Salem vs. Warren Wilson | November 8 | Varsity Gym | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 6 p.m.
DAWN OF A NEW ERA
Sharee' Boyd was named as the fifth head coach in Salem basketball history in a formal announcement from Salem's Director of Athletics J.J. Antoine on Monday, October 17th. Boyd, who served as an assistant coach at Winston-Salem State from 2018-22, takes over the Salem program after Quntashea Lewis' departure for Virginia Wesleyan in August.
Boyd spent four years with the Rams as both an Assistant Coach and the Director of Operations/Logistics. In that capacity she ensured all student-athletes were compliant with NCAA rules and regulations, while assisting in the day-to-day duties of the women's basketball program. She inherits a Salem basketball program that finished 4-20 overall and 3-15 in the USA South Conference a season ago. The three league wins came against Meredith (Jan. 29), Averett (Feb. 5) and William Peace (Feb. 12), while the non-conference triumph came in 73-67 fashion against Virginia Wesleyan on November 13th.
During her stint, she worked directly with the forwards and centers, developing the CIAA Freshman of the Year (Amaya Tucker), two All-CIAA selections (Amaya Tucker, Brionna Pate) and three All-CIAA Tournament selections (Amaya Tucker, O'Shea Hatley {2x}) along the way. With Boyd on the bench the Rams were 42-42 overall and posted a 25-25 mark in CIAA league play. The Rams reached the second round of the CIAA Tournament on two occasions and semifinal round of the 2020 tournament during Boyd's tenure.
The best statistical season with Boyd on staff at Winston-Salem State was in 2018-19, when the Rams finished 15-13 overall and 11-7 in CIAA play. The Rams capped off the slate with a 9-5 mark at home and had four three-game winning streaks during the course of the season. Winston-Salem State fell in the opening round of the CIAA Tournament that season to Elizabeth City State to close out its season.
WHAT THE FIRST TWO MONTHS HOLD
The Spirits open the 2022-23 regular season by hosting Warren Wilson on November 8th at 6 p.m. Salem will remain at Varsity Gym for its second game of the slate, which brings Randolph College to Winston-Salem for the first time since the 2019 season, on November 12th at 2 p.m.
Salem makes its first out of state trip of the season on Saturday, November 19th, when it faces former head coach Quntashea Lewis' squad at Virginia Wesleyan. The two-day stint also includes a clash with Mary Washington on November 20th, as part of a tournament hosted by the Marlins.
The first USA South Conference game comes on Tuesday, November 22nd, when Salem hosts Methodist at 6 p.m. One week later, the Spirits return to the road to square off against league rivals Southern Virginia (Nov. 29) and Brevard (Dec. 3) in consecutive games. After a break for exams, Salem returns to action at Varsity Gym when it hosts Johnson & Wales on December 17th at 2 p.m.
December concludes with Salem heading to Guilford on December 29th at 2 p.m. before a quick turnaround that will bring Ferrum to Varsity Gym the following evening at 6 p.m. The turn of the calendar begins the USA South Conference slate for Salem, who opens with a home game against N.C. Wesleyan on Wednesday, January 4th at 6 p.m.
USA SOUTH RELEASES 2022-23 PRESEASON POLL
The USA South Athletic Conference's women's basketball coaches released their 2022-23 preseason poll on October 27th.
Greensboro was placed atop the rankings thanks to receiving 79 total points and seven of the possible ten first place votes. The Pride earned a co-divisional regular season championship last season by posting a 17-1 record in League play but fell in the semifinals of the USA South Tournament. The team sharing the divisional regular season title with Greensboro was Southern Virginia who ended up claiming the Tournament Championship in the program's first season within the USA South. The Knights grabbed 75 total points and the remaining three first place votes to place second in this season's preseason coaches poll while N.C. Wesleyan rounded out the top-three with 60 points.
The Spirits were picked 10th in the 2022-23 preseason polls, three points shy of William Peace, who was predicted ninth.
The 2023 USA South Women's Basketball Tournament will once again be conducted exclusively on campus sites. The top-eight seeded teams will advance to the tournament which will begin with first round action on Tuesday, February 21. The semifinals will take place Thursday, February 23 with the finals occurring on Saturday, February 25. The higher-seeded team in each contest will host.
SPIRITS RETURN FOUR OF TOP-5 SCORERS FROM A SEASON AGO
New head coach Sharee' Boyd will have a multitude of scoring options for the 2022-23 season, returning four of the Top-5 scorers from a season ago.
While leading scorer Tyler Davenport, who finished the 2021-22 campaign with 268 points (12.2 ppg), has departed the remaining scorers include Dionne Sampson (221 pts), Cree Bass (183), Alize Brooks (167) and Alize Munn (144).
Sampson reached the double-digit mark on eight occasions a season ago, finishing her final week of the slate with a single-game career-high 30-point outing against William Peace, resulting in Salem's final win (92-83) of the slate. In that contest, Sampson was the catalyst for a Salem offense that had five players reach double figures, becoming the first player since Davenport (Feb. 4, 2018) to eclipse the 30-point mark for Salem and just the seventh player in the NCAA history of the program with a 30-point outing. Sampson not only established a career-high in points, but she also set a career-high mark for steals (12), capping off her first double-double.
Bass was third on the team in scoring last year, finishing with 183 points after knocking down 64-of-174 field goal attempts and a team-high 29 3-point field goals along the way. She was also responsible for 79 rebounds, including 67 on the defensive glass, and is third among returning rebounders from a season ago. Bass led all Salem guards with 53 assists, dishing out at least three assists on nine occasions. Her single-game season-high in assists came in a setback to Mary Baldwin on February 9th, where she handed out eight.
Brooks posted the fourth-most points in the 2021-22 campaign, closing with 167, after finishing 59-of-170 from the floor and 43-of-67 at the charity stripe. Those 43 made free throws were third-most on the team last year, resulting in a 64.2 percent efficiency at the free throw line. One of three Salem guards with at least 30 assists, Brooks dished out 36 total assists on the slate. She reached double figure scoring in eight games, netting a single-game season-high 15 in the nine-point win at William Peace on February 12th, which also resulted in her best assist outing (seven) of the season.
Munn rounds out Salem's Top-5 scorers from 2021-22, finishing with 144 points after hitting the third-most field goals (60) over the course of the slate. After missing the first eight games of the season, Munn logged 21 minutes in an outing against Pfeiffer on December 18th, where she finished with nine points. She would finish out the 2021 calendar year with a 15-point outing against Bridgewater (Jan. 29) before having five double-digit scoring performances in 2022. Her best single-game outing came in the second clash with the Falcons, where she tallied 18 points after hitting 7-of-14 from the floor and four free throws along the way.
REBOUNDING MACHINE
Tamsi Echendu will be looked upon to be a leader on the glass again in 2022-23, after hauling in a team-high 141 rebounds last season. Echendu led the team in both offensive rebounds (57) and defensive boards (84) along the way.
The Raleigh, N.C., native had at least five rebounds in a game for Salem on 17 occasions in 2021-22. She reached double-digit rebounds in three of those contests, including a single-game season-high 14, where she pulled down seven offensive boards, in a clash with Pfeiffer on December 18th. Echendu was active on the glass for Salem against Methodist, pulling down 11 rebounds, and had her final double-digit rebound performance of the season at William Peace as she came through with 10 in an overtime victory in the Capital City.
SALEM IN SEASON OPENERS
Salem has posted four wins in season-opening contests dating back to the inaugural season of the basketball program in 2007-08. The Spirits won their first-ever NCAA Division III contest by a 48-44 margin over Bennett on November 16, 2007 in a home contest at Varsity Gym.
Two years later, on November 15, 2009, the Spirits claimed their second season opener against Agnes Scott (80-70) when the two met in the Jackie Ammons Memorial Tournament in Raleigh, N.C.
Salem's third win in a season opener would not come until the 2016-17 season, when the Spirits came away with a 63-52 win over Methodist on November 15, 2016 under then head coach Britni Mohoney. The following season, Mohoney again lead Salem to a season-opening victory, as the Spirits downed Hollins by an 87-46 margin, marking the first time in program history that Salem opened the season with consecutive wins in the first game.
SPIRITS IN ALL-TIME SERIES WITH WARREN WILSON
Tuesday evening marks the eighth all-time head-to-head meeting between Salem and Warren Wilson and first to be held at Varsity Gym since November 16, 2019, when the Owls escaped with a 58-55 victory. It marks the season-opening game for both teams.
Salem won the first three meetings in the series, which came between February 9, 2008 and January 21, 2014, twice scoring 83 points along the way. However, Warren Wilson has won the last four clashes since January 11, 2016 and last season's clash on November 20, 2021.
Warren Wilson ended its 2021-22 season with an 8-16 mark, posting a 5-4 record in Eastern Metro Athletic Conference action. Three of the Owls' eight wins came in the final month of action as they downed Apprentice (74-40), Bob Jones (69-57) and Mid-Atlantic Christian (60-48) in succession.
Senior Kana Parker is the top returning scorer for Warren Wilson, finishing off the 2021-22 season with 171 points after knocking down 50-of-160 field goals and 19-of-63 3-point attempts. Catherine Causby is the leading rebounder to return from last season, grabbing 65 rebounds, including 37 on the offensive glass.
