Salem vs. Johnson & Wales | December 17 | Varsity Gym | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 2 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. Brevard)
Salem junior sharpshooter Alize Munn scored a career-high 25 points, hitting 11-of-17 from the floor, while grabbing five rebounds, but Brevard countered with five players in double figures, including Calli Wells, who scored 22, to help the Tornadoes claim a 96-84 victory at Boshamer Gymnasium on Saturday, December 3rd in USA South Conference action.
Munn, led all scorers in the contest, logged 35 minutes and finished 11-of-17 from the floor and was successful on 3-of-4 at the free throw line. She also climbed the glass for five rebounds, pulling down four on the defensive end. Tamsi Echendu narrowly missed her second 20-point game of the slate, finishing with 19 points after converting 7-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-7 at the charity stripe.
Dionne Sampson reached double figure scoring for Salem, hitting 6-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-8 free throws, while handing out four assists and forcing four steals.
Salem closed the game by hitting 32-of-65 (49.2%) from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and knocking down 17-of-23 at the free throw line.
Wells' 22-point outing led the way offensively for the Tornados, who were 33-of-80 (41.3%) from the field and 24-of-28 (85.7%) at the free throw line.
SALEM RETURNS FROM 14-DAY BREAK
The Spirits make their return to the court after a 14-day break for exams at Salem College.
WILDCATS, SPIRITS MEET FOR THIRD TIME
This weekend's game marks the third time in program history that Salem has clashed with Johnson & Wales.
The two teams met twice during the 2019 calendar year, including a first-ever meeting at Johnson & Wales on January 29th. In that contest, the Wildcats prevailed with an 83-66 victory due in large part to jumping out to a 21-6 lead at the close of the first quarter. Sydney Bowen and Tamara Blanton, led the Spirits offensively scoring 22 and 21 points, respectively. Aaliyah Webb pitched in 14 points while guard Chaniece Moss, turned in a solid blue collar effort recording seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals on the night.
Salem hosted the Wildcats in the second clash of the two teams, falling by a 69-58 score on November 20th. The Spirits offense was led by the backcourt duo of Alize Brooks and Dionne Sampson, who combined for 35 points and five steals.
Brooks led all Salem scorers with 18 points, hitting 7-of-24 from the floor and 2-of-6 from the free throw line. She knocked down a pair of long range 3-pointers, while grabbing five rebounds and handing out two assists. Sampson converted 7-of-13 from the floor along with a pair of 3-pointers. Lauren Privette (13 rebounds) and Aubrey Slaughter (10) provided a presence in the post for Salem, which had 47 total rebounds, including 16 on the offensive glass. Privette pulled down six offensive rebounds, while Slaughter snagged eight defensive boards.
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 six consecutive contests.
STATISTICAL LEADERS FOR THE SPIRITS
With five double-digit scoring efforts to her credit, including a single-game career-high 25 in Salem's most recent outing against Brevard, Alize Munn has become the Spirits' leading scorer on the season. Munn has knocked down 38-of-72 (52.8%) from the field and 11-of-17 (64.7%) at the free throw line to lead the unit with 87 points.
Tamsi Echendu is second in scoring for Salem with 78 points, while Dionne Sampson sits in third with 76 points to her credit. Echendu is the most efficient shooter in the Salem lineup, hitting 25-of-45 (55.6%) from the floor, while Sampson leads the way among free throw shooters by virtue of a 26-of-35 (74.3%) outing at the line.
Cree Bass leads a quartet of shooters from 3-point range, hitting 6-of-25 (24%) from 3-point range. Minnie Griffin is second among 3-point shooters (5-of-12) while Sampson and Alize Brooks are third with four apiece.
Echendu has been a cog in the paint for Salem, grabbing a team-high 49 rebounds, including 27 on the defensive glass. That is 11 more boards and Munn, who has hauled in 25 defensively, and 21 more than Brooks, who has 28 total rebounds on the season. Bass tops the team in assists with 24 dimes and is one of four players, along with Echendu, Munn and Sampson, to force 12 steals.
ANALYZING THE WILDCATS
Johnson & Wales picked up its seventh win of the 2022-23 season and third win of December on Thursday evening with a 71-59 downing of Averett. It marked the fourth time in the month that the Wildcats have scored at least 70 points in a game, keeping pace with the 72.6 point per game average that Johnson & Wales has this season.
The two other wins in December came against Apprentice (86-64) and Bob Jones (72-52).
The Wildcats are led in points by the trio of Tanaeschia Dorsey (163), Jordan Durant (161) and Jayla Lovett (116). Dorsey has knocked down 59-of-132 (44.7%) from the field, including seven from 3-point range, and leads the team at the free throw line (38-of-48) at a pace of 79.2 percent.
Durant has converted the most field goals (64-of-136) at a 47.1 percent clip, knocking down 14-of-45 from 3-point range and equals Dorsey's free throw percentage (79.2) after hitting 19-of-24. Lovett has reached the 100-point plateau after hitting 47-of-124 from the field.
Joviah White has grabbed the most rebounds (103) of any Wildcat on the team, hauling in 69 on the defensive glass. Durant is second on the unit with 90, clearing the defensive glass on 55 occasions, while forcing a team-best 29 steals and 40 assists. Freshman guard Victoria Boddie is second on the team in assists (30), while White has made a team-high 27 blocks.