PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Women's Basketball) – Shavon Robinson (SR/Canton, Ohio) connected on two free throws with 20 seconds remaining, and Erin Daily blocked the University of the Cumberlands final shot, as the Shawnee State women's basketball team erased an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes to defeat the Patriots, 75-74, in the final home game of the season at Frank & Janis Waller Gymnasium on Monday night.
Less than an hour after being named Mid-South Conference Player of the Week, Ali Zieverink (JR/West Chester, Ohio) followed with a game-high 34 points to go with 10 rebounds. The junior connected on 12-of-20 attempts and 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
Robinson added 11 points and 15 boards, the final rebound and two points coming at the most crucial of moments. With the Bears trailing by three, Zieverink hit a layup and was fouled, but missed the free throw.
After the ball was tipped twice, Robinson got a hold on it and headed to the basket, getting fouled along the way. Both freebies hit nothing but net.
In the first half, it was all Zieverink as she recorded 22 of her points. The Bears held control of the contest for all but the first two minutes of the period, leading by as many as 12, while heading into the locker room with a 39-28 advantage.
The Cumberlands came out firing to start the second period, as LaTeesha DeLoach and Lydia Box each began to heat up from long distance. The former finished with a team-high 29 points, connecting on 4-of-8 from three-point range. The latter had 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from deep.
The Bears lead disappeared quickly in the second frame, as the Patriots cut it to a one-point deficit in the first 2:41. Shawnee State continued to cling to the lead until a Box triple tied the score at 47 with 13:27 remaining.
UC then took the lead with a layup at the 12:31 mark, as the two squads began to pass the advantage back-and-forth. With 5:22 remaining, the Patriots took a 60-58 lead – which they would hold on to until the final 20 seconds.
With 2:16 remaining, the Cumberlands had extended the lead to eight with a quick 10-4 spurt. A layup from Zieverink and a triple from Abby Feuchter (JR/Cincinnati, Ohio) cut it down to three, before Zieverink hit a pair from the line to make it a one-point game.
The lead remained between one and three points over the next several possessions, and was cut down to one with Zieverink's bucket to set up the final heroics.
SSU was a modest 44.8 percent from the field in the contest, connecting on 36.4 percent of three-pointers. The Bears hit 73.1 percent of free throws.
Shawnee State held the Patriots to just 38.7 percent shooting, including a 28.6 mark in the first half. UC was 46.4 percent from three and hit 13-of-22 free throws.
With its final home game in the books, Shawnee State hits the road for two final games of the season. The Bears take on No. 4 Campbellsville University on Thursday before traveling to St. Catharine College on Saturday to bring an end to the regular season. Thursday's tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.
