MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Women's Basketball) – In just two appearances for the Shawnee State women's basketball team this season, Shavon Robinson (SR/Canton, Ohio) is showing what landed her Mid-American Conference All-Freshman Team honors during her tenure at Ohio University.
Robinson scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and notched three steals and three assists, as the senior led SSU to a 69-59 victory over Faulkner University on Tuesday afternoon at the AUM Holiday Classic. The Bears finished 2-0 at the classic, moving to 13-3, overall to finish out the 2014 calendar year.
Ali Zieverink (JR/West Chester, Ohio) added 11 points and nine rebounds in the contest, despite connecting on just 4-of-14 shooting in the game. Rebecca Bruner (SR/Springfield, Ohio) added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Ashley McMurtrey (FR/Louisville, Ky.) aided with 11 points and a season-high five assists.
The Bears got off to an inauspicious start in the opening minutes versus Faulkner, who moved to 8-5 with the loss. The Lady Eagles jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the opening minutes, forcing 10 SSU turnovers during the first 11 minutes. After missing just eight shots during the first half of Monday's victory over Auburn Montgomery, the Bears hit just 2-of-12 from the field to start the game.
Trailing 16-7, the switch finally switched for Shawnee State, as the squad rattled off a 15-0. A bucket from Bruner with 6:58 on the clock handed the Bears their first lead of the contest at 17-16. In total, SSU closed the half on a 25-5 run to head into the locker room with a 32-21 advantage.
Bruner finished the opening stanza with a game-high 13 points, connecting on 3-of-4 from long distance. Robinson tacked on seven points and seven boards in the half, which featured just an 11-of-30 shooting clip and 12 turnovers for the Bears.
After an immediate bucket from Faulkner's Taylor Love to open the half, Zieverink connected on a pair of layups, bookending a McMurtrey three-pointer, and Shawnee State saw its advantage grow to 16 in under a minute and a half.
The Bears pushed the lead to as many as 17 in the second half, twice near the 14 and 13-minute marks – each coming on layups from Robinson – but the Lady Eagles were not quite ready to call it quits. Faulkner quickly snapped off an 8-0, capped with a three from Emma Herren to make it 46-37 with 9:31 to play.
The deficit shrunk to a few as seven when Kayla Tillman hit a pair of free throws with 8:15 on the clock, but would remain near the 10-point mark for the next six minutes. In a last-ditch fury, Faulkner was able to cut the game to five, with 31 seconds remaining, however the Bears connected on 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice.
Love led the Lady Eagles in scoring, notching 16 points to go with 10 rebounds for the double-double. Olivia Adamson added double-figures with 13.
Shawnee State shot just 37.9 percent in the contest, but capitalized on 43 rebounds – including 16 offensive boards – and 18 Faulkner turnovers. SSU hit 7-of-24 from three-point range and 18-of-26 from the charity stripe.
The Bears are back in action following a nine-day hiatus at the Ohio Christian Classic on Nov. 8 in Circleville, Ohio. The Bears open with a 6 p.m. matchup with Maranatha Baptist.
