Next Game: Salem at Greensboro | February 21| Hanes Gym | Greensboro, N.C. | 6:00 p.m.
LAST GAME RECAP (vs. Brevard)
Salem's Savanah Atkins put the finishing touches on her final appearance at Varsity Gym by scoring a career-high 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds, but it was Lexi Shepard's 21-point performance that helped Brevard earn a 66-52 victory over Salem in the regular season finale for the USA South Conference teams on Saturday, February 18th.
Atkins established her single-game career-high by finishing 5-of-6 from the floor, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, and knocking down a free throw. She was also active on the glass with seven rebounds, including three offensive. Teammate Tamsi Echendu joined Atkins in double figure scoring with 10 points, capping off a double-double with 11 rebounds, including six offensive.
Alize Munn was also integral to Salem with 12 rebounds, a single-game career-high, which included nine on the offensive glass. She delivered eight points, hitting four field goals along the way, to go along with two blocks.
Along with Atkins, it marked the final home game for seniors Dionne Sampson and Alize Brooks. Sampson finished the game with six points, four rebounds and four assists. Brooks, who was plagued with foul trouble throughout the contest, logged 14 minutes and emerged with one point, one steal and one rebound.
SALEM MAKES APPEARANCE IN USA SOUTH CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Tuesday evening will mark the seventh time in program history that Salem basketball will compete in a conference tournament. Four of those appearances came when the Spirits were members of the Great South Athletic Conference, taking place between 2013 and 2016.
Salem will make its third appearance in the USA South Conference Tournament, which they reached following the 2017 and 2018 campaigns.
The Spirits are 6-4 all-time in program history in conference tournament appearances, including a 6-2 mark when Salem was a member of the Great South Athletic Conference.
Salem enters its first-ever postseason meeting against Greensboro in USA South Conference Tournament action after facing Huntingdon (2017) and N.C. Wesleyan (2018) in its previous appearances.
SALEM ALL-TIME HISTORY IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
| Opponent | Date | Year | Result | Salem | Opp. |
| vs. Wesleyan (Ga.) # | F22 | 2013 | W | 78 | 16 |
| vs. Agnes Scott # | F23 | 2013 | W | 53 | 51 |
| at Huntingdon # | F24 | 2013 | L | 61 | 73 |
| vs. Presque Isle (Maine) $ | M1 | 2014 | W | 71 | 47 |
| vs. Pine Manor $ | M2 | 2014 | W | 82 | 72 |
| vs. Pine Manor $ | F28 | 2015 | L | 61 | 66 |
| vs. Wesleyan (Ga.) $ | F26 | 2016 | W | 70 | 57 |
| vs. Pine Manor $ | F27 | 2016 | W | 100 | 77 |
| vs. UC-Santa Cruz $ | F28 | 2016 | L | 57 | 73 |
| vs. Huntingdon ^ | F18 | 2017 | L | 86 | 72 |
| at N.C. Wesleyan ^ | F14 | 2018 | L | 63 | 66 |
| #-Great South Athletic Conference | |||||
| ^-USA South Conference |
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES BETWEEN GREENSBORO AND SALEM
Greensboro will host Salem for the 10th time in program history on Tuesday evening when the two teams collide for the third time this season.
The No. 1 seeded Pride are 17-1 all-time when facing Salem and have won the last 14 head-to-head meetings. Salem's lone victory over Greensboro in the series came on December 8, 2013, when the Spirits emerged 60-59 at Varsity Gym.
JANUARY 7, 2023 RECAP: Five players, including four starters, topped double figures in scoring for Greensboro, who prevailed with a 99-62 victory over Salem at Hanes Gym in USA South Conference basketball action on Saturday, January 7th. The Pride were led by Audrey Jennings, who tallied a game-high 22 points, while Salem received solid outings from Tamsi Echendu (16 points) and Cree Bass (15).
After missing the last three games for Salem, Echendu notched her fifth double-digit scoring performance of the season by hitting 7-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-4 at the charity stripe. Bass capped off her second double-digit outing in as many games by converting 5-of-12 from the floor, 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and both free throw attempts.
Alize Brooks was also a double figure scorer for Salem, delivering 11 points by virtue of a 4-of-7 outing that also included four rebounds and two assists. Collectively, the Spirits were 23-of-59 (39%) from the floor, 5-of-14 (35.7%) from beyond the arc and 11-of-16 (68.8%) at the free throw line.
JANUARY 28, 2023 RECAP: Greensboro earned a wire-to-wire USA South Conference victory, highlighted by a 26-point outburst by Audrey Jennings, to stretch its winning streak to 15 games and kept its perfect record in league action intact with a 99-67 victory over Salem at Varsity Gym on Saturday, January 28th.
Salem's Alize Munn put together her third consecutive double-digit point outing, finishing with 21 points by virtue of an 8-of-17 outing from the floor and a 5-of-9 performance at the free throw line. Munn also led the Spirits in rebounds with nine, which equals her single-game season-high.
Minnie Griffin also topped the double-digit mark with 14 points, hitting 4-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 at the charity stripe, eclipsing double figures for the fifth time in 2022-23 and the third time in as many games. Dionne Sampson rounded out double-digit scorers with 12 on the afternoon, forcing one steal along the way.
RECAPPING SALEM THIS SEASON
Salem closed out the 2022-23 regular season claiming five wins in its last eight games, which spanned from January 25th through February 18th. Three of those wins came by virtue of forfeits by William Peace (twice) and Mary Baldwin (once), who canceled their season early, while the remaining victories came over Mary Baldwin (70-53) and Meredith (84-69).
Salem, which enters the USA South Conference Tournament for the first time since 2018, will head to neighboring Greensboro with a 3-19 overall mark and a 5-13 record in conference action.
Senior Dionne Sampson enters her first appearance in the league postseason tournament with a team-best 285 points (13.0 ppg) after eclipsing double-digit points in 19 of 22 contests. Sampson knocked down 89 of her team-high 301 field goal attempts and was successful on 92-of-134 free throws (68.7%) on the season. In Salem's two league wins, Sampson reached the 20-point plateau in each contest, which came against Mary Baldwin (22) and Meredith (24).
Alize Munn was also an integral part of the offense with 218 points (10.9 ppg), while Tamsi Echendu was third on the team in scoring with 191 points. In total, Salem had six players, including Cree Bass (174), Minnie Griffin (151) and Alize Brooks (114) to score at least 100 points on the slate.
Echendu was also active on the glass, grabbing a team-high 142 rebounds, including 77 defensive rebounds. That was 21 more total rebounds than Munn, who also posted 77 defensive boards.
Munn also made her presence felt defensively with 24 blocks, which is the eighth-most in program history in a single-season. While Munn was converting blocks, Sampson forced a team-best 55 steals and handed out 62 assists along the way.
REVIEWING GREENSBORO THIS SEASON
The Pride put the finishing touches on a perfect season in USA South Conference play by finishing 18-0 versus league opposition. Greensboro begins the USA South Conference Tournament with a 20-game winning streak that began with 78-63 victory over Pfeiffer on December 6, 2022.
Greensboro's undefeated march through league action came due in large part to Audrey Jennings, who led The Pride with 433 points (17.3 ppg), and Ta'Keria Legette, who tallied 353 points (14.1 ppg). In total, Greensboro had seven players score at least 175 points on the season, averaging 85 points per contest as a team.
Aijah Palmore was the top rebounder for The Pride with 252 (10.1 rpg), while Quadijah Moore snapped down 183 rebounds on the season. Moore converted a team-best 44 blocks, while Leggette was also an integral defender with 98 steals.
The offense, which tallied 2,126 points on the season, was quarterbacked by guard Lauren Livingston, who handed out a team-high 144 assists.