Portsmouth, Ohio – Shawnee State women's basketball wrapped up a perfect opening weekend on Saturday afternoon, defeating Northwestern Ohio 72-40 at Waller Gymnasium.
SSU would get off to a running start, with a pair of Hannah Miller (SR/Coal Grove, Ohio) free throws and a deep three from Ashton Lovely (SR/Jamestown, Ohio) putting the Bears up 5-0 early in the first. Shania Massie (SR/Greenfield, Ohio) would extend the run to 7-0 with two foul shots, and Bailey Cummins (JR/Brooksville, Kentucky) would hit two lay-ups to extend the lead to 11-0.
Northwestern Ohio would not score until the 4:20 mark of the first quarter, when Kiara Cain hit a three to end the SSU run. Cummins would hit another lay-up and Lovely would hit another three from outside 30 feet to extend the SSU lead back out to 11 at 16-5. Hagen Schaefer (SO/Portsmouth, Ohio) would get into the action with a corner three, and a run-out lay-in by Sydney King (JR/Birmingham, Alabama) extended the SSU lead further to 21-5. The Bears would lock down defensively, holding UNOH scoreless on the final possession and getting Laken Smith (SO/Waverly, Ohio) an open lay-up as time expired, giving Shawnee State a 23-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Schaefer would open the second quarter with a three to extend the SSU lead to 26-5. Emily Patton would finally break Shawnee State's second long run with a second effort basket, and would later hit a lay-in to cut the lead to 26-9 as both teams struggled to hit shots through the early second quarter. From that opening Schaefer basket, Shawnee State would not score again until the four-minute mark, when Cummins would get a floater to go. Though SSU would struggle offensively, the Bears would continue to stifle Northwestern Ohio's offense, as the Racers would to score on the SSU. Natalie Zuchowski (FR/Ravenna, Ohio) would come off the bench to spark Shawnee State's offense late in the quarter, getting two quick buckets before getting two fouls. SSU would force a shot clock violation at the end of the half, and Cummins would take full advantage, hitting a half-court heave to give SSU a 37-15 lead at the break.
Northwestern Ohio would come out of halftime with full-court pressure, forcing two quick Shawnee State turnovers. However, SSU would limit the damage, and the Racers only scored one point on the turnovers, an Ana Farahane free throw. Cummins would respond with a lay-in to extend SSU's lead to 39-16. Both teams would struggle to find the basket. Laken Smith would score back-to-back baskets to get SSU's offense rolling before the third quarter media timeout, putting SSU up 47-24.
Smith would hit a put-back for her sixth straight point to continue the SSU run, and would do it again for eight straight points the next possession, forcing a UNOH timeout. Fataya Larry would finally end the SSU run with a basket, but Zuchowski would respond on the other end with an easy post move. Smith would then hit a jumper, giving her 10 points in the third quarter. Ashton Lovely would get going as well, hitting in the post to put SSU up 57-28. After a UNOH miss on the other end, Shawnee State would end the quarter well, with Zuchowski rolling off a screen and scoring off a lob from Cummins, putting SSU up 59-28.
Smith would get another second chance opportunity, finishing an offensive rebound on a Lovely missed three to put SSU up 61-28. Northwestern Ohio would chip away at the lead, with Jer'Taya Hall's three cutting the lead to 28 points, and Jonae Lee hitting in the post to make the score 61-35. Zuchowski would answer on the other end. Massie would hit a second chance three to extend the lead back to 30, and Marnae Holland (FR/Strongsville, Ohio) would get a steal-and-score to push the lead out to 68-35. SSU continued to press the advantage, with Sydney King getting a bucket on the fast break and Cassie Bentley (FR/McArthur, Ohio) scoring on a second chance. UNOH continued to find tough going against Shawnee State's defense, as the Bears smothered the Racers into the late stages. SSU would run out the clock for a 72-40 win.
Shawnee State shot .414 from the field on the afternoon, and were .261 from three. The Bears held Northwestern Ohio to .224 from the field and .190 from three. SSU had another good rebounding game, outrebounding the Racers 54-33. Both teams had 16 turnovers on the afternoon.
Laken Smith led SSU with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Bailey Cummins added 13 points and six assists, and Ashton Lovely had 10 points.
Northwestern Ohio were led by Jer'Taya Hall's eight points on the afternoon.
The win improves Shawnee State to 2-0 on the season. Northwestern Ohio falls to 0-1 in their season opener.
Shawnee State women's basketball are back in action on Monday, October 29 when they play at Morehead State for an exhibition game. Tipoff is set for 6:05pm from Johnson Arena.
