LOUISVILLE, Ky. --Finding ways to rebound and put the right foot forward is a key element to moving past any defeat -- not only in sports, but in life as a whole.
The women's basketball program at Shawnee State firmly planted itself in the right direction in a Tuesday evening nonconference matchup against Simmons (Ky.) -- as the Bears got a career-high 22 points from Emily Maynard and got double-figure outings from Cianna Gloster, Jariah Steele and Jada Johnson en route to posting the most points scored by a DeWayne Burroughs-coached Shawnee State squad in the Burroughs era at SSU in a 106-66 victory Tuesday evening in Louisville, Ky.
Shawnee State's previous high point total under Burroughs was a 102-34 triumph over Campbellsville-Harrodsburg on Nov. 13, 2023. Tuesday's point total marked the new high under Burroughs -- and the Bears' highest since collecting a 111-62 victory over Indiana-East back on Nov. 6, 2020.
Game Summary
Shawnee State, who moved back to 10 games above .500 with Tuesday's victory (14-4), faced little trouble against Simmons' defense, shooting 41-of-77 (53.2 percent) from the field in Tuesday's 40-point win. The Bears were especially hot from three-point range -- as SSU hit a season-high 13 three-pointers on 29 attempts for a 44.8 percent mark from distance in the victory. Shawnee State accomplished these numbers by posting a season-high 23 assists in the nonconference win.
Defensively, the Bears held Simmons (Ky.) to modest percentages -- as the Falcons (11-7) went 24-of-60 from the field (40 percent) and 7-of-26 from three-point range (26.9 percent). Simmons' leading scorer, Morgan Defoor, scored 20 points and added five rebounds and three steals on 7-of-14 shooting, but the rest of the Falcons combined to make just over a third of their shots collectively (17-of-46), and the remaining six players outside of Defoor combined for only 15 rebounds between them.
Player feats
In the collective team win, Emily Maynard was again a beneficiary of great ball movement. Playing in just over one half of basketball from a minutes perspective, Maynard put on a shooting clinic, going 6-of-13 from downtown and 8-of-16 from the field for the contest to rip off a game-high and new career-high of 22 points. The performance marked Maynard's third career-high in her last five games overall.
Maynard also posted three steals -- the second-most on the team -- in Tuesday's triumph.
Behind Maynard, Cianna Gloster continued to be her efficient self -- needing just 19 minutes to post 21 points while grabbing nine boards. Gloster did this while also going 10-of-15 from the field.
Gloster, who collected six offensive rebounds, helped Shawnee State claim a plus-24 advantage on the glass (44-20). The senior now sits at 770 career collegiate points between her time at Rochester (Mich.) and Shawnee State.
Enjoying one of the finest and most efficient performances of her career, Jada Johnson contributed in a heavy manner to Shawnee State's success off of the bench -- dropping in 18 points and adding in five rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting in 20 minutes of game time to outscore Simmons' bench on her own.
Johnson's 18-point total was the highest of the 2024-25 season for the Nashville, Tenn. native -- and marked her second-most in a SSU uniform. Johnson scored 25 points against Campbellsville back on Dec. 17, 2022.
Jariah Steele added in an efficient effort of her own Tuesday -- needing just four official shots to reach what will ultimately go down as the sophomore's first career double-double, with Steele posting 12 points and 10 rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. Steele went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to complete a fantastic effort.
Behind the main scoring quartet, efficiency was abound up and down the roster -- as Lexi Deaver scored eight points and posted two assists while going 3-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range while Miyoshi Ellis and Sanaya Gregory combined for 14 points, 12 assists and five steals while turning the ball over just twice at the starting guard positions turnover -- amassing a 6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the process.
Additional
Laken Williams and Jonilyah Chambers scored four points apiece while Lauren Hawthorne added in three tallies for Shawnee State, who used the tallies from Johnson, Deaver, Hawthorne, Chambers and Williams to outscore Simmons' bench by a 37-13 margin. Williams also added three assists while Hawthorne posted four rebounds and two assists to complete the out-and-out domination.
Shawnee State turns its attention to River States Conference play the rest of the way, with the Bears take on Indiana-Columbus Thursday evening to begin its homestretch of games. Tip off for SSU's contest against Indiana-Columbus is set for 7:30 -- which follows the men's basketball program's tipoff at 5:30 p.m.
