Youngstown -- Some late hot shooting by the Youngstown State women's basketball team made things interesting, but the Penguins ran out of time in an 82-77 setback to Loyola on Thursday night at the Beeghly Center.
Loyola, which held an 11-point edge at halftime, led by as many as 18 early in the second half. The Ramblers were up by 13 with two-and-a-half minutes left when the Penguins got hot. YSU hit four consecutive 3-pointers and five straight field goals overall to get within four with 11 seconds left.
Simone Law scored 18 of her 21 points in the second half, and Monica Albano scored 15 in the second half as Loyola held on. The Penguins scored 53 points in the second half, including 15 points in the final 2:26.
Brandi Brown had 20 of her game-high 26 points in the second half and was 12-for-13 from the free-throw line. Kenya Middlebrooks, Heidi Schlegel and Monica Touvelle all finished with nine points.
The Ramblers went on an 11-2 run early in the second half to go up 46-26 after an Albano triple with 17:23 on the clock. A Schlegel 3-pointer cut the margin to 12 with 14 minutes remaining, and a Touvelle trey made the score 58-48 with just under 11:56 left. Law scored on four straight possessions to help Loyola keep pace.
Law's free throw made the score 60-48 with 11:03 remaining, and the lead ranged between 12 and 15 points for almost six minutes until two Brown free throws made the score 69-58 with 5:07 remaining.
Touvelle's 3-pointer with 2:26 remaining started YSU's hot streak and made the score 75-65. Loyola answered each of YSU's first two triples with a deuce, and the Ramblers hit three free throws in the final 17 seconds.
Troy Hambric added 12 points, and Ayrealle Beavers had 10 for the Ramblers, which blocked seven shots. The Ramblers held a 32-22 edge in the paint and a 13-4 advantage on fast-break points.
YSU shot just 25.8 percent in the first half as Loyola took a 35-24 lead into the locker room.
The Penguins led 9-4 following back-to-back 3-pointers from Middlebrooks and Liz Hornberger, but Loyola knotted the score after a three-point play from Patrice King. A Kelsea Fickiesen rebound and put-back put YSU back up 11-9, but that was the Guins' final lead of the half.
Katie Kortekamp hit a bucket off a turnover to start a six-point run for the Ramblers that put them ahead 15-11 with 11:48 left in the period. YSU cut the margin to two twice, and the Penguins trailed by just six with five minutes remaining. They didn't score for more than three minutes, and Loyola posted seven straight points to take its largest lead of the half at 33-20.
The Penguins return to action on Saturday when they play host to UIC. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center is set for 2 p.m.
