RedStorm women rally to bounce Bears

Rio Grande Sports Information
     PORTSMOUTH, Ohio - Barring another matchup in post-season play, the University of Rio Grande's final get together with rival Shawnee State University for the foreseeable future will be one that the RedStorm will likely remember for some time to come.
     The RedStorm rallied from a 13-point deficit with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter and knocked off the Bears, 90-84, Tuesday night, in River States Conference women's basketball play at the Frank & Janis Waller Gymnasium.
     Rio Grande, ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll, improved to 21-1 overall and 10-0 in league play with the win.
     Head coach David Smalley's club completed a regular sweep of the Bears and now enjoys a two-game lead over Midway University in the RSC East Division standings with six games to play.
     Shawnee State, which is leaving the RSC for the NCAA Division II Mountain East Conference at the conclusion of the current school year, dropped to 17-6 overall and 8-3 in the conference - 2-1/2 games in back of the RedStorm.
     The host Bears looked primed to pull within a game of Rio in the league standings after jumping to a 22-12 lead after one quarter and extending a nine-point halftime advantage to 13 points, 55-42, after a conventional three-point play by Laken Williams off of an offensive rebound of her own missed free throw with 6:04 to play in the third period.
     Rio Grande started the long road back, though, closing the gap to 65-63 after a three-pointer by freshman Kate Ball (Kenova, WV) with 1:29 left in the quarter.
     The Bears pushed their cushion back to six points entering the final quarter and extended the edge back to 10 points, 73-63, after a layup by Miyoshi Ellis with 9:11 remaining, but the RedStorm roared to life again.
     Two free throws by senior Marlee Grinstead (Albany, OH) capped a 10-0 run and tied the game at 73-all, while a three-point bomb by sophomore Payton Johnson (Peebles, OH) gave the visitors their first lead of the night, 76-75, with 4:57 showing on the clock.
     Over the next 2-1/2 minutes there were two ties and four lead changes, but it was the last of lead changes - a layup by freshman Allie Ellyson (Glenville, WV) which gave Rio an 85-84 advantage - that put the RedStorm in front to stay.
     The bucket started a game-ending 7-0 run for Rio. Ellyson had a pair of layups, while senior Marina Garcia Perez (Leon, Spain) hit one of two free throw tries and Grinstead made two more attempts from the charity stripe with six seconds left to set the final score.
     Grinstead finished with a game-high 27 points - including an 11-for-14 effort from the foul line - to lead Rio's winning effort.
     Johnson tossed in 17 points, while junior Sophia Kline (Sugar Grove, OH) had 16 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocked shots and Garcia Perez handed out 12 assists.
     The RedStorm shot 44.6 percent overall (29-for-65), including 11-for-24 from three-point range (45.8%). It was Rio's fourth consecutive outing with 11 or more trifectas as a team.
     Rio also finished 21-for-29 at the foul line (72.4%), but was 10-for-12 at the stripe (83.3%) in the final stanza.
     Shawnee State shot the ball better than its guests (34-for-71, 47.9%) and enjoyed a 34-33 edge in rebounding, but went just 13-for-19 at the foul line (68.4%).
     The Bears attempted just one free throw over the game's final 10 minutes.
     Williams had 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals to lead five double-digit scorers for SSU.
     Kyla Torok added 19 points off the bench for the Bears, while TK Catchings and Ellis both had 12 points and Jariah Steele netted 10. Ellis also had seven rebounds and four assists.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action, weather permitting, when it travels to Oakland City University on Saturday.
     Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. EST.