| Scott, Karner Pace Penguins to 74-56 Victory Over Akron |
| Saturday, December 22 2007 |
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| Akron, Ohio -- Tiara Scott and Heather Karner combined for 51 points and Youngstown State had one of its best overall performances of the season in a 74-56 win over Akron on Friday evening at the James A. Rhodes Arena. Scott posted 25 points and 21 rebounds for her first career double-double, and Karner scored 17 of her 24 points in the first half as the Penguins built a 33-18 lead at the break. It was the first time since Jan. 20, 2005 (Jen Perugini) that a YSU player had more than 20 rebounds and the first time since Feb. 2, 2006 that two different players scored 20 points (Kristy Gaudiose and Michelle Holmes). The Penguins missed their first six shots from the floor to open the game, but a strong defensive effort that lasted the entire game kept the game close until the offense caught fire. Akron led only 2-0 at the 15:58 mark before two Karner free throws sparked a nine-point run that put YSU up 9-2 with 13:52 left. Akron trimmed the margin to 10-7 with 12:56 remaining, but the Penguins went on an 11-2 spurt to go up 21-9 with 7:56 remaining and never led by less than nine points the rest of the way. YSU had a 12-2 advantage in points off turnovers and a 7-2 edge in second-chance points in the first half alone. The Penguins grabbed 20 offensive rebounds for the game, which helped contribute to a dominating 57-36 advantage on the glass. A 10-3 run early in the second half put the Penguins up 51-27 with 12:58 left, and the Zips never got closer than 18 points the rest of the way. Scott scored 16 points in the second half after coming off the bench to score nine in the first half. The junior forward also 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the second stanza as the Penguins converted on all 12 of their attempts from the charity stripe in the half. The Penguins made 20-of-22 for the game for a 90.9 percent effort from the line. Ashley Pendleton chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds for YSU, which improved to 5-6 heading into a 13-day break for the holidays. Sarah Tokodi scored a game high 26 points for the Zips, who lost their first game of the season at home and dropped to 5-6 overall. YSU will open Horizon League play at home on Thursday, Jan. 3, against UIC. Tipoff for the game is set for 5:15 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's basketball team. |
| Women's Basketball Falls to No. 18 Ohio State, 84-50 |
| Thursday, December 20 2007 |
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| Columbus, Ohio -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team (4-6) turned in a gutsy performance but it was not enough to take down No. 18 Ohio State in an 84-50 loss to the Buckeyes on Wednesday evening at Value City Arena. Senior Jessica Schloemp led the Penguins with 11 points while senior Heather Karner and junior Kelsey Gurganus each added 10 points. The Penguins hung tough with the Buckeyes and led by as many as six points early in the first half. Jumpers by junior Ashley Pendleton, Gurganus and Schloemp led the Penguins on a 6-0 run to take a 6-2 lead at the 17:06 mark. After a basket by OSU's Javelle Little, Pendleton and Schloemp anwered with lay ups to extend the Penguins edge back to six, 10-4. Ohio State scored five straight points to cut the Guins lead to one, 10-9, but Karner drilled a 3-pointer to lift the Penguins to a four-point lead, 13-9, with 14:36 left. The Buckeyes, however, scored 12 staright points to take a eight-point lead with 11:44 to go. A jumper and a free throw by Schloemp brought the Guins within five, 21-16, with 11 minutes left but they would not get any closer. The Buckeyes, who led 37-25 at the intermission, shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half to put tthe game out of reach. The Guins conclude their three-game road swing and the non-league portion of their schedule against Akron, Friday, Dec. 21. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the J.A.R Arena in Akron, Ohio. |
| First-Half Bearcat Run Topples Penguins, 79-56 |
| Sunday, December 16 2007 |
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| Cincinnati, Ohio -- Junior Kelsey Gurganus scored a career-high 14 points and senior Heather Karner led the Penguins with 15 but Cincinnati made 10 3-pointers en route to a 79-56 win over the Youngstown State women's basketball team (4-5) on Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena. Junior Tiara Scott also reached double figures with 12 points. Cincinnati's Jill Stephens led all scorers with 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including five 3-pointers, and grabbed 14 rebounds. Cincinnati benefited from eight straight missed shots by the Guins and used an 18-0 run over the last seven minutes of the first half to turn a one-point deficit, 19-18, into a 17 point advantage, 36-19. Kelsey Gurganus stopped the run with a basket with 20 seconds remaining. Karner , who made her first four 3-point attempts, gave the Penguins their largest lead of the half, 16-11 with her fourth triple at the 11:30 mark. A free throw and a jumper by Ashley Pendleton put the Penguins back ahead, 19-18, with 7:20 left. Karner started the scoring with a 3-pointer and scored the Penguins first nine points - all on treys - to keep the Penguins in the game at 9-9 with 13 minutes remaining. Two jumpers by Tiara Scott gave YSU a 13-11 edge at the 11:57 mark. The Bearcats outscored the Penguins, who shot 50 percent in the second half, 43-35 in the second half. UC also outrebounded the Guins, 44-27. The Guins continue their three-game, in-state road swing against nationally-ranked Ohio State, Wednesday, Dec. 19. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Value City Arena. |
| Second-Half Shooting Woes Hurt Penguins in 64-45 Loss to Miami |
| Sunday, December 9 2007 |
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| Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team (4-4) shot just 22.2 percent in the second half and 26.7 percent for the game and its four-game winning streak came to an end in a 64-45 loss to Miami (Ohio) (6-3) on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. Junior Ashley Pendleton posted her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds while junior Tiara Scott also scored 12 points. After trailing by as many as 12 points, 20-8, in the first half, the Penguins used a 16-2 run, including the last 13 points of the stanza, over the last 9:31 to take a 24-22 lead into the lockerroom at halftime. Junior Toni Roscoe hit a 3-pointer to bring the Penguins with nine, 20-11, but Miami's Stephanie Ford's layup put the RedHawks back up by 1, 22-11, with 8:54 to go. Miami would not score again until the 19:14 mark of the second half. Jumpers by junior Velissa Vaughn and Scott and a 3-pointer by Vaughn cut the Penguins' deficit to four, 22-18, at the 4:20 mark. Senior Heather Karner brought the Penguins with two with a jumper with 2:10 remaining and junior Kelsey Gurganus made two layups, the last with four seconds remaining, to put the Penguins ahead by two, 24-22. After two jumpers by Pendleton, the Penguins led by four 28-24, with 19 minutes remaining, but went scoreless for almost three minutes while Miami scored eight straight points to regain the lead, 32-28, with 16:30 to go. Pendleton made two charity tosses to bring the Guins with two, 32-30, but the RedHawks outscored YSU, 17-4, to take an insurmountable 15-point lead, 49-34, with 9:11 left. Miami's Laura Markwood recorded a double-double with 12 points and 20 rebounds while Jenna Shone scored a game-high 15 points. The Guins will take a week off for exams before embarking on a three-game road trip through the state of Ohio. The Guins return to action against Cincinnati, Saturday, Dec. 15. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. |
| Branson's Career Night Lifts YSU to Fourth Straight Win With 66-58 Nod Over CMU |
| Thursday, December 6 2007 |
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| Youngstown -- Senior Lauren Branson scored a career-high 20 points, including a career-best three 3-poitners, with six assists to lead the Youngstown State women's basketball team (4-3) to its fourth straight win with a 66-58 win over Central Michigan (3-5) on Wednesday evening at the Beeghly Center. Senior Heather Karner added 13 points while senior Jessica Schloemp just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. The Penguins held a 13-point halftime advantage but missed their first seven field-goal attempts to start the second half. The Chippewas capitalized with an 11-0 run to trim the YSU advantage to two, 36-34, at the 15:54 mark. Two free throws by Kelsey Gurganus, Branson's second triple and a jumper by Branson extended the YSU edge back to nine, 43-34, with 13:44 left. A 3-pointer by Angel Chan brought CMU within four, 51-47, and a jumper by Latisha Luckett at the 4:02 mark cut the deficit to three, 53-50. Branson's jumper with three minutes remaining put the Penguins ahead by five, 55-50, but a free throw by Houghton and a 3-pointer by Candace Wilson brought the Chippewas within one with 2:32 remaining. Branson answered with her third triple of the night to push the Penguins lead to four, 58-54. Gurganus hit a clutch jumper with 51 seconds left to give YSU a five-point cushion, 61-56, and the Penguins converted 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to seal the victory. Youngstown State scored the first eight points of the game and led by as many as 17 points, 18-1, midway through the first half after Branson's first 3-pointer of the game at the 11:33 mark. Karner hit two triples in the first minute-and-half and Ashley Pendleton made a jumper to put the Penguins up 8-0. A lay up by Jessica Schloemp, a 3-pointer by Karner and a jumper by Schloemp put the Penguins ahead 15-1 prior to Branson's 3-pointer. The Chippewas whittled the Penguins lead down to eight , 26-18, with 2:43 remaining in the half, but the Penguins' lead ballooned back to 16 after a jumper by Schloemp with 21 second remaining. Britni Houghton's 3-point play with eight seconds left cut the YSU lead back to 13, 36-23, at the intermission. YSU closes out its two-game homestand against Miami (Ohio), Saturday, Dec. 8. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center. |
| Karner's Free Throw Lifts Women's Basketball to 58-57 Win Over St. Francis |
| Sunday, December 2 2007 |
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| Loretto, Pa. -- Senior Heather Karner's free throw with 5.4 seconds remaining lifted the Youngstown State women's basketball team to its third straight win with a 58-57 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) on Thursday evening at the DeGol Center. Junior Tiara Scott scored a career-high with 15 points and eight rebounds while Karner and junior Toni Roscoe added 12 and 10 points, respectively. For the second straight game, the Penguins relinquished a double-digit lead only to recover for the victory. St. Francis rallied behind a 17-point second-half performance by Britney Hodges. The Red Flash rebounded to cut the Penguins lead to 41-39 midway through the second half but the Penguins were able to extend their advantage to seven, 51-44, after a 3-pointer by Kira Mowen, jumpers by Scott and Nikita LaFleur, and a 3-point play by Kelsey Gurganus with 6:17 remaining. The Red Flash scored seven straight to knot the game but Lauren Branson hit a 3-pointer to put the GUins back up 54-51 with 3:07 left. St. Francis took its first lead since the 9:50 mark of the first half after two baskets by Hodges, 55-54, then Roscoe answered with her third triple of the game to reclaiming the lead, 57-55, with 1:50 left. Whitney Robinson then added a jumper to tie the game at 57-57 with 30 seconds left. Trailing 15-11 midway through the first half, the Penguins used a 17-3 run and held the Red Flash without a field goal for almost 10 minutes to take a 28-18 lead. Senior Kira Mowen fueled the run with a 3-pointer to bring the Penguins within one, 15-14, and Tiara Scott's two free throws and jumper gave the Penguins a three-point edge, 18-15, with 8:37 remaining. Junior Toni Roscoe drilled two 3-pointers to expanded the YSU lead to nine points, 24-15, with five minutes left. Scott converted another jumper at the 3:54 mark to give YSU a 10-point edge, 28-18. After a jumper by Karner cushioned the Penguins advantage, 30-18, St. Francis's Janie Killian hit a jumper and Shawna Scott's half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer sliced the Penguins' lead to 30-23 at the intermission. Leading 3-2 after a Gurganus free throw at the 17:35 mark, the Penguins went scoreless for almost four minutes and the Red Flash scored seven straight points to take a 9-3 advantage with 14:02 left. Two jumpers by Gurganus brought the Penguins within two, 9-7, but the Red Flash was able to extend its lead back to four, 15-11, at 10:40 mark after a jumper by Britney Hodges. Youngstown State returns home to host Mid-American Conference member Central Michigan, Wednesday, Dec. 5. Tipoff is slated for 5:15 p.m. at the Beeghly Center and is part of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader. |