PORTSMOUTH, Ohio - Ahead by 10 points in the fourth quarter, Midway was unable to finish an upset bid at Shawnee State Saturday, as the Bears closed on a 10-0 run to win a hard-fought 71-67 River States Conference women's basketball matchup.

Facing a Shawnee team receiving votes in the NAIA national poll, the Eagles pulled ahead 8-6 on a Jermyra Christian jumper with 3:38 to play in the first quarter and proceeded to hold the lead for the next 32:54 of game time.

The deficit reached its peak 57 seconds into the the fourth period, as an Alexys Moore jumper made it 55-45 Midway. The Eagles even seemed to weather a potential storm, as after Shawnee cut the deficit to four, they were able to respond and held a 65-57 advantage on an Alexis Taylor layup with 3:14 to play.

But that would be Midway's final field goal, with its final nine attempts being no good. And with the Eagle offense stalling out, the Bears countered, getting within 67-66 on a Lauren Hawthorne 3-pointer then immediately forcing a turnover in the backcourt with a minute to play.

And following a Jariah Steele missed jumper on the ensuing possession, Jonilyah Chambers got inside position, grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on a successful layup attempt.

She then converted a 3-point play to put Shawnee State ahead 69-67, an advantage it would extend on two free throws in the closing moments.

 Chambers recorded the last of 16 second-chance points scored by the Bears, who had an 18-8 edge in offensive rebounds for the game.

The Eagles fall to 9-5 overall with an 0-2 mark in the RSC. Those two losses have been on the road against the projected top-two teams in the league by a combined total of five points.

Christian (16), A'Lyrica Hughes (12) and Trinity Johnson (10) all scored in double figures for Midway, with Hughes coming just one rebound shy of a double-double.

The Eagles return to the road Tuesday, looking to get their first RSC win in a 6 p.m. tipoff against Indiana East.