group of four returning starters and eight players who saw action in at least 10 minutes per contest. Returning guards Keagan Schwab, Megan Baxter, Bri Harper, and Molly Sharman will provide valuable experience in the backcourt, and Martin, Carpenter, and Sydney Sherman will look to control the boards.
Carpenter has been the spark to the Eagles' offense through the first three games this season, leading the team with 43 points after hitting 16-of-26 from the floor and 11-of-13 at the free throw line. Schwab is second on the unit in scoring with 42 points, knocking down 14-of-39 field goals, including six 3-pointers along the way.
Carpenter is also the rebounding leader for Mary Washington with 18, including seven offensive boards. Teammate Megan Baxter leads the unit in assists with nine.