(RV) SSU WBB forces 25 turnovers, puts four in double-figures in 75-60 win over Midway (Ky.)

MIDWAY, Ky. -- It's said that one learns a lot about a team when the pressure is on them.

As the hunted in the River States Conference, the Shawnee State women's basketball program could've folded up camp with the pressure on and holding a slim 39-38 lead at halftime over the Midway Eagles' women's basketball program.

Instead, adversity only made DeWayne Burroughs' group stronger.

Defensively, Shawnee State (23-4, 14-1 River States Conference) held Midway (15-12, 9-6 River States Conference) to 8-of-25 shooting (32 percent) in the second half and forced nine Eagles turnovers as the Bears outscored the Eagles 36-22 in the second half en route to a critical 75-60 road victory Tuesday evening at Marshall Gymnasium in Midway, Ky.

Game Summary

Shawnee State, who shot a respectable 29-of-66 (43.9 percent) from the field, did so on the back of its 16 assists Tuesday evening. The Bears also won the turnover battle -- forcing 25 Midway miscues for a plus-10 turnover margin in the contest -- and scored 26 points off of Midway's 25 turnovers.

SSU also claimed significant advantages in second-chance points (17-5) as well as points in the paint (44-22) in Tuesday's triumph.

Gloster dominates Midway frontline in SSU triumph

From start to finish, Shawnee State's Cianna Gloster was stout -- and difficult for the Midway defense to handle on both ends of the floor.

Gloster, who led all participants in the contest with 18 points and 12 rebounds while tying for the game-high with three steals, shot 7-of-11 from the field en route to her 18-point effort.

The senior forward not only produced 12 points, five rebounds and two steals in the opening half alone while shooting an efficient 5-of-6 from the floor over the first 20 minutes of action, but stymied Midway's frontline for most of the evening as the Eagles' top forward trio of Jacie Chessser, Trinity Johnson and Kiera Couch were held to 15 points combined on 6-of-13 shooting.

With her 18-point and 12-rebound effort, Gloster collected her 39th career double-double at Shawnee State and upped her collegiate point total to 930, as well as her collegiate rebounding total to 582. Gloster is now averaging 14.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and three steals on 54.6 percent shooting from the floor and a 42.9 percent mark from three-point range.

Ellis continues building on strong second half

Firmly entrenched as one of Shawnee State's two starting guards, SSU junior Miyoshi Ellis was also a consistent producer throughout in an efficient performance for the guard from New York City.

Scoring 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, Ellis made a quick impact early, posting seven of those 15 tallies in the game's first 4:48 to put Shawnee State ahead by a 12-4 margin. Ellis then helped put the game away in the final quarter of action, going a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to lead the Bears in a six-point final stanza.

For the 2024-25 season, Ellis has raised her averages to 7.2 points, three assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals through 27 games. Ellis also has 81 assists to just 48 turnovers total -- sporting a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio as a primary ballhandler for Shawnee State alongside Sanaya Gregory.

Maynard, Steele chip in double-digit performances; Hawthorne produces with well-rounded statline off bench

Along with Ellis and Gloster, Shawnee State's Emily Maynard and Jariah Steele joined the aforementioned duo in double-figures.

Maynard, who scored 11 points, hit two first-half three-point attempts, stole a ball that ultimately led to an offensive rebound and a putback by Maynard herself to begin the second half, and hit a third three-pointer with 7:33 to play in the third quarter en route to scoring five of Shawnee State's first seven third quarter points.

Steele, meanwhile, heated up in the fourth quarter -- as the junior scored seven points in the final frame, including each of the Bears' first five tallies to begin the fourth quarter over the first 1:58 of action.

As for Hawthorne, the junior forward, who played a team-high 21 minutes off of the bench, supplied eight points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals and a block -- with Hawthorne scoring a bucket in every quarter and adding in her lone block in the first 10 minutes of play, four rebounds, four assists and three steals between the second and third quarters of action and another assist on Steele's next-to-last basket for good measure in the final 10-minute stanza.

Additional

Laken Williams contributed five points, two assists and two steals in nine minutes off of the bench while Sanaya Gregory added in four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two points to fill her own stat sheet alongside Hawthorne as Williams and Gregory teamed up with Ellis to provide stability at the guard spots.

Jonilyah Chambers' four points and Jada Johnson's two rounded out the scoring for Shawnee State, who also saw Lexi Deaver and Jaden Tucker receive playing action in the 15-point win.

With Tuesday's victory, Shawnee State maintains its one-game lead over Oakland City -- a 69-65 overtime victor over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods -- in the race for the River States Conference's Regular Season Championship across both divisions and the automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament that comes with it. A win in Saturday's 3 p.m. road contest against Alice Lloyd (Ky.) clinches the RSC Regular Season Championship and the automatic bid that comes with it to nationals.