In a battle between the Shawnee State Bears (22-4, 12-2) and the Georgetown Tigers (17-8, 9-4) in a Mid-South Conference showdown the Bears pulled out a 68-59 victory, as Shawnee State out hustled and used a scrappy defense style to win on homecoming day.
The Tigers jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead making their first three shots of the game. A quick jumper from Alex Pohl (Loveland, OH) and a 3-pointer from Schera Sampson (Round Rock, TX) pulled the Bears even at 7-7. The next possession Abby Ballman (Cincinnati, OH) would hit a 3-pointer to help Shawnee State go on an 8-0 run.
For most of the first half the crowd saw a scrappy effort from both teams as neither seemed to give an inch, With 4:38 remaining in the first half and the score tied at 22-22, Alannah Sheets (Leon, WV) hit 1-of-2 free-throws to break the tie. Two possessions later Shewets hit a 3-pointer to extend the Bears lead to 28-22. Back-to-back layups from Tabby McKinney (Canton, OH) and Sheets and two free-throws from Ballman would help Shawnee State end the half on a 14-5 run.
The Bears won the hustle points in the half as Shawnee State outscored the Tigers 22-10 in the paint. The Bears also had 12 points off of 14 first half turnovers from the Tigers and also added 11 second chance points. Shawnee State entered halftime leading 36-27.
A layup from Pohl started the Bears second half to go quickly up by 11. However, the Tigers down 40-31 went on a 7-0 run in a 2:44 span to claw within two. A jumper from Ballman and a layup from Pohl quickly extended Shawnee States lead to six with 13:06 remaining in the game.
Down six, Georgetown again clawed its way back into the game with two free-throws and an and-one play from Andrea Howard to pull the Tigers within 46-44. However, Shawnee State would go on a 7-0 run in the next 2:11 highlighted by five free-throws from Sheets and a jumper from Pohl. Up 62-52 Ballman would hit another 3-pointer to extend the Bears lead to 13, the biggest in the game.
Shawnee State proved to be too much in the hustle points outscoring the Tigers 38-20 in the paint. The Bears also outscored Georgetown 18-8 in points off turnovers forcing 19 total Tiger turnovers. Shawnee State also had 13 second chance points to only seven for the Tigers.
For the Bears four players scored in double figures. Pohl scored a team-high 17 points along with 12 rebounds and two blocks. Ballman scored 14 points, six rebounds and had three steals. Sheets also scored 14 points and Erin Dailey came off the bench scoring a career-high 11 points and added five rebounds.
For the game Shawnee State shot 42 percent from the field as Georgetown shot 20-58. From beyond the arc the Bears shot 4-18 while the Tigers shot 26 percent. Shawnee State outscored Georgetown at the free-throw line making 16-25 compared to 13-18 for the Tigers.
Shawnee State will return to action Feb. 16 as the 10thranked Bears will take on the 24thranked Blue Raiders from Lindsey Wilson. Shawnee State defeated Lindsey Wilson 72-60 earlier in the year.
