Salem at Guilford | December 29 | Ragan-Brown Field House | Greensboro, N.C. | 12:30 p.m.
Salem vs. Ferrum | December 30 | Varsity Gym | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 6 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. Johnson & Wales)
Jayla Lovett scored a game-high 20 points in reserve, one of three Johnson & Wales players to top double-digit scoring, as the Wildcats held off solid performances by Salem's Dionne Sampson (16 points) and Alize Munn (14) to emerge with a 76-58 victory at Varsity Gym on Saturday, December 17th.
Sampson capped off her seventh double-digit performance of the slate by hitting 6-of-13 from the floor, all three free throw conversions, while grabbing six rebounds and handing out five assists. Munn came through with a 6-of-11 performance, converting 2-of-4 at the free throw line, while grabbing seven rebounds.
Tamsi Echendu led all Salem rebounders with nine, grabbing four on the offensive glass, while coming through with eight points. Cree Bass also added five rebounds for Salem, helping the Spirits close with 41 rebounds as a team.
SALEM COMPLETES NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The clashes with both Guilford and Ferrum complete the non-conference portion of Salem's 2022-23 schedule. The Spirits were 1-4 against non-conference opponents and closed out the 2022 calendar year with a 1-7 mark, including an 0-3 record against USA South opponents Methodist, Southern Virginia and Brevard.
QUAKERS AWAIT SALEM ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON
When Salem heads to Greensboro to face Guilford on Thursday afternoon it will mark the eighth head-to-head meeting between the two programs.
Four of those meetings have taken place at Ragan-Brown Fieldhouse, where the Quakers are a perfect against Salem. Guilford has also captured all three contests at Varsity Gym against the Spirits since the two first met on January 23, 2008, in the first-ever clash.
Guilford's most recent win in the series came by a 62-50 margin on November 20, 2018.
FOURTH-EVER MEETING WITH FERRUM SET FOR FRIDAY EVENING
Salem will square off against Ferrum for the fourth time in program history on Friday evening.
The Panthers have visited Varsity Gym on just one other occasion, which came on January 28, 2018, where they emerged with an 85-70 victory.
Ferrum owns a 3-0 lead in the all-time series between the two programs, earning a 64-42 win in the first-ever game on January 13, 2018. The Panthers also claimed the most recent clash, 80-62, in Virginia on December 15, 2021.
LOOKING TO RETURN TO WIN COLUMN
Salem returns to Varsity Gym for the first time since hosting Methodist on November 22nd. The Monarchs used a fourth quarter surge, which resulted in a 24-8 scoring differential, to earn the USA South Conference victory with Salem. The Spirits were led individually by first-year standout Minnie Griffin, who poured in a game-high 23 points, as well as Tamsi Echendu, who grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Since that outing, Salem make treks to both Southern Virginia (Nov. 29) and Brevard (Dec. 3), suffering a pair of setbacks along the way. The Knights prevailed by a 76-53 margin over Salem in a clash of USA South programs and Brevard followed that with a 96-84 win in Boshamer Gym to open December action.
Salem is looking to return to the win column after dropping seven consecutive contests.
STATISTICAL LEADERS FOR THE SPIRITS
With six double-digit scoring efforts to her credit, including three straight, Alize Munn tops the Salem lineup in total points with 101. Munn is hitting 44-of-83 (53%) from the floor and has managed to convert 13-of-21 at the free throw line for Salem.
Senior Dionne Sampson is second in points with 92, knocking down 29-of-85 from the field along with five 3-pointers. Tamsi Echendu sits 14 points shy of the triple-digit mark on the season with 86 points, leading the Spirits from the line by hitting 30-of-55 free throws. Echendu has also managed 28-of-53 (52.8%) from the floor, second to only Munn on the slate.
Echendu has been a force in the paint for Salem with a team-high 58 rebounds, snagging 26 on the offensive glass. Munn is second on the team with 45 rebounds, including 29 defensive boards.
Cree Bass leads all Salem shooters from 3-point range, hitting 7-of-29 from long distance, to go along with a team-high 15 steals. Sampson and Bass have dished out a combined 52 assists for Salem, with Sampson coming through with a team-high 27.
Munn is tops among blocked shot leaders with six for Salem.
ANALYZING THE QUAKERS
The Quakers head into their clash with Salem owning an 8-3 record, picking up three of those victories in December by defeating Ferrum (68-39), Pfeiffer (77-61) and Meredith (84-57).
A well-balanced Guilford lineup is led offensively by the du of Lindsay Gauldin (167 points) and Ashtyn Zeigler (104), highlighting an offensive unit that is averaging 69.4 points per contest. Gauldin is averaging 15.2 points per game, hitting 60-of-114 (52.6%) from the floor and 11-of-25 (44%) from 3-point range. Gauldin has also converted a team-best 36-of-57 free throws (63.2%) for the Quakers.
Zeigler has been successful on 39-of-79 (50%) of her field goal attempts, hitting a team-best 14 from beyond the arc, along with 12 free throws. The top free throw shooter on the team is J'la Hinson, who has 23 to her credit, two more than teammate Carleigh Perry.
Anna Giannopoulou has anchored the post for Guilford with a team-high 62 rebounds, snagging 45 off the offensive glass. Both Perry (53) and Gauldin (50) rank second and third for the Quakers in rebounds.
Hinson leads the unit with 37 assists, while Gauldin is tops in steals with 35.
ANALYZING THE PANTHERS
The Panthers are 4-7 on the season entering their clash with Salem. Ferrum snapped a four-game losing streak, which spanned from November 30th through December 15th with a 65-43 victory over William Peace in Virginia on December 17th.
Ferrum enters the game with Salem having dropped its three games away from home in 2022-23.
Kayla Cabiness and Aisha Martin top the Panthers with 121 and 115 points, respectively. Martin leads the way in most field goals (125), while Cabiness leads the way in free throws (38-of-50).
Martin has converted 39-of-125 from the floor, including a team-high 16 3-pointers, while Cabiness is hitting 36-of-109 (33%) from the field and 38-of-50 (76%) at the charity stripe.
Trina Lewis' 66 rebounds, which include 36 offensive boards, are the best among any Panther this season. Allyson Cassell has 58 total rebounds through the first 11 games, while Martin has 50.
Cabiness leads all Ferrum players with 26 assists, while Martin has forced 24 steals.