WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – After spending seven years in the Salem basketball program, including the last three as the head coach, Quntashea Lewis accepted the head coach position with Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday, August 4th.
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.
"I am thrilled for Coach Q to embark on a well-deserved experience at Virginia Wesleyan," said Director of Athletics J.J. Antoine. "We will deeply miss her at Salem, as there is something so special about an alumna who remains to coach, but Salem graduates are built to do great things and this is no exception! We wish her the best of luck and thank her for her tireless efforts throughout the athletic department and campus."
Lewis' first-ever collegiate coaching victory came on November 13, 2021, when she led the Spirits past Virginia Wesleyan (73-67) at Varsity Gym. Tyler Davenport highlighted the win with a 21-point effort.
Her second win of the season came on January 29th versus Meredith, when Tamsi Echendu poured in 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Spirits to a 74-61 win. It marked the first USA South Conference win for the program under Lewis and the first for the program in league play since downing Meredith by a 70-69 margin on February 10, 2018.
One week later, on February 5th, Lewis and her 2021-22 Senior Class (Tyler Davenport/Sydney Bowen/Lauren Privette) closed out the final home game of the season with a 74-61 win over Averett, earning the second win in program history over the Cougars.
Lewis' final triumph of the season came on February 12th when she led the Spirits past William Peace, 92-83 in overtime. Sparked by a 30-point, 12-steal outing from Dionne Sampson, Lewis' squad rallied late in the fourth quarter to tie the Pacers before scoring 18 points in the overtime session to claim the road victory.