Gregory's 18 first-half points; Gloster's 33rd career double-double in 50 games at Shawnee State leads (RV) SSU WBB to 79-52 win over Indiana-Southeast

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The women's basketball program at Shawnee State utilized another standout defensive effort to emerge with its 13th double-digit victory in the program's 20th game of the 2024-25 season -- as Sanaya Gregory's 18 first-half points, a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double from Cianna Gloster and a 22-6 run between the second and third quarters of play allowed the Bears to claim a 79-52 victory over Indiana-Southeast Saturday afternoon at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.

In claiming its third straight victory and the unit's ninth triumph over its last 10 affairs, Shawnee State proved to be stout defensively -- especially in the passing lanes -- as the Bears (16-4, 7-1 River States Conference) forced Indiana-Southeast (9-9, 3-5 River States Conference) into 21 turnovers and notched 16 steals as a team. By contrast, SSU valued the basketball at a high rate, committing just 10 turnovers over the entire game.

Offensively, Shawnee State also shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field and 83.3 percent (20-of-24) from the free throw line, as the Bears made their opportunities count on numerous occasions in the runaway victory.

Gregory guns it from three

Scoring in arguably her most efficient fashion of the season, Shawnee State graduate student Sanaya Gregory took advantage of Indiana-Southeast sagging off of her jumper -- and made the Grenadiers pay in a big way offensively.

Gregory, who posted each of Shawnee State's first four points and seven of the Bears' opening nine tallies, helped Shawnee State claim a 13-11 lead after the opening quarter of play.

Then, with the Bears down 17-15 with just under six-and-a-half minutes to play in the second quarter, Gregory turned up the heat -- scoring 11 of Shawnee State's next 13 points and connecting on three consecutive three-point attempts to give Shawnee State a 28-20 lead -- which the Bears ultimately extended to 35-23 by the halftime break.

Gregory ultimately finished with her 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting -- all while going 4-of-6 from three-point range in the Shawnee State win.

CG the Double-Double Queen

Continuing to attack the glass with an undeniable vigor, Shawnee State senior forward Cianna Gloster has 33 double-doubles to her credit in her Shawnee State career through 50 games after the Bears' latest triumph.

Despite having to come out for a span of nearly four minutes in the second quarter after catching an unintentional strike to the face while diving for a loose ball, the errant play only seemed to fire Gloster up further -- as the senior forward was once again the best player on the floor throughout her team-high 31 minutes of game action.

Gloster ultimately posted five second quarter points, then delivered a big third frame as the Flint, Mich. product posted eight points, seven rebounds and a block while going 3-of-3 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe in a dominant display on both ends.

The senior finished her strong outing by posting 21 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and a block all while shooting an efficient 9-of-12 from the floor.

Additional

Shawnee State senior forward Jada Johnson enjoyed another strong outing off of the bench as Johnson, who made a living off of the short corner and high post areas with silky smooth jumpers, posted nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and added physical play inside with seven rebounds in 15 minutes of game action. Miyoshi Ellis and Jonilyah Chambers each combined for 12 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds while Lauren Hawthorne filled the stat sheet with five points, four steals and three rebounds herself.

Starting talents Jariah Steele and Emily Maynard combined for 10 points while Lexi Deaver and Jaden Tucker combined for the final five points for Shawnee State -- who gets a five-day layoff before returning to action with a contest at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Thursday, Jan. 30 in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT.