For any coach, collecting two victories at the beginning of the year is an ideal start to any campaign.

The women's basketball program at Shawnee State University, however, not only did just that but did so in routes as the No. 11-ranked Bears, one day after obtaining a 105-46 drubbing of Lourdes, followed up Friday evening's victory by turning around and handling Brescia, 97-66, on Saturday afternoon behind a 20-point, five-steal outing from Marnae Holland -- both career-highs -- and another excellent all-around effort from Brandie Snow, who obtained 12 points, nine steals, and five assists in her own outstanding effort at Waller Gymnasium en route to leading five double-figure scorers.

Shawnee State, who shot 34-of-75 overall for the contest, proved to be consistent in their marksmanship from the field as the Bears made 15 of their 35 shot attempts in the first half and canned 19 of their 40 tries in the second half of competition to claim a 45.3 percent mark from the field, slightly outdoing Brescia's 43.1 percent mark from the floor. Both teams also did their part at the free throw line as SSU canned 26 of their 32 attempts from the charity stripe (81.3 percent) while Brescia went 14-of-16 from the free throw line (87.5 percent).

Defensively, SSU, again, proved to hound the basketball as the Bears forced Brescia into an astounding 40 turnovers behind the play of Holland and Snow, who collected 14 of Shawnee State's 23 steals between them.

The duo, along with Hagen Schaefer, proved to be stout in all areas as the trio's ability to cover significant ground on the floor, along with their shooting and attacking ways on the offensive end of the spectrum, were significant in Shawnee State's ability to pull out the win.

Holland and Snow, in particular, were hornets throughout the affair, as the duo combined for six steals in the opening quarter alone with Snow obtaining eight points and four swipes on her own accord as Shawnee State jumped out to a 28-11 advantage after a quarter of work. Holland then added seven additional tallies in the second quarter as Snow's 10 points, Holland's nine tallies, and Anyia Pride's eight led the Bears at halftime as SSU took a 47-27 lead into the halftime locker room.

From there, balance proved to be the primary story. Four different players scored six or more points in the third quarter alone as Pride, who made four of her five shots in the quarter, led the way with nine points while Holland, Schaefer, and Sydney King added in six tallies apiece to help put the game to bed. Natalie Zuchowski's eight fourth-quarter points rounded out the strong effort.

Overall, Holland, who shot 7-for-13 en route to her 20-point, five-steal, four-rebound outing, and Snow, who notched her 12 points on just 3-for-6 shooting while obtaining nine steals and five assists, were followed in the scoring column by Pride, who added in 17 additional points on 8-of-11 shooting on Saturday.

As a result, the trio's averages proved to be top-notch as Snow, who put together a triumphant week, averaged an incredible 17.5 points, 10 steals, five rebounds, and 4.5 assists over the course of the weekend while shooting 10-of-18 from the floor (55.5 percent), while Pride shot an astounding 18-of-23 from the field (78.2 percent) over the weekend en route to averages of 19 points, 5.5 rebounds, and a steal. Holland's 16.5 points and three steals per contest, in addition to her 10-of-19 mark from the floor (52.6 percent), joined the aforementioned pair as the top contributors over the weekend. Her contest on Saturday was the best of what looks to be the coming out party of another standout player for the storied women's basketball program.

Schaefer, who added in 13 points and three steals, and Bailey Cummins, who posted 11 points, were also stout with Cummins averaging 10.5 points and 6.5 assists for the week while Schaefer added in 9.5 points and four steals per bout off of the pine. Zuchowski's 11 points per contest over the weekend also proved to be critical for Shawnee State.

With the victory, the 2-0 Bears will turn their attention to the Pikeville Classic, where matchups against Bluefield (Va.) and Milligan (Tenn.) await. Shawnee State faces Bluefield on Friday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. and Milligan on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 10 a.m. in Pikeville, Ky.

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