Penguin News
Ramblers Beat Poor-Shooting YSU, 67-59
by YSU
Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 4:20 pm
The game featured 12 lead changes and nine ties, the final of which was at 58-58. Loyola's Simone Law broke that tie with a bucket on the low block with 1:57 remaining that fouled out Brandi Brown. She completed the three-point play, and Loyola went on to score the next six points and pull away.
YSU's Shar'Rae Davis had 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for her first double-double, and three other Penguins scored in double figures. Brown finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, but she was 5-of-15 shooting. Melissa Thompson matched her season high with 13 points, and Liz Hornberger finished with 10.
Law finished with 24 points, and the sophomore was 12-for-21 from the free-throw line. The Ramblers shot 35 free throws in the contest, 19 more than the Penguins.
With its five-game winning streak, Loyola is now 12-13 overall and 7-5 in Horizon League play, one game behind YSU in the Horizon League standings. YSU drops to 18-7 overall and 8-4 in conference games.
YSU led by six on three different occasions in the first half and was up 33-32 at halftime. Neither team led by more than four in the second half until Loyola went up by six in the final minute. YSU's largest lead was three in the period, which it achieved three times. Brown put the Penguins up 56-53 on a bucket with 6:56 left, but that was the last of their eight field goals in the second half. The senior made two free throws with 3:01 left to give YSU a 58-57 lead, its final advantage of the contest.
Law scored 10 straight points for the Ramblers over the final five minutes. Her bucket that fouled Brown out accounted for the seventh and eighth points during that stretch. Troy Hambric hit a bucket with 56 seconds left that put the Ramblers up 64-58, and Monica Touvelle's triple attempt to cut the margin in half was off. YSU was forced to foul, and Hambric made both free throws to up the advantage to eight.
YSU shot 25 percent (8-for-32) in the second half, including 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from 3-point range.
Youngstown State led by six on three separate occasions in the first half, but Loyola scored seven of the final nine points in the period and trailed just 33-32 at the break. Davis led all players with 13 points, and Abby Skube was 4-for-4 from the field in the first half on her Senior Day for the Ramblers. Loyola held Brown to two points on five field-goal attempts in the first half.
Loyola led 5-1 after three minutes, but the Penguins scored the next nine points and took a 10-5 lead on a Davis bucket with 14:29 remaining. Loyola regained the lead at 17-15 following a 6-0 run, but Davis and Hornberger hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the Penguins to put them back up 21-17 with 6:18 left. YSU took its first six-point lead at 24-18 less than a minute later on a Thompson triple.
YSU also had six-point advantages at 28-22 and 31-25 before Loyola closed the half strong to get within one.
The Penguins forced Loyola into 10 first-half turnovers, just one off their season average. The Ramblers shot 52.4 percent from the field, and YSU shot 40.7 percent in the opening period.
Youngstown State returns home for three games in five days next week, starting with a contest Thursday against UIC. Tipoff against the Flames is set for 7:05 p.m.
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