The women's basketball program at Shawnee State utilized excellent first-quarter ball movement and shooting -- along with a gritty defensive effort that saw the Bears limit the IU-Southeast Grenadiers' women's basketball program to just 33 points after three quarters of action -- en route to claiming a 65-53 victory over IU-Southeast Thursday evening in a River States Conference matchup that was held at the IU-Southeast Activities Building in New Albany, Ind.

Shawnee State (9-5, 2-2 River States Conference) used a red-hot first-quarter shooting display, where the Bears went 9-for-11 from the field, to jump out to as large as a 24-8 first quarter advantage before heading to the bench ahead by a 25-12 tally after the opening frame of work. The Bears ultimately shot 15-for-24 from the field (62.5 percent) in the opening half of competition en route to taking a 38-23 halftime lead, and despite seeing its second half lead shrink to a 50-48 advantage with 5:24 to play in the contest, held firm by holding the Grenadiers to 18-of-50 shooting from the floor (36 percent) in the contest.

Rebounding-wise, Shawnee State's hustle on the glass arguably won the Bears the basketball contest, as SSU claimed a massive plus-22 advantage (43-21) on the boards in the affair, and from a passing standpoint, the Bears showcased solid ball movement throughout, ultimately posting nine assists as a team on 22 made baskets.

Gregory showcases speed, heady play in transition

Playing with tons of savvy, smarts, and poise, Shawnee State senior guard Sanaya Gregory thrived for the Bears in an adjusted lineup rotation that saw the senior from East Lansing, Mich. thrive coming off of the bench.

Needing a late first half energy boost after IU-Southeast wittled the previously mentioned 24-8 first quarter lead down to 32-23 with 1:36 to play in the opening half, Gregory responded by scoring six of Shawnee State's final eight points to close out the first half on a flurry of smooth finishes in the middle of the lane -- helping the Bears actually increase their lead from the end of the opening quarter to the halftime break as a result.

Having already attained nine points at the halftime break, Gregory then made her hay at the free throw line in the fourth quarter of work by going a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe in the final frame -- including drawing a foul while in the midst of a transition layup attempt that helped push Shawnee State's lead back to at least two possession or greater for the remainder of the contest -- and knocking down a mid-range jumper that added to her eight-point fourth quarter output.

Thursday's effort marked Gregory's highest-scoring output as a Bear.

Gloster posts excellent first half

Working quickly and decisively as she often does, Shawnee State senior forward Cianna Gloster notched each of her 11 points, five of her six rebounds, and each of her two steals and two blocks in the opening half of competition.

Gloster ultimately went 5-for-7 from the floor en route to her 11-point production and posted her ninth double-figure scoring outing in 14 games as a result.

Team effort dots rest of winning cause

A winning mentality, however, was basically present among all who took the floor in Shawnee State's 12-point victory Thursday evening.

Lexi Deaver, who posted her 11th double-figure scoring output of the season, scored five first-quarter points and went 2-for-4 from three-point range and 4-for-5 from the free throw line, increasing her averages to a 42.2 percent three-point shooting mark and a 78.9 percent free throw shooting effort.

Amiya Latham and Markayla Holland, who each obtained nine points apiece, were both critical -- as Latham's red-hot first-quarter shooting led to the freshman drilling three three-point attempts over the contest's first 3:41 to help Shawnee State ultimately shoot out to its 24-8 advantage, while Holland created matchup problems with her speed, length, and relentless attacking style, ultimately posting nine points, six rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocks while going 3-for-6 from the field.

Behind the main scorers, Jariah Steele, Chianne Gloster, and Emily Maynard did much of the behind-the-scenes work.

Steele, who finished with a game-high nine rebounds, scored all four of her points in a crucial third-quarter swing that allowed the Bears to break the ice after not scoring over the first 5:36 of the third quarter. Steele also collected three steals.

Maynard, who played 20 minutes, didn't score but played strong zone defense in her time on the floor and supplied three rebounds to boot.

Chianne Gloster, who posted seven rebounds and four points, made arguably the game-clinching play when the senior, after scoring on a transition layup, ran down a loose ball into the far right corner and flipped the basketball 20 feet behind her head as Gloster was saving the ball from going out of bounds to Gregory, who, after setting up the offense, ultimately stopped and popped for her mid-range jumper. The play ultimately resulted in a four-point SSU swing and capped off a 9-0 run that turned what was a 50-48 contest into a 59-50 SSU lead with 3:13 to play.

Additional

Shawnee State will look to reach double-digits in the win column when the Bears head to Midway, Ky. to take on the Midway Eagles' women's basketball program. Game time is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 at Marshall Gymnasium in Midway.

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