Salem Basketball won their third straight home game tonight, taking down Warren Wilson 68-58.

The Spirits got off to a slow start, only scoring two field goals in the first five minutes of quarter one. A layup from Nicole Hester pushed the Salem offense over the hump, spurring them on to an unanswered seven-point run. A free throw from Tyla Whitehead tied it up for the Spirits with just over a minute left in the quarter. The Owls were able to find one more bucket to go into the second quarter up by two.

The Owls got off to another strong start in quarter two, scoring five points in the first minute. After some solid defense on both sides, Salem's first point came off of a strong take from Hester, who drew the foul and sank a free throw. The Spirits started to find their rhythm after a great defensive play from Whitehead, snagging a steal and securing a fast-break layup. Then, Cristina Battistini and Triana Smallwood connected twice in thirty seconds, bringing Salem within four. Just over a minute later and seconds after subbing in, Catherine Jordan Cano scored off of a well-executed inbound play. Soon after, a three-pointer from Amy Pedroza and a layup from Lauren Ringwood tied it up for the Spirits. Three straight free throws from the Owls pushed the lead back their way, but it wasn't long before Battistini scored her third layup of the quarter to return to a one score game. Pedroza, wanting to end the half on a high note, drew a foul with 13 seconds left. Cool, calm, and collected, she hit both free throws to send Salem to halftime up by one. 

Keeping their momentum rolling into half two, the Spirits the third quarter their most dominant,  outsourcing the Owls 19-10. Anayah Noell started off the third frame with a bang, securing an and-one just 16 seconds in. Four made free throws from WW brought Salem's lead down to two. For the next four minutes, the Owls kept it to a two possession game. The last three and a half minutes of the quarter was all Salem, scoring eight points to WW's one. A steal from Pedroza finished out the quarter, sending the Spirits into the final 10 minutes up 10. 

Hester opened up the scoring in quarter four, followed soon after by six straight points from Whitehead. The Spirits held onto a double digit lead for nearly seven minutes, with their largest margin being 17. Eight unanswered points from the Owls made things interesting, bringing WW within nine. Two free throws from Pedroza pushed the lead back to 11, but were soon answered by a free throw and a layup. But the Spirit's hard work had paid off, having built a big enough gap to hold on to a strong lead. The cherry on top was three more free throws from Pedroza, pushing the lead back up to 10 and bringing the final score to 68-58. 

Nicole Hester dropped a second double-double, leading the team in both points and rebounds with 16 and 13 respectively. Tyla Whitehead led in steals with four, while both Amy Pedroza and Triana Smallwood snagged four assists. Pedroza and Cristina Battistina also hit double digits in points, knocking down 15 and 10. 

The Spirits will next be in action on December 16th where they host Methodist.