FRANKFORT, KY (Women's Basketball) – The Shawnee State women's basketball team was locked in a tough contest early on, but thanks to a phenomenal offensive performance from Ali Zieverink (SR/West Chester, Ohio), the Bears were able to pull away in the second half, as the Bears defeated Campbellsville University, 75-62, to win the Mid-South Conference Tournament on Sunday evening at Frankfort Convention Center.
Zieverink finished the game with a double-double tallying 31 points and grabbing a total of 20 rebounds. Fellow senior Abby Feuchter (SR/Cincinnati, Ohio) also put in a strong performance, finishing with 12 points and seven assists.
Shawnee State opened the scoring thanks to a basket from Jen Arnzen (JR/Portsmouth, Ohio), but the Tigers were able to answer with a three, to take a 3-2 lead in the opening seconds of the game. The first quarter was a tight back-and-forth affair featuring three lead changes. SSU was trailing 11-10 at the end of quarter number one.
Zieverink got an early bucket to put the Bears back in front in the second, Shawnee State then stretched their lead to three points thanks to a lay-up from Lydia Poe (FR/Jackson, Ohio). Campbellsville fought back and took a three-point lead of their own with 2:44 remaining before the half. The Tigers looked to be pulling away at the half, but thanks to a triple from Hannah Miller (FR/Coal Grove, Ohio), the Bears went into the locker room down by only one.
Campbellsville came out of the half hot, stretching their lead to six, but Zieverink stopped the bleeding with back-to-back baskets cutting the lead to only two. The moment of the game came just minutes later, with 4:09 remaining in the third, Zieverink hit a three from the corner to give SSU the momentum. At the end of the third quarter the Bears were in front 48-44.
Shawnee State pulled away in the final moments of this contest thanks to clutch shooting from Feuchter, who scored 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter. The Bears came away with a 75-62 victory to win the MSC Tournament
Madison Ridout (SO/Jackson, Ohio) finished the contest with a double-double scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Bears shot 52 percent from the field, including a blistering 65.6 percent in the second half.
With the victory, Shawnee State claimed the Mid-South's automatic NAIA Tournament berth. The Bears will await word on seeding and matchups, which come Wednesday night on the NAIA Selection Show.
