PORTSMOUTH — Behind a 14-point and 10-rebound effort from Chianne Gloster, and an efficient 12-point outing from freshman Lexi Deaver, the Shawnee State University women’s basketball team overcame an off night from a shooting standpoint — by holding the Wilberforce Bulldogs to just 30.6-percent shooting and claiming a plus-16 rebounding advantage (44-28), in a 56-37 victory on Tuesday evening in a non-conference affair in Waller Gymnasium.

In addition to holding Wilberforce to just 15 made baskets on 49 shot attempts throughout the entirety of the 40-minute contest, and claiming its sizeable rebounding advantage, Shawnee State shared the basketball proficiently — with 11 assists in its 23 makes from the field while turning 16 Wilberforce turnovers into 14 points.

Chi not shy

With Shawnee State needing a go-to offensive punch in the opening half, Gloster took the lead role with her relentless attacking — leading to optimal results more often than not in the 19-point victory.

In the opening half alone, Gloster posted 10 points and seven rebounds on 4-for-8 shooting and a 2-for-2 mark from the free-throw line.

Of her 14-point and 10-rebound total, Gloster ultimately tied a game-high in total rebounds and set the game-high in offensive rebounds, grabbing four boards on the offensive front.

Three of those four offensive rebounds directly led to putbacks from the 6-0 standout.

Don’t doubt Deaver

Getting the start at the lead guard spot for Shawnee State, West Portsmouth’s own Lexi Deaver didn’t disappoint.

The freshman talent helped the Bears get untracked offensively, as Deaver’s five first-quarter points helped Shawnee State go on a 15-1 spurt — from the 8:32 to 1:21 marks of the opening quarter of play.

Deaver then added seven additional tallies in the third quarter, helping the Bears build what was a 29-17 halftime advantage to a 38-20 third-quarter edge at one point.

Tuesday’s contest marked the seventh double-figure scoring performance in the last eight games for Deaver, who is averaging 10.7 points, 2.9 assists and two rebounds per outing — while shooting 45.5-percent from three-point range.

Holland the closer

Saddled with foul trouble throughout the first three quarters, Markayla Holland made the most of her time on the floor in the final 10 minutes.

Holland scored all nine of her points in the fourth frame, while going 4-for-5 from the floor and posting a steal to boot in her eight minutes of fourth-quarter action.

The sophomore scored seven straight tallies over a minute and four-seconds span — helping turn a 43-31 advantage into a 50-33 Shawnee State lead.

Additional

Jariah Steele posted seven points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting mark in 14 minutes, while Cianna Gloster (seven points, six rebounds, 3-for-4 shooting), Emily Maynard and Maelynn Howell (13 rebounds combined) also had solid numbers for the Bears (7-3) in the victory over the Bulldogs (1-9).

Howell, like Deaver, is a former West standout.

By holding Wilberforce to just 39 points, this year’s version of the Shawnee State roster became the first unit since the 2017-18 squad to hold at least two opponents to under 40 points scored in a single game.

That 2017-18 unit, which had three opponents collect under 40 points per outing, ultimately finished the regular season as the No. 1 team in the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Poll — and was the No. 1 overall seed in the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Tournament.

Shawnee State will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 16 — when the Bears travel to Ohio Christian to take on the Trailblazers in a River States Conference doubleheader.

The women’s contest will precede the men’s contest, and begins at 1 p.m. in Circleville.

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