WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem basketball team opens its 2021-22 season on Wednesday, November 10th, when the Spirits make a trip to Lynchburg, Va., to square off against Old Dominion Athletic Conference member Randolph at 7 p.m.

Wednesday marks the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs and first since November 26, 2019. Salem won the first-ever meeting, which took place on February 12, 2009, by a 70-66 margin. In the four games since that point, the Wildcats have won two games in Lynchburg and two in Winston-Salem.

All-Time Series (vs. Randolph)
(Randolph leads series 4-1)

Quntashea Lewis, who begins her second season at the helm of the Spirits, has added depth for the season with a 14-person roster. Among the key returnees are Sydney Bowen and Alize Brooks, who lead the 2019-20 unit in scoring with 260 and 238 points, respectively.

Bowen finished off the 2019-20 slate by hitting 94 field goals, including 37 from 3-point range, both team highs. Brooks knocked down 86 field goals, converting 20 from long distance, while hitting a team-high 46 free throws en route to 238 points.

Another key returnee for Lewis' unit is Lauren Privette, who pulled down 179 rebounds, including 117 on the defensive glass, to finishing second in rebounding in 2019-20. Joining Privette on the team is Tyler Davenport, who has seen action in 22 games for Salem over her career. Davenport's best season came in 2017-18 when she tallied 233 points after hitting 76-of-211 from the floor, 10-of-47 from 3-point range and 71-of-120 at the charity stripe.

Dionne Sampson provides experience in the backcourt for the Spirits after starting in 20 of 22 contests during her first year (2019-20). Sampson capped off that season with 148 points and 52 assists, second-most on the team, while converting a team-high 35 steals.

Salem has seven first year players on the 2021-22 roster, including Alize Munn, Sarah Nelson, Kyana Thomas, Deja Justice, Natasha Guo, Alyssa Hudson and Tamsi Echendu.

Among the newcomers is Cree Bass, who comes to Salem from Maiden High School. Bass spent the 2020-21 season on the Montreat jayvee team, playing in nine contests along the way.

ANALYZING RANDOLPH: The Wildcats are off to a 2-0 start in 2021-22 after finishing off an abbreviated 2020-21 slate with a 2-7 mark.

Randolph opened the season with a decisive 86-61 win over Regent on November 5th and followed that up with a 57-50 victory over Methodist two days later.

The top scorer so far for the Wildcats is Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson (30 points), which came by virtue of hitting 10-of-18 (.556) from the floor. Kylie Stark is second in scoring with 24 points, knocking down 8-of-21 field goal attempts. Stark is also active on the glass with 20 rebounds, including 17 defensive.

The top 3-point shooter for Randolph through the early portion of the season is Cameron O'Neil, who is hitting 4-of-13 (.408) from the floor.