Shawnee State (20-4, 10-2) outscored the Pikeville Bears (4-20, 0-12) 50-32 in the second half behind seven 3-pointers in the second half and 11 overall. Behind the strong half, the Bears came out 85-64 winners and left Pikeville still searching for their first conference win of the season.
In the first half the home crowd saw a close battle in a Mid-South Conference showdown. The half consisted of six lead changes and five scoring ties with the largest lead being five from Shawnee State. A jumper from Schera Sampson (Round Rock, TX) got the Bears on the board as Alex Pohl (Loveland, OH) followed with a jumper of her own the next possession.
However, Pikeville would answer everything Shawnee State threw at them. A 3-pointer from Jennifer Grant (Pikeville) tied the game at 7 apiece with 17:22 remaining. It was Abby Ballman (Cincinnati, OH) that hit three 3-pointers in the half to keep the Bears in the game. With the score tied at 19-19 Pikeville's Whitney Jackson hit a jumper for a 21-19 lead. The lead was short lived as Ballman came down the next possession and made another 3-pointer to answer Jackson.
The battle would continue throughout the half as Sampson and Catrice Mitchell (Columbus, OH) would make back-to-back layups at the 7:13 mark and the 6:42 mark, pushing their lead to 26-23. Pikeville would get a chance to answer after a media timeout, only to see Sampson block a shot attempt and then followed by a jumper from Sampson.
The sequence pushed the lead to five which was the largest of the half. In an equal first half, both teams shot 48 percent and 12 points apiece in the paint. Despite 3-7 from beyond the arc in the half for Ballman the Bears finished 4-13 compared to 4-5 for Pikeville. The Bears did have 13 assists on 14 field goals as Shawnee State entered halftime leading 35-32.
The second half was a complete different story as Shawnee State went into a full-court press pressuring Pikeville. Up 38-34 Ballman hit a 3-pointer at the 17:44 mark to push the Bears lead to seven. With the score 48-43, Shawnee State would go on an 8-0 to extend their lead to 13. The run got started from a 3-pointer from Ballman and a jumper from Mitchell. The run was ended when Pikeville's Brooke Coleman hit a jumper.
However, the Bears would go on a 13-0 run capped off by buckets from Sampson, Mitchell, Alannah Sheets (Leon, WV), and another 3-pointer from Ballman. Sheets who made 3-6 from beyond the arc a 3-pointer at the 8:05 mark to extend Shawnee States lead to 72-47.
Sheets on the next Bear possession made another 3-pointer as it seemed like everything was falling from beyond the arc for Shawnee State. Up 27 Shawnee State's Allison Nagle (Loveland, OH) joined the party and made a 3-pointer with 5:49 remaining. Three possessions for the Bears Kayla Wiley (New Boston, OH) made a 3-pointer finishing off an impressive showcase of 3-point shooting.
Five players for Shawnee State scored in double figures. Ballman scored a team-high 20 points to move into the Bears Top-10 allt-time scorers. She also had seven assists and three rebounds and went 6-10 from beyond the arc and 2-2 at the free-throw line. Sampson scored 16 points which marks her career high. She also chipped in with seven rebounds and a block shot. Sheets helped with 13 points and five assists. Pohl scored 10 points and Mitchell came off the bench scoring 12 points and three block shots.
For the game Shawnee State shot 51 percent from the field as Pikeville shot 21-44. From beyond the arc the Bears shot an impressive 11-25 as Pikeville also shot well, going 7-12. Shawnee State went 14-17 from the line and Pikeville shot 15-20.
Shawnee State will return in action Feb. 11 against (18) Georgetown College. The game will be played on homecoming day for the Bears. Shawnee State will be looking to revenge a 74-68 loss against the Tigers earlier in the season.
