Getting an excellent effort from the Shawnee State women's basketball program's defensive unit is becoming as certain as the sun rising and setting.

And it was another stellar effort on that end of the floor that led Shawnee State to its 10th win over its last 12 contests.

Behind 35 points and 19 rebounds combined from Chianne Gloster and Cianna Gloster, and a defensive effort that held the Ohio Christian women's basketball program to just 32.3 percent from the field and 21.2 percent from three-point range, the Shawnee State women's basketball program collected a 71-58 victory over the Ohio Christian women's basketball program in a River States Conference Quarterfinal that was held at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth Wednesday evening.

In addition to the outstanding defensive numbers that the Bears put up in terms of shot resistance, Shawnee State posted a plus-17 advantage (41-24) on the boards, dominating and physically imposing their will on Ohio Christian throughout the entirety of the contest.

Ohio Christian senior guard Haley Cox, who came into the game as a seven-time recipient of the River States Conference's Player of the Week Award and who held an average of 28.4 points per game on 50.4 percent shooting from the field coming into Wednesday's contest, was held to just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting from the floor. Her points, shots made and her field goal percentage in Wednesday's contest were the lowest marks that Cox put up in any outing this season.

Gloster sisters continue balling out

Continuing to impose their will on the opposition, the Shawnee State sister combination of Chianne Gloster and Cianna Gloster continues to be a thorn in the side of essentially any matchup that the pair go up against.

Chianne Gloster, who posted a career-high 19-point performance to go along with seven rebounds in the Bears' 84-65 victory over then No. 18-ranked Rio Grande last Saturday, one-upped herself by notching a new career-high with a 21-point, eight-rebound line in Wednesday's triumph over Ohio Christian.

This was due in large part to a big first half where Chianne Gloster notched 15 points and five rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of action alone. Gloster went 5-of-6 from the field en route to yet another impressive outing -- as Wednesday's performance marked her sixth consecutive double-figure scoring output and her ninth double-figure performance in the last 12 contests.

Cianna Gloster, meanwhile, notched another effective outing of her own -- posting seven points and six rebounds in the opening quarter alone en route to a 14-point, 11-rebound effort for the contest.

For the year, the Gloster sisters have combined to average 21.5 points, 18.2 rebounds and 3.9 steals between them -- and are clearly establishing themselves as pure two-way menaces whenever they touch the floor.

Steele, Gregory add balance

Producing well behind the Gloster sisters, Shawnee State rode the backs of freshman forward Jariah Steele and senior point guard Sanaya Gregory at different times in the key performance.

Gregory, who notched her sixth double-figure scoring performance over her last 11 outings, scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half -- notching seven points in just five third-quarter minutes and adding in a perfect 4-for-4 mark from the free throw line in the final quarter of play -- to help seal the final result.

Steele, meanwhile, posted a strong second-quarter where the 5-11 forward from Cincinnati used her lower body strength to muscle her way inside for seven points and three rebounds, helping SSU take a 40-30 halftime advantage. Steele ultimately finished with 10 points and eight rebounds herself on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.

Additional

Markayla Holland added seven points and six rebounds while also combining with the Gloster sisters to notch seven steals in the contest for Shawnee State (20-9). Ohio Christian fell to 20-9 in its defeat.

With the victory, Shawnee State, a No. 4 seed in the River States Conference Tournament, will set up a rubber match between itself and No. 1-seeded Rio Grande (24-5). That contest will commence at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Newt Oliver Arena in Rio Grande.

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