Opponent:
N.C. Wesleyan vs. Salem | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 2 p.m. | January 13 | Varsity Gym
Methodist vs. Salem | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 4 p.m. | January 14 | Varsity Gym

TWO GAMES IN TWO DAYS AWAIT SALEM BASKETBALL THIS WEEKEND
The Salem basketball team wraps up a three-game week with a two-game, two-day stretch against both N.C. Wesleyan (Saturday / January 13) and Methodist (Sunday / January 14) in USA South Conference action at Varsity Gym. The Spirits will complete their brief three-game homestand with a game against Southern Virginia on Wednesday, January 17th.

SPIRITS EARN CONSECUTIVE USA SOUTH CONFERENCE WINS
For the first time since the 2017-18 campaign, Salem heads into a USA South Conference clash with at least a two-game winning streak.

After posting an 88-64 victory over intracity rival Greensboro, quickly followed by a 95-83 triumph over William Peace, Salem has posted consecutive league wins for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.

In 2017-18, Salem posted four straight league wins, between January 14-27, over Mary Baldwin (69-54), N.C. Wesleyan (84-71), Methodist (67-53) and Mary Baldwin (86-45). The Spirits posted an 8-8 record that season under then head coach Britni Mohoney.

The 2016-17 season marked the last time that Salem posted consecutive home USA South Conference wins, which came over Agnes Scott (65-61 / January 14) and Wesleyan (Ga.) (59-49). The Spirits, with a victory over N.C. Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon, have a chance to equal that feat.

MUNN, SAMPSON HELP SALEM COMPLETE VICTORY OVER WILLIAM PEACE
Alize Munn scored a career-high 35 points, one point off the program mark established by Satavia Taylor on January 11, 2014, and Dionne Sampson added 24 points of her own as Salem earned a 95-83 victory at William Peace in USA South Conference action on Wednesday afternoon.

The victory, coupled with an 88-64 win over Greensboro at Varsity Gym on Saturday, gives Salem its first back-to-back wins in USA South Conference action since the 2017-18 campaign. In January 2018, Salem posted four straight wins between the 14th and 27th against Mary Baldwin, N.C. Wesleyan, Methodist and Mary Baldwin. This season marks the first time that Salem has won consecutive USA South Conference games since that stretch.

Munn reached her single-game career-high by converting 15-of-23 from the floor and draining 5-of-7 free throws in 25 minutes of action. She capped off her third double-double of the season with 14 rebounds, grabbing eight off the offensive glass. Meanwhile, Sampson tallied 24 with a 7-of-18 outing from the floor, knocking down 10-of-11 at the free throw line to go along with six assists and four steals.

Salem also received double-digit scoring performances from Ti'Erra Lee (14) and Cree Bass (13). Lee finished 7-of-12 from the floor, while hauling in eight rebounds (five offensive) in the contest. Bass reached double figures largely off hitting a trio of 3-pointers, while knocking down two free throws to go along with nine rebounds.

Salem finished the game off by hitting 35-of-75 from the floor (46.7%) and 22-of-27 (81.5%) at the free throw line.

MUNN WITH THREE DOUBLE-DOUBLE PERFORMANCES IN 2023-24
Senior Alize Munn has been the only player to deliver a double-double performance in the 2023-24 campaign for Salem.

Through the first 11 games, Munn has three double-double outings to her credit. Her first came as part of a 17-point, 14-rebound performance against Trinity (D.C.), resulting in a 69-62 victory. She followed that by having 27 points and 10 rebounds in the clash with Agnes Scott, also marking a Salem win (72-54).

That capped off an impressive three-game stretch where she scored 68 points and grabbed 33 rebounds by earning USA South Player of the Week honors in an announcement from the league office on Monday, November 20th.

Munn was instrumental in helping the Spirits start a season 3-0 for the first time in program history, hitting 29-of-49 (59.2%) from the floor and 10-of-12 (83.3%) at the charity stripe. She also climbed the glass for 33 rebounds, including 15 offensive boards, while forcing 10 steals and finishing with two blocked shots during that three-game stretch.

Munn's most recent double-double against William Peace, which came on January 10th, placed her in unique company at Salem. She became the seventh player in program history to notch a double-double as part of a 30-point outing. Munn climbed the glass for 14 rebounds, tying William Peace's Tanesha Ellison for the game-high in that category.

With that double-double, Munn is the sixth Spirit to have a double-double by virtue of points and rebounds in a 30-point outing and the seventh player in program history to amass a double-double as part of her 30-point performance. Dionne Sampson is the only Spirit to have a double-double by virtue of points and assists in a 30-point effort.

SALEM ALL-TIME DOUBLE-DOUBLES (min. 30 points)

SAMPSON MAKING HUGE IMPACT ON SALEM LINEUP
Graduate senior guard Dionne Sampson is making a huge mark on the Salem lineup through 12 games in 2023-24.

Sampson leads all Spirits with 208 points, hitting 70-of-180 (38.9%) from the field along the way, and has managed to convert 61-of-82 (74.4%) at the free throw line. That has allowed her to move her career point total to 883.

Sampson, who entered the season with 675 points to her credit, needs just 117 points to become the fourth different scorer with 1,000 points at Salem. The others include Sabrina Shepherd (1,493), Quntashea Lewis (1,208) and MiKayla Seivers (1,126).

Sampson has notched back-to-back 20-point games, giving her three on the season, and sparked the Spirits to consecutive wins along the way. She came through with a 27-point effort against Greensboro, as Salem claimed the second league victory of the season. On Wednesday evening, Sampson scored 24 points at William Peace in the 12-point Spirits' victory.

That marked the third time this season that Sampson has eclipsed the 20-point mark, following a 25-point effort against Brevard (Dec. 2) and a 21-point outing versus Ferrum (Dec. 15).

Sampson has notched at least 20 points on eight occasions in her Salem career, including a career-best 30, which came against William Peace on February 12, 2022. Last season, Sampson also delivered three 20-point scoring efforts, which came against Mary Baldwin (22 | Jan. 25), Meredith (24 | Feb. 11) and Greensboro (21 | Feb. 21).

BASS CONVERTING A TEAM-BEST IN 3-POINT FIELD GOALS
Cree Bass, who leads all Salem shooters in 3-pointers on the season, 26, needs just on more to move into a tie for 15th-most alongside Zy Henderson in a single-season in program history. With three conversions against William Peace on Wednesday evening, Bass has now converted at least 25 3-pointers in a single season on two occasions.

Bass, who has cracked the starting lineup on three occasions, has scored 18 of her 26 3-pointers as a reserve, including four in the triumph over Greensboro last Saturday afternoon. Those quartet of treys by Bass equaled her single-game mark for the season, which she established at N.C. Wesleyan on January 3rd.

ANALYZING N.C. WESLEYAN IN 2023-24
The Spirits are looking to earn a season split with N.C. Wesleyan for the second time in program history and first time since the 2017-18 campaign. That season, the Battling Bishops took the opening game of the regular season series by a 71-66 score before Salem followed with an 84-71 win in Rocky Mount, N.C. on January 20th.

Salem and N.C. Wesleyan clashed on January 3rd with the Battling Bishops posting a 107-67 victory. Since the 40-point victory against Salem, N.C. Wesleyan has split two contests with both Southern Virginia (L, 67-74) and Meredith (W, 93-43). 

Recap (Jan. 3, 2024): Dorinda Jordan closed with a game-high 22 points, while Anya Hall added 20 as N.C. Wesleyan picked up its fourth USA South Conference victory and eighth straight in the head-to-head series with a 107-67 victory at Everett Gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon.

The game marked the second time in program history that an N.C. Wesleyan squad scored 100 points against the Spirits. The other came on February 2, 2020, when the Battling Bishops finished with 111 points. It is the 10th time in Salem basketball history that an opponent reached the century mark.

Salem was led offensively by senior Cree Bass, who finished 6-of-15 (40%) from the floor and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. She also grabbed six rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and forced one steal. Alize Munn joined Bass in double figures with 12 points, while grabbing a team-best 11 boards (six defensive) along the way to her third double-double of the campaign. Munn knocked down 5-of-7 from the floor and both free throws in the victory.

Dionne Sampson finished with 11 points, after converting 4-of-14 from the floor, to go along with three assists. Both Nykerah Engle and Cristina Battistini had solid efforts with eight and seven points, respectively. As did Ti'Erra Lee, who came through with five rebounds as she earned the starting nod for Salem.

Salem capped off the game by hitting 40 percent (26-of-65) from the field and was successful on nine free throws and six 3-pointers.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. N.C. Wesleyan)

ANALYZING METHODIST IN 2023-24
Methodist will also a two-game, two-day stretch this weekend with the Monarchs heading to Meredith on Saturday afternoon.

Methodist is 8-5 overall and 5-1 in the USA South Conference standings, putting them one game behind Southern Virginia for first place in the league standings. The Monarchs are tied for second with N.C. Wesleyan as the two look to keep pace with each other.

Methodist has three players with at least 100 points on the team this season, including Aniyah Tate, who has 184 points (15.3 ppg) by virtue of hitting a team-high 75 field goals on the campaign. Tate has been successful on 75-of-141 field goals (53.2%), giving her the best field goal percentage on the unit.

Kiley Hicks is second in scoring (143 points), knocking down 56-of-118 (47.5%) from the floor, while the top marksman on the squad is Jessica Drake, who has amassed 135 points, primarily due to 48 field goals and 30 3-point field goals.

Hicks is also the team leader in rebounds with 81, grabbing 55 on the defensive glass, while Tate is second with 75. Melissa D'Oleo leads all Monarchs with 27 steals, while Hicks tops the unit in blocks with eight.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Methodist)