All gas, no brakes: SSU WBB gets career-high 31 from Holland, 11 different players score in 97-53, wire-to-wire win over Wilberforce

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- When it was announced last Monday that Shawnee State's women's basketball opener at Wilberforce would be postponed, the disappointment and frustration was certainly palpable.

Over eight full days -- and 193-and-a-half hours -- after its season-opening contest at Wilberforce was scheduled to be played, Shawnee State was finally able to begin its 2024-25 season-opener.

To say it was worth the wait would be an understatement.

DeWayne Burroughs' squad scored three seconds into Tuesday evening's contest against Wilberforce, scored seven points over the contest's first 1:05, took a 10-0 lead, held the Bulldogs scoreless over the first 3:38 of the contest and never looked back en route to the Bears' 97-53 domination in a contest that was held at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.

Bear Paws from start to finish

From the get-go, Shawnee State's fullcourt pressure defensively and its ability to share the basketball offensively stood out as the Bears were simply relentless from start to finish.

Smelling blood in the forest, Shawnee State (1-0) pounced on its prey and didn't let up as the Bears collected an astounding 24 assists on its 41 made baskets Tuesday evening with 11 different players scoring in the 44-point victory.

Those assist numbers, as a result, led to impressive numbers as the Bears scored 62 points in the paint and ultimately went 41-of-80 from the floor en route to a terrific 51.2 percent shooting mark from the field.

Most impressively, Shawnee State maintained its offensive efficiency while owning the additional aspects of the scoreboard to boot.

The Bears collected a massive rebounding advantage -- posting a plus-24 (46-22) margin in the rebounding department, and forced 20 Wilberforce (1-5) turnovers en route to scoring 32 points off of those Bulldog miscues. As a result, Wilberforce got 20 less shots that Shawnee State did, and were held to 20-of-60 shooting (33.3 percent) in the attempts that they did have.

Holland showcases full arsenal

A rising star in the making, junior guard Markayla Holland enjoyed arguably her finest performance as a Shawnee State women's basketball player to date with her 31-point, 10-rebound, eight-assist effort.

Showcasing the entire arsenal from beginning to end, Holland made an immediate statement within the first three minutes of the game. The junior scored Shawnee State's first bucket on a layup just three seconds into the game after SSU won the opening tip, then scored again just 21 seconds later on another low-post bucket.

By the time the contest reached the 7:21 mark of the opening quarter, Holland had seven points -- as the Waterford, Mich. talent added in a terrific dipsy-do-to-the-hoop for an and-one that had Shawnee State off and running with a 10-0 advantage at that juncture.

Holland ultimately scored 11 of the Bears' first 14 points -- and never looked back from there, going over 30 points for the first time in her career en route to finishing with a game-her first career double-double in 30 minutes of work.

If that wasn't enough, Holland also posted eight assists and four steals for game-highs in those categories, as well -- and posted a two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio en route to producing on every end of the spectrum.

Gloster picks up right off of '23-24 form

Having posted ridiculous averages of 12.4 rebounds and 11.7 points per game on 57.1 percent shooting from the field, Cianna Gloster continued to look like her dominant self once again in Shawnee State's 44-point win.

Gloster, who posted 20 points and 13 rebounds on 9-of-18 shooting to record her 19th double-double in her 31st contest at Shawnee State, was especially dominant in the second and third quarters of play, posting 18 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting in those pair of stanzas alone. Gloster also posted two assists, two blocks and had just one turnover in 28 minutes of gametime action.

Contributions plentiful down the line

While Holland and Gloster were their usual selves and then some in Tuesday evening's victory, the remainder of the group was terrific as well.

Sophomore forward Jariah Steele -- a slasher who has tons of promise -- showcased excellent efficiency throughout, scoring 10 points on just four shots by going 3-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line, all while adding in five rebounds to boot, in Tuesday's win, while Lexi Deaver and Sanaya Gregory were each steady as the first unit's primary ballhandlers in the halfcourt, combining for 11 points and seven assists while showcasing poise and improved decision making from a 2023-24 season that saw the pair play significant roles on a 20-game winner.

Off the bench, Jada Johnson's activity and fluidity led to an eight-point, four-rebound night on 4-of-6 shooting, Lauren Hawthorne showcased many of the same traits in a four-point, four-rebound, two-assist, two-steal outing that saw the 6-0 newcomer add a great deal to the SSU lineup in the first half of play, and Amiya Latham again showed off her terrific stroke from three-point range, knocking down back-to-back second quarter three-pointers to account for her six points off of the pine.

Laken Williams, Emily Maynard, Miyoshi Ellis, Jonilyah Chambers, Addison Edmondson, Molly Howard and Jaden Tucker all showed promising tools with Edmondson, Williams and Chambers accounting for the final seven SSU tallies in what was a true team triumph.

Additional

Shawnee State (1-0) will turn around and play two contests in back-to-back days when the Bears take on Simmons (Ky.) Friday evening at 6 p.m. and Washington Adventist Saturday evening at 8 p.m. as part of the Shawnee State Classic.

A full preview on that classic will be unveiled Wednesday evening.