Shawnee State stayed unbeaten in the Mid-South Conference with an 82-64 victory over the visiting Patriots of St. Catharine (9-3, 0-3). The fourth-ranked Bears (8-2, 4-0) used a combined 56 points from Abby Ballman, Alannah Sheets and Alex Pohl to help Shawnee State win its eighth game and stayed unbeaten at home.
In the first half, hot shooting was the story for both sides. The Bears shot 59% from the field in the first half going 19-32 and 4-7 for 57% from beyond the arc. While the Patriots shot 50% going 9-18 from the field and 70% from the free-throw line making 12-17 attempts. With the game tight throughout the first 10 minutes, Shawnee State was up by four until Rachael Young's three-pointer helped jumpstart a 7-0 run to extend the Bears lead to nine. Ballman, (Cincinnati, OH) then got an open lane later in the half and finished the and-one with a free-throw giving Shawnee State a 10 point lead with 3:40 in the half. Sheets, (Leon, WV) then made a three-pointer a few possessions later giving the Bears a 13 point lead with 2:18 left in the half. Shawnee State finished the first half on a 29-12 run, giving them a 46-32 lead.
The Bears trio picked right back up in the second half, Pohl's (Loveland, OH) four field goals in a row and eight points helped Shawnee State jump out to a 54-38 lead, giving St. Catharine little hope. On the ensuing possession, it was Sheets with a lay-in and a foul for a three-point play and two possessions later, Ballman's layup gave the Bears a comfortable 61-38 lead. Shawnee State led by as many as 28 points in the second half while shooting 48% in the half while holding the Patriots to 39% shooting in the half.
For the Bears, Ballman scored 19 points, five rebounds and five assists shooting 8-15 from the field and 2-3 from the free-throw line. For Sheets, she scored 23 points (One shy of her career high) pulled in four rebounds and added a career best, four assists. Sheets went 9-15 from the field and 2-5 from beyond the arc. Pohl scored 14 points, pulling down 11 boards and added one assists in 35 minutes of action. The trio combined for 56 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists.
Shawnee State will be in action December 9th against Notre Dame at 8:00pm in a non-conference game in the SSU weekend tournament. The Bears will follow the game played between Georgetown College and 12th ranked Olivet Nazarene University which will be played at 6:00pm.
