Steele erupts for career-high 21 pts, (RV) SSU outlasts No. 9 Rio Grande, takes firm control of RSC East, overall RSC Regular Season Championship battle in 77-73 win

RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- Matchups between the Shawnee State women's basketball program and the Rio Grande women's basketball program haven't disappointed, especially in recent times.

Tuesday evening's River States Conference matchup between the top two teams in the River States Conference's East Division -- and, coming in, the top two teams in the RSC period -- may have been the best contest between the two since Shawnee State joined the River States ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Jariah Steele posted a career-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, Cianna Gloster added in her 38th career double-double at Shawnee State with a 16-point, 15-rebound display, lead guards Miyoshi Ellis and Sanaya Gregory combined for 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds and Lauren Hawthorne dropped in a team-high 10 points off of the bench in (RV) Shawnee State's 77-73 victory over No. 9 Rio Grande Tuesday evening at Newt Oliver Arena in Rio Grande.

Game Summary

As fiercely competitive as the men's basketball contest between the two teams was, the women's basketball matchup between the two squads proved to be just as thrilling.

In all, both units battled each other to 15 ties and 21 lead changes throughout the entirety of the contest, with neither team leading by more than six points over the 40-minute affair.

Shawnee State, who shot 40.3 percent from the field (29-of-72), was outshot slightly by Rio Grande's 43.1 percent mark from the floor (31-of-72), but the Bears (21-4, 12-1 River States Conference), shot 40 percent from three-point range (4-of-10) while holding Rio Grande (20-5, 10-3 River States Conference) to a 29.4 percent effort from distance (5-of-17), outrebounded the RedStorm by a plus-15 margin, and posted a 21-14 advantage in second-chance points in the thrilling battle.

The win not only gives Shawnee State firm control of the River States Conference's East Division with an opportunity to claim a No. 1 conference seed with one more win, but puts the Bears in line to win the outright RSC Regular Season Championship, regardless of division, as the Bears now have a one-game lead in the overall conference race over Oakland City and also control their own destiny in that regard as a result.

Shawnee State can clinch the outright title, and a postseason berth into the NAIA National Tournament, if the Bears win out through the rest of the regular season -- as the team with the best overall record in conference play in either the RSC East or RSC West Division gets an automatic bid to nationals regardless of how the River States Conference Tournament shakes out.

Steele posts career outing

Playing with an undeterred mindset throughout the evening, Shawnee State sophomore Jariah Steele enjoyed what was arguably the finest performance of her young basketball career at Shawnee State.

Steele -- who scored each of Shawnee State's final five tallies of the opening quarter -- nabbed nine points, three rebounds and an assist on 4-of-5 shooting in the first frame, helping the Bears battle to within a single point of the RedStorm, 20-19, after the first 10 minutes of action.

The sophomore was then efficient throughout the final half of action, notching 12 points and three additional rebounds in the second half on a 4-of-5 mark from the floor. Steele scored five straight points in a 35-second span in the third quarter alone, including an acrobatic layup that dropped straight through the hoop after hanging in the air to connect on the bucket.

With the contest tied at 71 late in the fourth quarter, Steele's free throws -- which came with 1:17 left to play in the game -- were ultimately the difference as the Bears took a 73-71 lead over the RedStorm for the contest's final lead change.

The contest was Steele's first 20-point game at Shawnee State, and moved the sophomore up to seven points and 4.4 rebounds on 49.6 percent shooting.

Gloster sets physical tone defensively

Backing up her three-time River States Conference Defensive Player of the Week status with authority in the matchup, Shawnee State senior forward Cianna Gloster again played at a high level Tuesday evening.

Gloster collected yet another double-double -- 16 points and 15 rebounds, as a matter of fact, as Shawnee State won its eighth straight contest and 14th game over its last 15 affairs -- but it was the senior's ability to protect the rim that proved to be as large as anything Tuesday.

Along with her 16 points and 15 rebounds -- nine offensive -- on 6-of-14 shooting, Gloster posted four critical blocks right at the rim in Tuesday's four-point victory, with one of those swats being a critical chasedown block of a Kaylee Darnell layup in the fourth quarter and two others coming in the same frame on attempted go-ahead buckets by the RedStorm, including a huge denial on a three-point attempt by Rio Grande's Lexi Woods with 33 seconds left to help Shawnee State preserve its lead in the waning moments.

The high-motor talent now averages 14.9 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals on 55.2 percent shooting from the field.

Gregory, Ellis, Hawthorne all big at various points

Behind the main scoring duo, the trio of Miyoshi Ellis, Sanaya Gregory and Lauren Hawthorne put together efforts that were paramount in the final result.

Ellis, who moved to 14-1 as a starter at Shawnee State, showed little fear in absorbing contact en route to playing winning basketball -- as the junior guard collected 12 points and matched a game-high with five assists while providing inspirational play with her ability to continue dishing the rock -- and physical play -- all in one.

Gregory, who is no stranger to big moments in big games, posted another positive statline as the steady graduate student posted nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

Seven of her nine points came in the second half -- including three on an and-one in the third quarter that Gregory deftly finished through contact with 8:21 to play in the frame, and two more on a nifty layup where Gregory shielded off her defender with an excellent jumpstop move on the right block that led to a go-ahead bucket off of the glass with 2:32 left to play in the fourth quarter.

Hawthorne, who posted 10 points and six rebounds for the contest, posted four points and two rebounds in the second quarter -- and followed that effort up with a stat-stuffing fourth frame where the junior notched four points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in her own difference-making effort.

Additional

Jonilyah Chambers (four points, steal), Jada Johnson (four points, four rebounds, steal) and Emily Maynard (two points, steal) were each critical in Shawnee State's regular season sweep of Rio Grande.

The Bears now turn their attention to a Saturday afternoon contest against Indiana-East, which begins at 3 p.m. in Waller Gymnasium. Three players, including Cianna Gloster, Sanaya Gregory and Jada Johnson, will be honored prior to the contest as part of Senior Day festivities.