PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Women's Basketball) – The Shawnee State women's basketball program grabbed a resounding victory over Ohio University-Chillicothe as Hannah Miller (FR/Coal Grove, Ohio) shot 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and scored a game-high 21 points in her first-ever collegiate game while Ali Zieverink (SR/West Chester, Ohio) added 20 points and eight rebounds – including five offensive boards – as the Bears annihilated the Hilltoppers 102-44 in a nonconference bout at Frank & Janis Waller Gymnasium on Friday evening.
After a slow start, Shawnee State (1-0) went on a 19-1 run in breaking the game open as the Bears caught fire from the field, nailing exactly 50 percent of their shots in the first half and finishing with a 48.6 percent field goal percentage for the game.
Shawnee State was just as hot from the three-point stripe, as the Bears made 15 three-pointers in 33 attempts – canning nine treys in 15 tries during the second half – en route to the victory.
These percentages came as a result of Shawnee State's crisp offensive passing, as the Bears recorded 22 assists to Ohio-Chillicothe's five while also forcing the Hilltoppers into 29 turnovers on the defensive end.
When Shawnee State wasn't making shots, the Bears were pounding the Hilltoppers on the glass, as Shawnee State outrebounded Ohio-Chillicothe by a 47-27 advantage.
Even though the Hilltoppers gained the early advantage, the Bears soon got ahead of Ohio-Chillicothe as Shawnee State used its transition game to kickstart the aforementioned run, getting four consecutive layups from Ashton Lovely (FR/Jamestown, Ohio) (twice), Zieverink, and Lydia Poe (FR/Jackson, Ohio) as well as a trey from Abby Feuchter (SR/Cincinnati, Ohio) to turn a 7-6 deficit into a 17-8 advantage before the Hilltoppers took a timeout.
Following the timeout, Miller took over the final two minutes of the first quarter as the Coal Grove, Ohio native scored the Bears' last eight points during the first period of play, including a three pointer at the horn, to give Shawnee State a 25-8 lead after the first stanza.
The upperclassmen would respond with their own spurt to start the second quarter of play, as Zieverink, Jen Arnzen (JR/Portsmouth, Ohio), and Abby Feuchter would score 17 of the Bears' first 20 points in the half to open up the second stanza, with Zieverink scoring eight points and Arnzen adding six more of her own to put Shawnee State ahead by a 45-17 tally with 2:18 to play in the second half.
As with the first half, the Bears would again finish the final two minutes and change in a strong manner, as Shawnee State took off on a 9-0 run behind four points from Poe and two points apiece from Lovely, Miller, and Zieverink to obtain a 54-17 lead at the halftime break.
In the third quarter of play, the Bears would only enhance on their scoring tirade from the first two periods of play, as Shawnee State continued to build up its advantage by nailing a half-dozen three-pointers in the third quarter alone behind two treys from Feuchter and Lovely as well as one each from Miller and Madison Ridout (SO/Jackson, Ohio) to extend the Bears' lead to an 80-30 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
That set the stage for another great showing from the field in the fourth and final quarter of play as the Bears immediately went on a 13-1 run behind the sharpshooting of Lovely – who drained two three-pointers from well behind the three-point stripe – a layup and a three-pointer from Miller, and a bucket by Jen Arnzen in obtaining a 93-31 advantage for Shawnee State.
From there, both teams would substitute en masse as the Bears would cruise on home in wrapping up the 102-44 victory.
In addition to the aforementioned efforts of Miller and Zieverink, Shawnee State would put three additional players in double figures, as Feuchter, Lovely, and Ridout added 14, 12, and 11 points, respectively, with Feuchter adding eight assists and six rebounds for good measure. Arnzen would add a team-high 11 rebounds and eight points to come within two points from posting the first double-double of her career.
Overall, the Bears' shooting efforts from deep on Friday night came close to breaking a program mark, as the 15 three-pointers made would fall just one trey shy of a mark set against West Virginia Tech on Nov. 21, 2008. Additionally, every player who participated in Friday's contest for Shawnee State would make at least one field goal on the evening.
The Bears will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as Shawnee State will host Midway (Ky.) at the Frank & Janis Waller Gymnasium at 4:30 p.m.
