In a non-conference match-up between the Shawnee State Bears (15-4, 5-2) and the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears (6-14), the Bears prevailed 91-58 despite not having leading scorer Alannah Sheets.
In the first half, Shawnee State got out to a fast start and never looked back. Schera Sampson (Round Rock, TX), who made her home debut, scored or assisted on the Bears first 10 of its 12 points. The Bears seemed to build on that and jumped out to a quick 22-4 lead using hot shooting and equal scoring throughout the team.
Abby Ballman (Cincinnati, OH) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend Shawnee State's lead to 21. As the lead grew to 25, the Bears were able to play everyone at least four minutes in the first half. 10 of the 11 scored as Alex Pohl (Loveland, OH) led all scorers with nine points. Shawnee State shot 51 percent from the floor as the Bears were able to get easy shots in the paint.
Shawnee State outscored the Golden Bears 22-2 in the paint in the first half. The Bears also made 5-12 from beyond the arc in the half while holding West Virginia Tech to 32 percent shooting and forced 10 turnovers. Shawnee State headed into halftime with a lead of 47-27.
In the second half the Bears did not let up, jumping out to a 60-33 lead. It was the biggest lead Shawnee State had at the time. West Virginia answered with a 6-0 run of their own before a Catrice Mitchell (Columbus, OH) layup ended the Golden Bears run. However, West Virginia Tech kept attacking and got three and-one calls to cut the lead to 17, the closest they've been since the 8:48 mark in the first half.
A pair of 3-pointers from Rachel Young (Dayton, OH) however, pushed the lead to 30. The 3-pointers from Young marked the last person to score for Shawnee State as everyone scored. Next possession down, a layup from Tabby McKinney gave the Bears a lead of 32 ending little hopes of a comeback from the Golden Bears.
Five Bears scored in double figures as everyone on Shawnee State scored at least two points. Sampson and Pohl led the way for Shawnee State with 16 points each as Ballman chipped in with 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. Mitchell and Young came off the bench and scored 12 points and 11 points respectively.
For the game, Shawnee State shot 50 percent from the field while holding West Virginia Tech to a dismal 32 percent. The Bears went 8-21 from beyond the arc while the Golden Bears went 7-31. Both teams made 15 free-throws.
The 12th ranked Bears will be in action Saturday, January 21st against rival Rio Grande. The game will be a "Pink Out" and free shirts will be given to the first 1,000 fans.
