AMHERST, N.Y. – No. 2 women's basketball opened its 2012-13 season with a 77-52 victory against Ryerson (a Canadian University) during the first day of the Daemen Tournament. The Bears took a five point lead into the half but began to roll in the second half, outscoring their opponents 47-27 over the final 20 minutes to secure the season's first win.
Junior Alannah Sheets was one of three SSU players to finish the game with double-figure scoring. She finished with a team-high 19 points. Thirteen of those points came during the second half. Diane Abbady finished with 14 points off the bench in her Shawnee State debut, while Schera Sampson added 12 to the winning effort.
The Bears jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead with the aid of a pair of Sheets' three pointers in the opening three minutes. However, Ryerson would knot the game at 10-all before taking a their biggest lead of the night by four with 5:11 to play in the opening half.
A layup by Abbady and three pointer by Jessica Vidalez would give the Bears the lead back and they would not trail for the remainder of the game. Over the final five minutes of the opening half, the Bears scored 13 of the final 17 points.
Carrying that momentum into the second half, the Bears would stretch their lead to 12, at 46-34, with just over 16 minutes remaining. Ryerson brought the game back under a 10-point deficit, at 50-42 with 12:41 remaining. However, the Bears would then turn up the pressure defensively and go on a 19-0 run over the next 5:45. Sampson would score eight of her 12 points during that run as the Bears stretched their lead to 69-42 with seven minutes to play. Allison Nagle would chip in five points during that 19-0 run.
Even after the being held scoreless for 5:45, Ryerson would manage just 10 points over the last 6:56, giving them just 10 points in the final 12:41 of play. During that same time frame, the Bears scored 27 points to lock down the first win of the year.
After shooting 33.3-percent from the field in the opening half, the Bears shot over 55-percent (16-29) during the second half, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. The Bears also got to the foul line 17 times over the final 20 minutes, compared to just three times in the first half. Leading all scorers in the second half, Sheets went 5-of-6 from the field, making her only three-point shot and adding two more free throws.
Fourteen different players saw playing time in the season opening win. SSU's starting lineup also included two freshmen in Abby Feuchter and Kara Long. Long scored seven points in her collegiate debut, while Feuchter dished out eight assists against just two turnovers running the point. Fellow freshman Ali Zieverink was a very efficient 4-of-5 from the field, scoring eight in her collegiate debut.
The Bears held a slight 44-37 edge in rebounding as 13 different players pulled down at least one board. Shawnee State also forced 30 turnovers from Ryerson, including 17 steals, four of which came from Sampson – a new career best for her.
Shawnee state will be back in action Saturday against another University from Canada as the Bears take on Guelph at noon.
