The women's basketball program at Shawnee State got 19 points and seven rebounds from Markayla Holland, but Shawnee State wasn't able to claim victory as the Bears dropped a River States Conference Semifinal contest to the Rio Grande RedStorm women's basketball program, 71-56, in a contest that was held at Newt Oliver Arena in Rio Grande.

Shawnee State jumped out to a 9-2 lead over the RedStorm, outrebounded Rio Grande by a plus-13 margin (46-33) over the entirety of the contest and held the RedStorm to an 0-for-13 mark from three-point range, but the defensive effort, which was another splendid one on Rio Grande, wasn't enough as SSU finished 14-of-56 from the field and committed 19 turnovers to Rio Grande's 12.

For much of the contest, Shawnee State did a great deal right -- especially to start the game.

Over the first 2:26 of the game, the Bears sprinted out to a 9-2 lead as Sanaya Gregory and Chianne Gloster banged home three-point baskets to give SSU an early lead.

The Bears didn't hit another field goal over the remainder of the quarter, but Shawnee State hit each of its final six free throw attempts in the frame -- including four straight from Holland, who led SSU with six after the opening quarter of action, to put Shawnee State ahead by a 15-12 margin following the first quarter of action.

Rio Grande countered by holding SSU to one field goal over the opening six minutes of the second quarter to take a 24-19 advantage, but the Bears countered again as Holland drove into the paint for two layups to bring Shawnee State back within one, 24-23, with 3:15 to play in the half.

The RedStorm then answered with a 7-0 run -- but when Shawnee State substituted Jenna Bycznski and Maelynn Howell into the contest late in the first half of action, the Bears were able to stop the bleeding, with Bycznski, in particular, changing the game for a short period of time with her size giving Rio Grande problems in the low post. Howell's runner in the lane with four seconds to play in the first half capped a quick 4-0 SSU run over the final 70 seconds, and the Bears pulled within four, 31-27, at the half.

Buoyed by the momentum to end the half, Teyarra Johnson's five third-quarter points, along with a layup by Holland and a pair of free throws by Bycznski, gave Shawnee State a 39-38 lead with 4:09 to play in the third quarter of action. However, Rio Grande countered with a 10-2 run over the next 4:01 to change the course of the contest, taking a 48-41 lead after the third quarter of action. Shawnee State utilized a 6-0 run to close a 54-43 fourth-quarter deficit down to 54-49 with 5:55 to go, but Rio Grande outscored Shawnee State 17-7 the rest of the way to seal the contest's result.

Additional

Along with Holland's 17 points and six rebounds, Chianne Gloster finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Cianna Gloster added in 10 rebounds of her own.

Despite the loss, Shawnee State finished regular season and conference tournament action on a strong note -- as the Bears had won six straight contests coming in and had accumulated 10 victories over their last 12 affairs prior to Saturday. The Bears also won six straight games from Oct. 30 to Nov. 21.

In DeWayne Burroughs' third season as head coach, Shawnee State improved in the win-loss column every season, going from 4-23 in 2021-22 to 16-16 in 2022-23 and 20-10 so far for the 2023-24 campaign. Cianna Gloster (12.4 rebounds, 11.7 points) is averaging a double-double for the year, and with 373 rebounds to her credit, has cleared the previous single-season rebounding record by 23 boards. The 6-0 forward from Flint, Mich. is in position to also set the single-season rebounding average record, as well.

The Shawnee State women's basketball program will see if it obtains an NAIA At-Large berth into the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament. The field will be announced Thursday, March 7 at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST.

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