It was a day full of successes and triumphs for the Shawnee State women's basketball program.
The honoring of three key seniors to its success during the 2023-24 season -- Sanaya Gregory, Chianne Gloster and Teyarra Johnson. The honoring of the 1999 women's basketball national championship team -- and what they did to help put Shawnee State women's basketball on the national map.
And lastly, a win, Shawnee State's seventh victory over its last nine games, with a 75-54 victory over Ohio Christian that featured four players notching double-figure outputs and an effort where Shawnee State held the lead for all but 32 seconds of the 40 minute River States Conference matchup, which was held Saturday afternoon at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.
Shawnee State (17-9, 9-6 River States Conference) put on a master class defensive effort in the victory, holding Ohio Christian (19-7, 10-5 RSC) to just 34.7 percent shooting from the field and a porous 5.3 percent shooting mark from three-point range.
The Bears, as a result, held the Trailblazers to 28 points below their season scoring average, and do-it-all guard Haley Cox, a six-time River States Conference Player of the Week coming into Saturday's contest, notched 22 points and 10 rebounds but went just 5-of-15 from the field in doing so and 0-of-5 from three-point range. Cox fouled out of the contest with less than three minutes to play.
Gregory posts master class effort
One of the three seniors honored on Senior Day, Shawnee State senior guard Sanaya Gregory posted a strong performance from the opening tip.
Gregory, who led Shawnee State with 11 points in the opening half, got the engine cranking for the Bears by scoring Shawnee State's first five points as well as seven of the Bears' 11 tallies to begin the game. Gregory went 5-of-7 from the field in the opening half and 6-of-7 from the free throw line for the game while playing a team-high 39 minutes in the contest.
It was Gregory's fourth double-figure performance over the last eight contests. Gregory has only scored less than eight points twice in Shawnee State's 7-2 run over its last nine affairs.
Holland closes out Ohio Christian with tremendous second half showing
Playing one of her most complete games of the year, Markayla Holland stepped in a large way, especially in the second half of competition. Holland scored eight of Shawnee State's 15 third-quarter points to put Shawnee State ahead by a 51-41 margin after the third quarter of play, then, when Ohio Christian closed to within 55-49 with 6:33 left in the contest, Holland's committed take with 6:03 to go put the Bears up by a 57-49 margin. That layup kickstarted a 10-1 Shawnee State push -- and the Bears never led by less than double-digits the rest of the way.
Holland ultimately finished with a team-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds in 35 minutes -- while adding three steals to boot. It was Holland's 14th double-figure game of the 26 that Shawnee State has played this season, and the sophomore has 11.9 points and 3.7 rebounds to boot for the year.
Gloster sisters, Johnson add in big shots in arm
Making impacts with their leadership, their energy and their presence on the floor, the remaining trio of starters in Cianna Gloster, Chianne Gloster and Teyarra Johnson were all big in Saturday's 21-point victory.
The Glosters, who continue to give opponents fits with their out of area rebounding and hustle, combined for another big day as the duo scored 21 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in Saturday's win.
Cianna Gloster (12 points, 10 rebounds) posted her 16th double-double in 26 games, and with 323 rebounds, sits 27 boards shy of tying the single-season rebounding record that was set by Schera Sampson during the 2012-13 campaign. Her 12.4 rebounds per game is well on pace to break the single-season rebounds per game mark set by Diane Abbady, which was 10.5 rebounds per game, in the 2013-14 campaign.
Chianne Gloster continues to play her best basketball at the right time, as the senior posted 11 points and eight rebounds to notch her sixth double-digit scoring output in the last nine games -- a big part in Shawnee State's 7-2 stretch during that time. Gloster also went 5-of-5 from the free throw line and combined with Holland and Cianna Gloster to go a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line in the contest.
Teyarra Johnson, meanwhile, played poised basketball throughout her 17 minutes of game time, ultimately finishing with six points.
Additional
Freshmen Lexi Deaver and Jariah Steele combined for 12 points, six rebounds and a 7-of-8 free throw shooting mark to lead the Bears to victory.
Shawnee State will continue its push to move up the River States Conference's East Division Standings when the Bears take on West Virginia Tech in Beckley, W. Va. at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday evening. Highlights regarding the seniors, as well as the 1999 National Championship team, are below:
Sanaya Gregory
As a student, Gregory holds a 3.84 GPA. Gregory's future plans are to get her Master's in Business Administration and pursue a career in human resources with diversity and inclusion.
"Being a part of this basketball team means more than just being a player on the court," Gregory said. "It involves actively participating and working together with your teammates towards a common goal – winning games and achieving success. I've learned and grown so much being a part of this team and amazing coaches they've pushed me to be the player that I am right now and I'm thankful for all of them each and everyday. Go Bears!!"
"I also want to thank my family and friends for their support through the years," Gregory said. "Without them, I wouldn't be where I am now."
Chianne Gloster
Gloster holds a 3.87 GPA. Her plans are to continue playing basketball and sell real estate.
"To be a part of this team to me means being a part of a family," Gloster said. "They also helped me become a better player and a leader. My time at Shawnee allowed me to grow as a player and learn more about myself. It is special to me to be able to have coaches that care and engages with all the players. The genuine love and hard work they put in everything they do for us has never gone unnoticed and I am forever grateful for them. I have created fun memories here at Shawnee that I will never forget. Lastly, I'm glad I was able to finish this season alongside my sister and for the teammates I met because we have come a long way in this short amount of time, but we created a lifelong friendship."
Teyarra Johnson
Johnson's plans after college are to begin coaching and training the kids in my community. Her long term goal is to own a sports complex and work out the youth while also renting it out for sport certified events.
"Being apart of this team has given me the confidence to become a leader and a better person on and off the court," Johnson said. "Through all of the adversity that I was put through, I never gave up because my love was too strong. At Shawnee I created lifelong friendships and memories. The relationships I made with this team turned into a sisterhood and I will forever remember our memories together. I am grateful for everyone who made me feel like I could be myself. I'm very grateful for the coaches for giving me the opportunity to play at Shawnee State from coming in as a transfer. I was taken in and was shown the Shawnee way. I will always remember the after hours of basketball that I put in to become better. Even though it was hard I never gave up because I lead by example, because a good leader leads through their actions."
1998-1999 National Championship-winning Women's Basketball Program
The legendary 1998-99 women's basketball program went 31-2 under the direction of Robin Hagen-Smith and Gregg Smith, going on winning streaks of 14 and 12 games during the regular season and conference tournament.
Shawnee State went on to win each of its five tournament contests to claim the university's first-ever national championship, winning its five tournament contests by an average of 14.4 points per game. The Bears defeated Saint Francis (Ind.) to win the national title, 80-65.
The entire team was inducted into the Shawnee State Athletics Hall of Fame as well as the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame while eight members of the squad have been inducted into the Shawnee State Athletics Hall of Fame and two into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame on their playing or coaching prowess at Shawnee State.
The List of Players
2006 SSU Hall of Fame inductee Brandi Baker Damron
2013 SSU Hall of Fame inductee Becky Holden Elkins
Sarah Wood Hood
Cheri Griffith Kline
Susie Kline
Brandy Humphrey Lightle
2012 SSU Hall of Fame inductee Brandi Munn
2007 SSU Hall of Fame inductee Carrie Brisker Purcell
Steffani Diesel-Slone
1999 American Mideast Conference Player of the Year, 1999 NAIA National Player of the Year, 2005 SSU Hall of Fame inductee and 2023 Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Erica Hayes Zinn
2024 SSU Hall of Fame inductee Kelli Smith
The list of coaches (went a combined 638-160 in 798 career games)
1989 Rio Grande Hall of Fame inductee, 1998 South Webster (Bloom-Vernon Local Schools) Hall of Fame inductee, 1999 NAIA National Coach of the Year, 2000 SSU Hall of Fame inductee (inaugural class), 2010 Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and 2011 NAIA Hall of Fame inductee Robin Hagen-Smith
2007 SSU Hall of Fame inductee Gregg Smith
Lastly, we would like to remember three very special people whose spirit was vital en route to the 1999 National Championship – Shawnee State women's basketball player Mamie Brisker Pettit and the WNXT Sports Broadcasting duo of Roger Gray and Dale Hamilton. The legendary memories of a national championship run do not happen without them, but most importantly, it is the grace and presence with which they blessed us with and the good times that resulted from that which will truly be remembered forever.
