ROME, Ga. – Seniors Dionne Sampson and Cree Bass were among those recognized as top performers by the USA South Conference, when the league announced its 2023-24 awards for basketball on Wednesday, February 21st.

Sampson was named Second Team All-Conference and Bass was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team by the league's coaches.

Sampson becomes the third different Spirit to earn All-Conference honors from the USA South Conference since Salem joined the league in 2016. She joins Mikayla Seivers and Sabrina Shepherd as the only three players in program history to be distinguished with the honor. Seivers was named All-Conference Second Team West Division in 2016-17 and claimed the same accolade for the East Division in 2017-18. Shepherd picked up All-Conference Second Team West Division honors in 2016-17 and followed that up by being named First Team in the East Division the following season.

Sampson closed out one of the best individual seasons in Salem basketball history in 2023-24, finishing with 411 points (16.4 ppg) where she led the team in field goals made (147), field goals attempted (371), free throws made (100) and free throws attempted (136). By virtue of hitting 73.5 percent from the free throw line in 2023-24, Sampson closed out her career by converting 72.2 percent at the charity stripe.

With her 411 points on the season, Sampson became the fifth different Spirit to eclipse 400 points in a season and scored the sixth-most single-season points in program history. She also became the fourth different Salem player to score 1,000 points in a career, which came in a February 2nd clash against Pfeiffer at Varsity Gym. The Burlington, N.C., native, who finished with 1,086 points, joined Sabrina Shepherd (1,493), Quntashea Lewis (1,208) and MiKayla Seivers (1,126) among Salem players with 1,000 career points.

Sampson concluded the 2023-24 season by reaching double figures in 24 of 25 contests, eclipsing the 20-point mark on six occasions. Her best single-game performance of the season came against USA South Conference rival Greensboro, where she closed with 27 points by virtue of a 9-of-14 (64.3%) outing from the floor and an 8-of-9 performance at the free throw line. She also came through with 20-point games versus Brevard (25 / Dec. 2), William Peace (24 / Jan. 10), Meredith (22 / Jan. 23) and Mary Baldwin (24 / February 3).

Bass earned the first postseason award of her collegiate career by being named to the All-Sportsmanship unit. She capped off the season with the fourth-most points on the team (179) after hitting a team-best 39-of-144 from 3-point range.

Bass came through with the third-most field goals (62) of any player on the roster and was responsible for 91 rebounds, including 81 defensive boards, which was fifth-most. She was also a facilitator for the Spirits' offense with 46 assists, second-most on the team, while forcing 35 steals.

Bass closed out her Salem career with 544 points (8.0 ppg), knocking down 194 field goals, 93 3-pointers and 63 free throws along the way. With 544 career points, Bass leaves with the 13th-most points in program history. Additionally, she has the fifth-most 3-pointers in Salem history and 11th-most career field goals.

In three years on the court, Bass had at least 60 field goals and 25 3-pointers for the Salem offense.

In 2023-24, Bass reached double figures on nine occasions, topping the double-digit mark against five USA South Conference opponents. She scored 16 points in back-to-back outings against N.C. Wesleyan (Jan. 3) and Greensboro (Jan. 6) before coming through with 13 points in a 95-83 triumph over William Peace on January 10th. Bass delivered 13 points in a February 2nd clash with Pfeiffer and reached double figures (12 points) in her final appearance at Varsity Gym, which came against William Peace on February 10th.

Bass joins Alexihonna Bush (2016-17), Tarryn Johnson (2017-18), Aaliyah Webb (2018-19), Lauren Privette (2019-20), Sydney Bowen (2021-22) and Savanah Atkins (2022-23), who also won the All-Sportsmanship award from the USA South Conference.

2023-24 USA South Women's Basketball All-Conference Team