Shawnee State surprises No. 8 RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     PORTSMOUTH, Ohio - Too many turnovers and too many points in the paint by the opposition made it too much for the University of Rio Grande to overcome.
     The RedStorm committed 24 turnovers which led directly to 21 Shawnee State points and the host Bears added 46 more points in the paint en route to an 81-73 win, Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference women's basketball action at Waller Gymnasium.
     Rio Grande, which entered the game ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 poll, dropped to 11-3 overall and 1-1 in league play with the loss.
     Shawnee State, which outscored its guests in each of the first three quarters, moved to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the RSC.
     The Bears, who also handed the RedStorm their lone RSC loss last season, trailed just three times in the contest - only twice outside of the game's first minute and never by more than two points.
     Rio's three leads lasted a grand total of 79 seconds.
     The RedStorm's last advantage of the day came at 35-33 after a jumper by senior Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH) with 1:45 left before halftime, but Shawnee closed the period on a 9-1 run for a six-point lead at the break and only played add-on after the intermission.
     The Bears extended their cushion to 13 points by the close of the third quarter and took their largest lead of the day, 68-54, after a left wing jumper by Jada Johnson with 7:42 remaining in the contest.
     Rio Grande managed to draw within six points on four different occasions inside the final five minutes of the game - the last of which came at 79-73 after a layup by senior Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH) with 21.6 seconds remaining - but got no closer the rest of the way.
     Laken Williams drilled a pair of free throws on Shawnee State's ensuing possession after the Williams layup to make it a three-possession game with 21.0 seconds left and the RedStorm committed their final turnover of the day seconds later to settle the issue once and for all.
     The Bears shot just over 46 percent overall (31-for-67), including 11-for-15 in the second quarter (73.3%), and outscored Rio Grande, 46-26, in the paint.
     Miyoshi Ellis led a quintet of double-digit scorers for SSU with a season- and career-high 18 points to go along with a game-high five steals.
     Ellis, who was shooting just 19 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from foul line entering the game, went 6-for-15 from the floor and 6-for-8 at the foul line.
     Cianna Gloster added 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to the winning effort, while Jariah Steele and Williams had 11 points each and Lauren Hawthorne finished with 10.
     Williams' point total represented a career-high. She was shooting just 25 percent from the floor and averaging just 1.0 point per game coming into the contest.
     Darnell led Rio Grande with 17 points, three assists and three steals, while freshman Payton Johnson (Peebles, OH) netted a career-high 17 points of her own and Williams tossed in 14 points.
     Freshman Jasmine Jordan (Ashland, KY) had a team-high 10 rebounds and two blocked shots in a losing effort, while senior Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) also handed out three assists.
     The RedStorm shot 47.3 percent overall (26-for-55) and were outrebounded, 31-30.
     Rio Grande is slated to return to action on Tuesday night when it hosts West Virginia University-Tech for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     However, an impending winter storm which is forecast to blanket the area on Sunday afternoon has school officials considering rescheduling for a Wednesday afternoon start should the game be postponed.
     Continue to monitor www.rioredstorm.com for the exact date and time.