PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- Teams who share the ball unselfishly make the game of basketball beautiful to watch -- because the roundball always moves faster than any one player can.
The women's basketball program at Shawnee State put on a clinic in that area in a Thursday evening contest against the Cincinnati-Clermont Cougars' women's basketball program -- as Shawnee State used its 18 assists on its 36 made shots in the out-of-conference matchup to shoot 46.8 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three-point range in a convincing 97-52 victory at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.
Game Summary
Shawnee State, who ultimately won its sixth consecutive game with the 45-point win, put six players in double-figures as a result of tallying assists on exactly half of its made baskets Thursday. The Bears did this while committing just nine turnovers as a team -- resulting in a stout assist-to-turnover ratio of 2-to-1.
While playing as a fine-tuned machine offensively, the Bears (13-3) also kept its ball-on-a-string mentality defensively as well -- holding Cincinnati-Clermont's (7-10) all-around dynamo Tyra Murphy, who came into Thursday's contest averaging 27.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.6 steals on 44.9 percent shooting from the field, to 13 points, nine rebounds and an assist on 5-of-15 shooting from the field in 38 minutes of play.
Maynard posts career-high for second time in three games
A talented shooter who has continued to grow in her starting role, Shawnee State sophomore Emily Maynard posted a career-high for the second time in three games Thursday evening.
Setting a new career-high with 14 points in a 78-46 victory just four days prior against Midway (Ky.), Maynard matched that mark -- in the opening half of Thursday's game.
Maynard ultimately went 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from three-point range in the opening half in a terrific shooting display by the Greenup County High School graduate, and finished the game going 7-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-10 from downtown en route to a 20-point, five-rebound output.
Maynard is now shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range for the season for Shawnee State.
Gloster racks up 30th career double-double
Continuing to dominate both ends of the floor at every turn, Shawnee State senior forward Cianna Gloster was a powerhouse once again in Thursday's victory.
After posting 10 points and four rebounds at the halftime break, Gloster turned up the dial further -- and by the 5:46 mark of the third quarter, had her 30th double-double as Gloster had 14 points and 11 rebounds at that juncture.
Ultimately, Gloster posted 20 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two blocks while playing just over one half of basketball in terms of length -- 22 minutes, to be exact.
Balance shows among remainder of lineup
Behind the main scoring duo, however, success was evident up and down the lineup. Lead guards Sanaya Gregory and Miyoshi Ellis were not only efficient -- combining for 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting -- but got everybody involved in the act, with Ellis and Gregory tallying four assists each and Gregory collecting three steals.
Jada Johnson and Lauren Hawthorne also continued to put together key production off of the bench, with Johnson posting 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting and collecting six rebounds in 17 minutes of playing time and Hawthorne nabbing 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals on 4-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes of action. The latter posted her 11th consecutive game with a mark at or above 45.5 percent shooting from the floor and her 10th contest in the last 11 with a mark of at least 50 percent or better from three-point range.
Down the line, Lexi Deaver enjoyed an excellent floor game, posting five assists and four rebounds while chipping in two points to boot, while Jaden Tucker ran the point guard position at times and enjoyed a strong outing, posting five points and two assists herself. Addison Edmondson's four points and four rebounds, along with a three-point, three-rebound, two-steal performance from Jariah Steele, rounded out the box score.
Additional
Shawnee State's women (13-3, 5-0 River States Conference) will play the River States Conference's doubleheader capping contest against Oakland City (10-6, 5-0 River States Conference) at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT at Johnson Center in Oakland City, Ind. The Bears and the Mighty Oaks are the last two undefeated teams remaining in the RSC.
The Shawnee State men's contest against Oakland City will preced the women's contest, with that bout starting at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.
