SSU drops 60-51 bout to Rio Grande in River States Conference Championship Game; finishes as RSC Tourney Runner-Up

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The women's basketball program at Shawnee State got 17 points from Miyoshi Ellis, a 13-point outing off of the bench from Jonilyah Chambers and a 14-rebound, 10-point double-double from Cianna Gloster, but dropped a 60-51 decision to the Rio Grande RedStorm women's basketball program in the River States Conference Championship Game Tuesday evening at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.

Shawnee State held Rio Grande to 39.3 percent shooting from the field and 10 percent from three-point range in the contest, but the Bears had just three assists as a team and were outrebounded by a plus-nine margin by the RedStorm (48-39).

Chambers sparks Shawnee State offense

Down by an 11-6 margin early in the first quarter, freshman guard Jonilyah Chambers provided the necessary spark that helped get the Bears untracked.

A microwave scorer by nature, Chambers scored six straight SSU points, helping the Bears cut a five-point deficit to a 13-12 margin with 9:51 to play in the second quarter. The freshman out of the famed high school that is Huber Heights Wayne then produced seven third-quarter points to boot over the final 4:08, with Chambers hitting a jumper to tie the score at 32-apiece with 6:11 to go in the third quarter and following that up with two additional buckets -- an offensive putback with 3:12 to play and a three-point field goal with 2:03 to go -- to give the Bears a 42-39 advantage at that juncture.

Chambers ultimately finished with 13 points -- her second-highest career total at Shawnee State -- and was efficient offensively throughout the game, scoring her 13 points on eight shots while shooting above 60 percent from the floor (5-of-8).

Ellis stands out

A talented guard in every facet of the game, Shawnee State junior Miyoshi Ellis was vital to the Bears' second quarter success.

With the Bears down 13-10 after the opening quarter of play, Ellis put Shawnee State's offense on her back in the second frame, scoring seven points in the frame alone on various isolations that either led to free throw line opportunities or floaters that were converted in a difficult manner, helping Shawnee State take a 26-25 advantage at the half. Ellis also kept SSU in the game in the fourth quarter, scoring six points on additional committed drives to the basket.

Ellis ultimately posted a team-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds to boot in the contest.

Boogie eclipses 1,000 career points

With her 14-rebound, 10-point effort against Rio Grande Tuesday evening, Shawnee State senior forward Cianna Gloster eclipsed the 1,000-point career milestone after several additional points were found from her time at Rochester (Mich.).

Actually entering Tuesday's contest needing just nine points to eclipse the mark, Gloster hit the 1,000-point plateau with 2:44 to play in the contest off of a steal that Gloster converted into points on the other end.

Gloster scored five points in each half -- and with her 14 total rebounds for the game, sits at 360 total rebounds through 31 games in the 2024-25 season. Gloster needs 14 rebounds to break her own single-season school record mark of 373 from the 2023-24 season.

Additional

Sanaya Gregory (four points, three rebounds, two steals), Jariah Steele (six rebounds, three points, two assists), Lexi Deaver (two points) and Jada Johnson (two points) rounded out the scoring for Shawnee State in the contest.

As the holder of the River States Conference's best regular season record at 16-0, the Bears (27-4) will advance to the NAIA National Tournament, where the Shawnee State women's basketball program will find out who and where it plays Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in the NAIA Selection Show. The Bears will play in the NAIA Opening Round in mid-March, with the NAIA Opening Round slated to occur Friday, March 14 (first round) and Saturday, March 15 (second round).

If Shawnee State wins both contests, the Bears will advance to the NAIA's final site at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa -- where the Round of 16, the NAIA National Quarterfinals, the NAIA Fab Four and the NAIA National Championship Game are held. Those contests will be from March 20 to March 25.

The host sites for the NAIA Opening Round are as follows: