Through seven games, there are many things about the Shawnee State women's basketball program that are certainly clear.
The SSU women's basketball program has a deep rotation. DeWayne Burroughs' club plays hard and at a fast tempo. Lastly, the team doesn't play with a competitive arrogance.
However, there's also one additional quality that's certainly standing out -- at least from an individual standpoint.
Amiya Latham can shoot the basketball.
Just eight days after leading Shawnee State in scoring by going 6-for-13 from three-point range and scoring 18 points in a 102-34 victory over Campbellsville-Harrodsburg, Latham shot the lights out again in a nonconference contest against Cincinnati-Clermont, going 6-for-14 from three-point range -- and hitting three consecutive three-point field goal attempts at one point during the opening half -- en route to a new career-high of 20 points in the Bears' 88-47 victory over the Cougars Tuesday evening in Batavia, Ohio.
Latham turns out the lights
Latham, who also added in four rebounds and went 2-for-2 from the free throw line, ultimately finished at a 6-for-15 clip to shoot 40 percent from the field, allowing Shawnee State to pull away in a rugged affair where 50 fouls were called, leading to a combined 65 free throw attempts from both sides.
When the freshman from Wickliffe, Ohio got space, however, Latham had opposing head coach Ken Lowe throwing his hands up in disgust at his own defense more than once.
The 5-6 freshman, after going 1-for-6 from three-point range in her first career college basketball contest against Lawrence Tech, has gone 44.9 percent from deep (19-for-43) in Shawnee State's last five games and is shooting 20-for-49 (40.8 percent) from three-point range this season. Latham is now averaging 10.7 points per contest in the six games that she's appeared in for the Bears.
Glosters the glue
Having been key figures throughout the season with their hustle on both ends of the floor, Chianne and Cianna Gloster seemingly always find ways to impact games beyond the final statsheet.
In Tuesday's victory over Cincinnati-Clermont, it was Chianne who packed the scoring punch -- as the active do-it-all forward scored 10 out of Shawnee State's first 14 points in the contest en route to finishing with a 17-point, seven-rebound statline while going 6-for-12 from the field.
Cianna, meanwhile, made her presence felt on the glass once again. Despite scoring just one point, the senior forward continued relentlessly attacking the glass en route to a game-high 14 rebounds. It's her fifth double-figure rebounding effort in seven games to start the 2023-24 season.
Deaver, Steele clutch from line
Needing a lift at the charity stripe after the Bears struggled to convert from the free throw line early on in the contest, freshmen guards Lexi Deaver and Jariah Steele both delivered.
While the pair shot just 3-for-14 from the field, the duo, along with their fellow freshman standout in Latham, combined to go a terrific 20-for-23 from the free throw line in the contest. Steele, playing in front of a sizeable contingent of Cincinnati Colerain fans, went 9-for-11 from the stripe while Deaver added in a 9-of-10 mark herself, helping both finish in double-figures as Steele notched 13 points while Deaver added in 11 tallies.
Additionally, Deaver, who was on the giving end of many of Latham's three-point bombs, was terrific as a floor general throughout the evening -- which was evident in the West Portsmouth's six assists to one turnover in 19 minutes of game action.
Additional
Freshman guard Emily Maynard added in nine points and seven rebounds while sophomore multi-positional talent Markayla Holland posted nine points and a team-high five steals to round out the main contributors for the Bears on the statsheet. Shawnee State improved to 6-1 overall while Cincinnati-Clermont fell to 3-2 to begin the 2023-24 campaign.
The Bears will have a week off before gearing up for their River States Conference home opener against Alice Lloyd (Ky.). Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28.
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