The women's basketball program at Shawnee State proved to be lights out in a nonconference basketball contest at Wilberforce Monday evening, as the Bears jumped out to a 33-9 first half lead and never looked back from that point forward to claim a 75-50 victory over the Wilberforce Bulldogs' women's basketball program to sweep the 2023-24 matchups between the two units.

From the opening tip, Shawnee State left little doubt as to the final result of the affair -- as the Bears sprinted out to a 22-4 lead over the game's first 9:06 and never looked back en route to shooting 55.6 percent from the field (20-of-36) while going a blistering 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from three-point range. SSU also shot 24-of-32 (75 percent) from the free throw line and posted a plus-10 rebounding advantage (30-20) on the glass.

Defensively, Shawnee State also did excellent work -- holding Wilberforce to just 32.7 percent shooting (17-of-52) from the floor.

Latham, Johnson get run started with long-range bombing

As shooters that are well-respected, Shawnee State freshman Amiya Latham and Shawnee State senior Teyarra Johnson will make one pay if either individual is left wide open from three-point range.

The duo, off of excellent passing from their teammates, did just that as the duo spent much of the first half scoring in fluidity.

Within the game's first 4:07, Latham had already nabbed eight of her 13 points for the contest as the talented young shooter scored on a pullup floater and nailed two out of her first four three-point attempts to spark the game-opening 22-4 run by the Bears.

When Latham had to come out of the game for a short period due to a slight hamstring tweak, Johnson picked up right where Latham left off as the native of Dayton -- a short distance from Wilberforce -- dropped in two consecutive three-point attempts to score six out of her 11 points in the opening frame.

The duo ultimately went 6-of-13 from three-point range to keep Wilberforce's defense off-balance throughout the course of the contest.

Ch. Gloster, Maynard provide strong play in middle of floor

With Wilberforce showing off a zone look, the decision-making of Shawnee State senior Chianne Gloster and Shawnee State freshman Emily Maynard proved to be huge over the course of the contest.

Both players took advantage of soft spots in the middle of the Bulldogs' zone, great ball movement, and good general awareness en route to posting strong performances of their own.

Maynard, who played perhaps the best game of her young Shawnee State career, scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half of competition -- including seven tallies in the fourth quarter -- to lead the team in second-half scoring. Maynard not only went 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep en route to her 12-point outing, but added in five rebounds and two assists to boot in the contest.

Chianne Gloster, meanwhile, made a living at the free throw line with committed drives to the rim. In fact, Gloster scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in the contest without taking a single shot from the field. That's because Gloster went 10-of-13 from the free throw line -- and the senior's efficient free throw shooting set the tone for SSU's efficient outing on that front.

Gregory posts efficient scoring outing

Growing every game as a lead guard, Shawnee State senior Sanaya Gregory posted a 10-point line of her own to round out the balance, which has become a theme for the Bears throughout the 2023-24 season.

Gregory helped provide a spark in the third quarter -- as the floor general scored seven points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from the line -- including a three-pointer of her own. Her efficiency led a third-quarter where the Bears went 5-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from the three-point line, and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe in the frame.

Additional

Cianna Gloster's seven points and seven rebounds and Markayla Holland's six points aided the Bears in their 25-point victory, while West Side talents Lexi Deaver and Maelynn Howell combined for the final five tallies with Deaver and Howell showing their talents on well-converted pull-up jumpers from around 10 feet out.

Shawnee State (12-7) will focus on River States Conference action the rest of the way as the Bears face Indiana-Kokomo Thursday evening. The RSC doubleheader is set for 5:30 p.m. with the women beginning the proceedings.

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