By: Jon Cole
As a North Carolinian and an avid sports fan—especially college basketball—I have had the opportunity to travel across the nation and cover several colleges and universities. The first question that follows after I tell people where I am from is usually 'are you a Duke or UNC fan?' and my immediate response is "well, you do realize in North Carolina that when you are born that they tell you which basketball team you will be a fan of (NC State Wolfpack in my case), before they tell you your name." That is the best way that I can find to describe what college sports, especially basketball, means in this area.
There are always heated debates and jabs shared the week leading up to the North Carolina-Duke game, the ACC Tournament is rightfully treated as if Queen Elizabeth is paying the area a visit and Triad natives are constantly seen donning their favorite college gear in support of their beloved Tar Heels, Wolfpack, Demon Deacons and even Blue Devils during the course of the basketball season. So, basically, to boil it down—college basketball (or simply basketball in general) is a significant part of the landscape in North Carolina, especially the Triad.
On November 15, 2008, fans of college basketball had a new team in the Triad to root for when Salem College joined the NCAA Division III ranks with its first game against N.C. Wesleyan. The Spirits, under the direction of then-head-coach Jim Jackson, dropped the first four games of the team's transition before claiming a 75-54 victory over Wesleyan (Ga.) exactly one week later. Jackson and his unit would win three of their next four contests to close out the month of November, claiming wins over Meredith and Notre Dame (Md.) in the process.
The 2008-09 season closed with Jackson's squad earning eight wins, including four at Varsity Gym and four at neutral sites. Salem followed that up by winning nine games in 2009-10, including the first-ever road victory at Piedmont International (81-61) on January 8, 2010. Jackson spent two more seasons at the helm of the Spirits, finishing with a combined record of 27-68, before his retirement following the 2011-12 campaign.
Howard Ushers In New Era at Salem College
The Salem basketball program witnessed its first coaching change on April 13, 2012, when then-athletic-director Melissa Barrett announced Anita Howard as the second head coach in program history.
The success was immediate for Howard and the Spirits, who set a new standard for the basketball program in the 2012-13 campaign. Salem reached double-digit wins for the first time in program history (17), posted a program-record nine wins at home, was 7-3 in the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) and reached the title game of the league tournament, before falling to Huntingdon by a 73-61 margin.
"The teams I coached bought into the mission and vision I had for the program," said Howard, who is now head coach at Georgia Southern. "Year one it was the "Spirit of Redemption". We wanted to play extremely hard and redeem our name to garner respect for the program. I was able to bring in some top recruits to go along with our returners that ended up being a nice recipe for success.
"Our theme for year two was "Full of Ferocity," Howard continued. "We had to follow up our success and play with a ferocious passion to pick up where we left off. I vividly remember the players taking ownership over what we wanted and needed to do. They even made up a rap song that was played during our pregame warmups! They believed and put in the work. I also fondly recall the enormous support from campus administrators like Melissa Barrett (former AD), Krispin Barr (former Dean of Students), Cathy Barnes (former Admissions Director), and many more. Their personalities made working at Salem a joy and was determined to bring the entire campus community a championship!"
Salem's success on the court in 2012-13 was due in large part to GSAC Player of the Year Satavia Taylor, who finished with 306 points, hit 120-of-289 (41.5%) from the floor and knocked down 45-of-134 (33.6%) from 3-point range. She was also active on defense with 94 rebounds (61 defensive) and forced 54 steals while making 28 blocks. Joining Taylor among All-Conference honorees that season for the Spirits was Jasmine Shabazz, who finished with 300 points after knocking down 111-of-228 (48.7%) from the floor, 78-of-113 (69.0%) at the free throw line along with grabbing a team-best 224 rebounds (127 offensive), which ranks second all-time in program history.
"The person that inspired me the most at Salem was coach Anita Howard," said Taylor. "The way she conducted and carried herself as a person was amazing. She was definitely my role model because she was and still is well respected. She inspired me to be the best I can be on the court and in life."
With the duo of Taylor and Shabazz returning for the 2013-14 season, Howard led Salem to a program-best 21-5 mark, equaling her previous single-season home win mark (nine) and establishing a record for most road wins (nine) along the way. Taylor and Shabazz were recognized as All-Conference players by the GSAC and were instrumental in the Spirits avenging their setback in the 2013 league championship by helping Salem complete an 87-72 win over Pine Manor to earn the program's only appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
"We wanted to make sure playing at home was difficult for our opponents," Howard described. "We got out in the community and on campus to garner support for our ladies in hopes of creating an intense "home court advantage." We even had a cheerleading team that we established to create a real game day experience for the fans and players. Defense is, and has always been, a staple for me as a head coach. Our ladies believed my motto that "defense travels." To win on the road we had to pack up our defense and take it with us! We knew to be successful in the tournament that we had to focus on winning on the road. We looked at away games as a practice run that would prepare us for winning those big games in the tournament."
Reaching the tournament has always been an important point in life for Taylor. "My fondest sports moment was competing in the NCAA D3 national tournament," said Taylor. "The moments the team shared were all special because we were all basically new to Salem so we all grew together and became family so the love we have for each other and the amazing memories we made will forever be in our hearts."
Taylor, who was 194-of-473 (41.0%) from the floor and 61-of-185 (33.0%) from beyond the arc, repeated her performance as Player of the Year for the league in 2013-14 after scoring a team-best 517 points. She capped off that season ranked seventh nationally in scoring with a 23.1 point per game average along with posting the only triple-double. Most impressive for Taylor that season was her defensive presence, where she established the program benchmark for blocks (44) while grabbing a 205 rebounds (136 defensive). Shabazz and Taylor complemented one another on the court with Shabazz hitting 127-of-243 (52.3%) from the floor and 52-of-78 (66.7%) at the charity stripe, resulting in 306 points, while grabbing 194 rebounds and forcing 28 steals.
The uber-competitive Taylor described her attitude about basketball at that point of her life by saying, "my mentality at the time was always 'go out there and be the best player on the floor no matter who the opponent is'. I always wanted to be the best. I always want to put my team in the best position to always win." Taylor went onto say "being the player that set a lot of records was something I couldn't have done without my coaches and teammates at the time. So I hope whoever the next talented player that comes in and is capable of breaking the records I broke will do it with pride and have fun while doing it. It's definitely something I'll look forward to seeing one day."
The Spirits concluded the 2013-14 season with a 95-58 setback to Thomas More on March 7, 2014 and Howard moved onto Livingstone College as the head coach of the Black Bears.
"At Salem I really enjoyed the sisterhood that the College embraced," said the reflective Howard. "At every stop I try to instill that same sisterhood mindset within my programs. Coaching at Salem made me realize that being great on the court started with being great at building relationships and focusing on the person, not just the player. We did not have much and had to work for what we got. This has taught me how to be thankful for the resources provided and shown me that I could do more even with less. My championship team at Salem proved that my formula for winning can work if players buy into the overall mission and vision of the program."
Lewis Learns from Howard, Setting Foundation for Career Success
Another key member of the team during Howard's time at Salem was Quntashea Lewis, who returned prior to the start of the 2018-19 season to serve as head coach of the Spirits.
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 owns or is tied for nine of the Top-15 best single-game rebounding performances, including the program's single-game high (28), which came when she snagged 17 defensive and 11 offensive rebounds against Wesleyan (Ga.) on February 19, 2016.
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 a program-record 34 double-doubles as a Spirit.
Over her four-year career at Salem, Lewis was honored by D3Hoops.com NCAA Division III All-Region Third Team (2015-16), GSAC All-Academic Team (2015-16), GSAC All-Conference Team (2014-15/2015-16), GSAC Player of the Week (twice) and the North Carolina College Sports Information Directors (twice).
Mohney Second to Howard in All-Time Program Victories
Britni Mohney followed Howard at the helm of Salem College basketball, finishing with 34 wins in her five-year tenure as the Spirits' coach. Mohney began her career with eight wins in 2014-15 and came through with nine the following season, which included five at Varsity Gym in 2015-16.
Mohney rebounded from a seven-win campaign in 2016-17 to become just the second coach in program history, and first since Howard, to reach the double-digit win mark with 10 in the 2017-18 season.
Another key component to the success of the program, which came during the coaching tenure of Mahoney, was Mikayla Seivers, who ranks third all-time in Salem history in scoring with 1,126 points. Seivers, who is Salem's all-time leader in games played (82), logged a program-high 3,149 minutes while converting the most field goals (410) and attempting the second-most field goals (1,032) from 2014 through 2018.
Seivers also managed to knock down the second-most free throws (248) in Spirit basketball history, hitting 70.9 percent from the charity stripe, which she visited on 350 occasions. She owns the benchmark for assists (396), and ranks second in team history in assist/turnover ratio at 1.09 per contest. Defensively, she wrapped up her career fourth in steals (128) and is among the Top-10 in all-time scoring at 16.5 points per contest.
"My fondest sports moment at Salem was when the team came back from Christmas break with only five players who were able to play," said Seivers. "Coach Howard sat us down at the first practice after the holidays and talked to us about how hard the rest of the season was going to be. But, she had full faith in us. The season was intense and our love for basketball really had to shine through. We really came together as a team and took on the full commitment of only having the five of us to play."
Seivers, who works as a postpartum nurse, also gained a greater sense of teamwork at Salem. "Teamwork is something I will always cherish," she said. "Working as a nurse I have found the value of being a good teammate is not just something you need on the basketball court. Helping out your team and asking for help when needed is what makes a business go round. As for my personal life I have found that no matter the scenario in life you should always surround yourself with a good team. The people you associate with are very important. When it came to basketball I wanted a teammate I could trust, who pushed me, who had my back, and who wanted to see me do well and these same qualities are things I look for in my friends/teammates today.
"Salem basketball was more than just basketball. I made lifelong friends and memories that I will cherish forever," added Seivers. Salem is a community like no other. You will feel loved, supported, and seen. Balancing a sport and academics can be challenging but, with a community like Salem it is possible to give 100 percent to both."
Among the standouts on the 2017-18 unit for Mohney was Sabrina Shepherd, who finished 169-of-414 (40.8%) from the floor and 77-of-191 (40.3%) from 3-point range. Shepherd knocked down 78-of-89 (87.6%) of her free throw attempts, while coming through with 161 rebounds (124 defensive), converted 28 blocks and logged 818 minutes. Her 493 points are third-most in program history behind Lewis, who leads the way with 539 (2015-16), and Taylor, who came through with 517 in 2013-14. Shepherd is also responsible for the fourth-most single-season point production in program history (490), which came in the 2016-17 campaign.
During the course of her four-year career, which spanned from 2014 through 2018, Shepherd amassed the program record in field goals (571), field goals attempted (1433), 3-point field goals made (220) and 3-point field goals attempted (596). That resulted in her overtaking Lewis for the program lead in points (1,493) by the conclusion of the 2017-18 season.
Reaching 1,000 points was a memorable moment for Shepherd, which she described by saying "I was under a lot of pressure that game as I thought it would be my final career game. I shot horribly the entire game until the fourth quarter," said Shepherd. "I needed 19 points to score 1,000. I began to give up because the shots were not falling. With a little less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, I scored my 1000th career point. I was not a player that scored 1000 points in high school, so to achieve this milestone at the collegiate level was one of the best feelings."
Shepherd became the most recent Spirit to earn a spot on the D3Hoops.com NCAA Division III All-Region Third Team (2017-18) and was the first USA South All-Conference First Team-East Division honoree in program history (2017-18). She also was the last All-Conference team member for the Spirits in the Great South Athletic Conference in 2015-16.
Shepherd's impact on her teammates extended beyond basketball. Seivers described her teammate by saying "Sabrina always inspired me to be a better player. Sabrina loved the game probably more than anyone. Watching how much she cared for the sport motivated me to become the best player I could be."
While Shepherd inspired Seivers, it was Mahoney that inspired Shepherd herself. "She was my coach all four years and she watched me grow into the woman I am today," said Shepherd. "She was a 'tough love' kind of coach, but it made me a better player. She definitely humbled me, because I came into Salem on a high horse, and she benched me my first year. I've never had such a strong player/coach relationship. What made this relationship special is that to her, it was more than just basketball. She cared about your success on and off court."
The team concept that Shepherd learned while playing at Salem what she continues to apply in her everyday life. "With me being a school counselor, I have learned that collaboration is a vital peace to being an influential school counselor," described Shepherd. "I have to work with administration, teachers, colleagues, and parents. My coach literally preached the importance of communication and teamwork daily. In addition to collaboration, I would say that constructive criticism is another team concept that I have applied in my business and personal life. With constructive criticism, I have learned that everyone reacts to constructive criticism differently. You have to adapt and work with your teams' strengths and not be afraid to talk openly about areas of improvement to better both the individual and the team."
Lewis Leading Salem into the Future
Lewis is just over two months into her third year at the helm of the Salem basketball program. After a tough first season at the helm in 2019-20 coupled with the 2020-21 season being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most decorated players in Spirit basketball history earned her first victory as head coach on November 13, 2021.
In Lewis' first win at the helm, Tyler Davenport scored a game-high 21 points while teammates Alize Brooks and Dionne Sampson added 13 and 10 points, respectively, to help guide Salem to a 73-67 victory over Virginia Wesleyan at Varsity Gym in Winston-Salem.
ADDITIONAL OUTTAKES AND QUOTES
Name (including maiden name): Mikayla Seivers
Sport(s) played: Basketball
Year of Graduation: 2018
Degree(s) Earned: BA in Psychology
How has your degree from Salem helped you to achieve success in the business world? I am currently a Postpartum Nurse. My Psychology degree taught me the pathophysiology of mental health and age development. With my career I am able to empathize with my patients and give the best quality of care due to my background in psychology.
What moment did you share/experience with a teammate(s) at Salem that bonded the team forever that season? After Christmas break the whole team had to stay together in a house located on campus. We always brought in the New Year together and spent most of the days practicing twice a day. Being around the team day in and out was something I always thought made our bond closer.
What advice did you receive while playing at Salem that you apply to the course of your everyday life? You have to work hard if you want something. Things in life do not come easy nor does winning a basketball game. Someone is always working just as hard as you or harder. My current work ethic definitely stems from basketball.
You have established multiple records for the Salem basketball program. How do you feel about being the "hunted" when it comes to people wanting to break your records, instead of the "hunter" and looking to set the records? Seeing Salem grow and become a better basketball program is something I will always want. Having records is great! But, seeing a former player at Salem dominating, breaking records (even mine), and guiding our team into a great season would make me ecstatic. I only hope the records I have broken give another player motivation to do the same.
What is the record that you hold most dear and why? Having 1,000 points at Salem is an accomplishment I will always be proud of. During my high school career my focus was not on scoring it was more focused on assists. At Salem I quickly learned that I was not only going to have to make many assists but was also going to have to pick it up and be a top scorer for my team. I set the goal and started working more on feeling comfortable with scoring. I worked hard and achieved a goal that I knew I had set to better my team.
Your success on the field is well documented. Describe your mentality when you took the field to play a sport that you were obviously so successful at? My mentality was always to "want it". I wanted to be on the court, I wanted to play, and I always wanted to win more than the other team.
Name (including maiden name): Sabrina Shepherd
Sport(s) played: Basketball
Year of Graduation: Undergrad- 2017 Grad School- 2020
Degree(s) Earned: B.A. Psychology; MEd of School Counseling
How has your degree from Salem helped you to achieve success in the business world? A degree from Salem goes a long way. I know this from my interactions with potential employers. Due to Salem's great reputation, academically, the moment they see Salem College on a resume, they are instantly intrigued. Because I went to Salem for undergrad and graduate school, it shows that I believe in the core values of Salem College. I am currently a school counselor. My degree in psychology and school counseling has helped me tremendously. My psychology degree has helped me from a mental health standpoint and my school counseling degree has helped me use mental health strategies within the educational setting.
What advice would you give to student-athletes interested in playing at Salem? Salem College's campus as a whole is a family. My teammates were like my sisters. Make sure that you put STUDENT before athlete. It will be extremely difficult to balance academics, being an athlete, and maintaining a social life, but it will all pay off in the end. Salem is like a tight-knit community and everyone there wants to see you achieve your goals.
What moment did you share/experience with a teammate(s) at Salem that bonded the team forever that season? The bus rides every season were literally the funniest things. We spent a lot of time on the road together and it would always bring us closer. We would go from singing loudly, to dancing on the bus, and to sneaking pictures of each other while sleeping (with our mouths open). I still have all of the embarrassing photos of my teammates in my camera roll. One of the funniest experiences would be us having to stop to use the restroom literally every hour. Coach Mohney would get so upset, but we all thought it was hilarious. It got to the point that my teammates would have me tell Coach that I had to use the restroom because they claimed she wouldn't get mad if I asked because I was her favorite, supposedly. (jokingly stated)
What advice did you receive while playing at Salem that you apply to the course of your everyday life? I was always told to "work hard and have fun". That is something that was said at the beginning of every practice and the beginning of every game. If you work hard, you can and will be successful in life, so why not have fun while doing it? This advice has also helped me within my school counseling career as well.
You have established multiple records for the Salem basketball program. How do you feel about being the "hunted" when it comes to people wanting to break your records, instead of the "hunter" and looking to set the records? It is honestly a great feeling. I don't mean to sell myself short, but I hadn't even dreamed of setting records. I just loved playing the game. I had no idea what records were held at Salem. Every night I would go out, play my best, and hope for the best.
What is the record that you hold most dear and why? My most meaningful record would be me being the all-time leading scorer at Salem College. I scored about 1500 points in my career. I have no idea what the record was prior to me beating it, but it is one that I will cherish forever. It has been 4 years since I have beat the record, so I have definitely done my share of bragging. (jokingly stated) This record holds such sentimental value to me because I think about where I started and how it all led to this point. My first year at Salem I had a setback and only played 10 games that season, with minimal minutes. My next year at Salem I had an ankle injury and needed surgery. I had the surgery right before my senior season. My last year of basketball I had to juggle quite a bit. I played while in graduate school and while working full-time. When I think of the adversity I faced within my basketball career, it is still unbelievable how I have accomplished something of this stature.
Your success on the field is well documented. Describe your mentality when you took the field to play a sport that you were obviously so successful at? My mentality was to work hard and have fun. I enjoyed being on the court and I enjoyed seeing my teammates happy. I knew I was a leader from a scorer's standpoint and that every night my teammates were depending on me. I wanted to put the ball in the hoop. At times, I was the spark. I knew I had to get things going and then my teammates would go on a roll as well.
Name: Satavia Taylor
Sports played: Basketball 2012-2014
Graduation year: 2015
Degree earned: Bachelors in Communication
How has your degree from Salem helped you to achieve success in the business world? My degree from Salem helped me achieve success in the business world by being able to connect and network with others.
What team concept(s) have you applied in your business and personal life that have proven beneficial after competing at Salem? Some team concepts I applied to my daily life would be the competitiveness, the willingness and the heart, because whatever I'm doing in life I put my all into it like I did on the basketball court while at Salem.
What advice would you give to student-athletes interested in playing at Salem? The best advice I would give another student athlete coming in Salem would be just to stay focus, give it all you got and most importantly enjoy it have fun, because you have to enjoy it.
What advice did you receive while playing at Salem that you apply to the course of your everyday life? Some advice I received while playing at Salem was just to have fun and live in the moment because it won't be forever.
What is the record that you hold most dear and why? Most points in a game would be the one I hold dearest to me because I remember the game so well.