| Defense, Seniors Lift Penguins to 58-52 Victory Over Akron |
| Sunday, December 21 2008 |
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| Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball scored seven straight points after the fourth tie of the second half to hold off Akron in a 58-52 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins shot 44.9 percent and allowed a season-low 52 points to the Zips, who were just 10-of-26 from the free-throw line. The win was YSU's first of the year at home, and it improves the Guins' record to 2-8 as the team takes six days away from basketball Senior Tiara Scott scored a game-high 16 points while classmate Kelsey Gurganus matched her season-high with 12 points. Scott was 7-for-9 from the field and scored her 500th point as a Penguin in the first half. Senior Nikita LaFleur added nine points and eight rebounds, and Macey Nortey had six assists. Jolene bsp; Jolene half. Jolene Tamboue scored 14 points, and Kyle Baumgartner had 11 to lead Akron. Leading scorer Kara Murphy was held to eight points, 10 below her average coming into the game. YSU posted a season-high 17 assists on 22 baskets and trimmed its turnovers by 12 f The Penguins led by seven twice in the first four minutes of the second half before Akron made it close. The Zips scored six straight points to get within 35-34 with 14:50 remaining, and they later held YSU scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes to take its first lead of the half at 42-40 with 8:13 remaining. Kenya Middlebrooks hit a jumper on ; Kenya Middlebrooks hit a jumper on YSU's next possession to tie the score and spark a 6-0 run, and the Akron tied the score at 46 and 48 inside of five minutes, but YSU scored seven straight points over the next 2 1/2 minutes to claim a 55-48 lead with 3:04 left. Akron cut the margin to 55-51 with 1:43 remaining, but cut the margin to 55-51 with 1:43 remaining, but YSU's defense held the Zips scoreless until ther The Zips missed 12 of their final 16 from the line and were 2-for-8 when they were down by one or tied from 9:51 to 5:37 in the second half. The Penguins shot 48 percent and had assists on 10 of their 12 buckets in the first half as they claimed a 28-23 lead at the break.y claimed a 28-23 lead at the break. Scott scored eight points, including her 500th point at YSU on a jumper with 10:05 remaining that sparked an 8-0 run for the Penguins. Her bucket gave the Penguins a 10-9 lead that they held the rest of the half. Akron scored the first five points of the game and led until Scott's layup at the 10:48 mark gave YSU an 8-7 edge. The Zips scored on their next trip down the floor but without a field goal for almost five minutes. The Zips cut the margin to one twice before YSU scored eight straight to go up 27-18 on Middlebrooks' jumper with 1:44 remaining. YSU has held its last two opponents under 60 points after allowing at least 60 in its first eight games. None of the Penguins' last three foes have shot 40 percent after each of the first seven did. The Penguins will wrap up the month by playing at Toledo on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on NewsRadio 570 WKBN. |
| Strong Defensive Effort Comes Up Short at Canisius, 56-38 |
| Thursday, December 18 2008 |
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| Buffalo, N.Y. -- Youngstown State held the nation's top 3-pointing team to 3-for-22 from behind the arc but had its lowest scoring of the season in dropping a 56-38 decision to Canisius on Wednesday at the Koessler Center. Camisha Alexander scored 11 points to lead YSU while Marie Warner had a game-high 13 for Canisius. The Penguins outshot the Golden Griffins 31.8 percent to 29 percent, but they committed 20 more turnovers and were outscored by 11 at the free-throw line. YSU trimmed an 18-point second-half deficit to 41-33 with just over eight minutes remaining but got no closer. The Penguins turned the ball over on back-to-back possession and did not score until the 3:17 mark when the margin was back to 15. Canisius, which entered the game ranked ninth nationally in free-throw shooting at 78.5 percent, was 15-for-21 in the second half. A long scoring drought and 19 turnovers put the Penguins into a 26-13 hole at halftime. The Penguins led 3-2 on Camisha Alexander's trey at the 16-minute mark, but Canisius scored the next five points to go up 7-3. Another Alexander 3-pointer made the score 13-10 with 7:48 remaining, but YSU was held without a field goal for the next 6 1/2 minutes. Canisius led 21-10 until YSU scored three straight, and the Golden Griffins scored five points in the final minute to go up 13. Canisius came into the game leading the country in 3-point field goal percentage, making 47.1 percent of their attempts in its first eight games. The Penguins will play at home for the first time in 17 days when they entertain Akron on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. |
| Second-Half Turnovers Overshadows Strong First Half in 78-50 Loss |
| Tuesday, December 16 2008 |
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| Mount Pleasant, Mich. -- Central Michigan's defense held Youngstown State to 17 second-half points to turn a four-point halftime lead into a 78-50 victory on Sunday at Rose Arena. The Penguins trailed just 37-33 at halftime but were outscored 41-17 in the final 20 minutes as they were forced into 19 second-half turnovers. Nikita LaFleur finished with her second double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for YSU. Tiara Scott added 10 points, all of which came in the first half. Britni Houghton scored 21 points to lead three Chippewas in double figures. YSU outshot CMU 40.4 percent to 39.5 percent but were outscored 46-26 in the paint and 32-7 off turnovers. Central Michigan held a 46-35 rebounding advantage, including a 26-10 edge on the offensive glass. The Chippewas scored eight straight points in a two minute-span to go up 49-38 with 15:16 left. Kenya Middlebrooks hit a jumper at the 10:45 mark to get the Penguins within eight at 53-44, but CMU closed out the contest on a 25-6 run. The win improved CMU's record to 6-2 while YSU dropped to 1-7. The Chippewas have already matched their win total from last season's 6-23 record. CMU led 11-7 before the Penguins went on a 9-3 run to take a 16-14 lead at the 12:06 mark of the first half. The Chippewas scored eight of the next 10 points and hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to go up 22-18 with 9:05 remaining. YSU then kept the Chippewas scoreless for nearly 2 1/2 minutes as it scored the next seven points. Camisha Alexander's trey at the 7:13 mark put YSU ahead 23-22, and Scott's lay-up made the score 25-22. Scott's two free throws with 5:40 remaining gave YSU a 27-26 lead, but the Chippewas hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions again to take a 32-27 lead. YSU tied the score at 33-33 with 2:24 left on Ashley Pendleton's free throws, but the Chippewas scored the final four points of the half to take a 37-33 lead into the locker room. YSU made six of its first 10 shots but finished the half 6-for-16. The Penguins still outshot the Chippewas 46.5 percent to 36.4 percent in the first half. YSU, however, committed 15 turnovers that CMU converted into 12 points. Youngstown State was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the first half while Central Michigan was just 2-for-8. Scott scored 10 points in the first half while LaFleur had seven points and seven rebounds. Baker had 11 to lead the Chippewas in the first 20 minutes. The Chippewas came into the game averaging 82.4 points per game, which ranked eighth nationally. The Penguins will play at Canisius on Wednesday at 7 p.m. |
| Penguins Can't Hold Late Lead, Fall in Overtime to Saint Francis |
| Thursday, December 4 2008 |
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| Youngstown -- Saint Francis (Pa.) rallied from five points down in the final minute of regulation and never trailed in overtime to defeat the Youngstown State women's basketball team, 61-54 on Wednesday evening at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit and led 49-44 on Nikita LaFleur's free throw with 53 seconds left. A free throw and bucket got SFU within two, and Samantha Leech hit a fast-break jumper with 3.2 seconds remaining off a missed free throw to force overtime. the Red Flash hit 4-of-5 from the floor in the extra period en route to its first win of the season. Saint Francis (1-5) scored the first six points of the overtime as the Penguins were only able to get as close as three points. Tiara Scott led YSU with seventh career double-double, posting 6 points and 10 rebounds. Kelsey Gurganus had a season-high 12 points, and LaFleur just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. The Penguins were held to a 29.6 percent effort from the floor despite connecting on 44.8 percent in the second half. YSU was 1-for-9 in overtime. Despite shooting 1-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc and 7-of-21 from the free-throw line, Saint Francis was still able to win and snap a 15-game losing streak dating back to last season. Brittany Lilley scored a game-high 23 points for Saint Francis while Britney Hodges had 13. Allison Daly had six of the Red Flash's 12 points in overtime. The Penguins used a strong start to the second half to grab their first lead of the game after going on an eight-point run to open the stanza. Ashley Pendleton's put-back with just over two minutes into the second half pulled the Penguins within one. Gurganus then connected from 18 feet to give YSU its first lead of the contest at 25-24 with three minutes gone in the second half. Scott helped push the lead to 27-24 with her second field goal of the game at the 15:41 mark. YSU led 31-28 on a LaFleur basket at the 13:12 mark, but Saint Francis was able to stem the tide and make a run of its own. The Red Flash went on a 13-1 run over the next five minutes to pull ahead 41-32. During the run the lone Penguin point came on a Pendleton free throw that made the deficit 33-32 before the Red Flash scored the next eight points. But YSU came back with a run of its own, scoring eight of the next nine points to get within 42-40. LaFleur went diving for a loose ball in the lane and, after gaining possession, found Scott open for a basket. The Penguins trailed 44-42, then Scott took over. She scored six straight points as the YSU defense kept the Red Flash scoreless from the 4:44 mark to the final minute of regulation. Scott made two free throws and connected on two put-back buckets to five the Guins a 48-44 lead. With 54 seconds LaFleur made a free throw to give YSU a 49-44 lead. But the Red Flash came storming back to force overtime. Daly's free throw was followed by a scoreless YSU possession that let the shot clock expire. SFU answered quickly as Lilley scored to cut the deficit to 49-47 with 13 seconds left. Forced to foul, the Red Flash sent YSU's Kaitlyn March to the line with just under 10 seconds left. March missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Leach grabbed the rebound and charged up court tying the game on a jumper with three seconds remaining. In the first half, the Guins tied the game just twice (2-2 and 16-16) and were never able to grab the lead. YSU's defense kept it in the game as the Red Flash made just 35.5 percent from the field while committing eight turnovers. The offense made 7-of-33 attempts (21.2 percent) in the opening half. Down by five, the Penguins scored five straight points to knot the game at 16 with 6:38 left in the half. Trailing 16-11, Gurganus made a free throw and just over a minute later scored to pull YSU within 16-14. March's jumper tied the contest for the second time at 16. However ,after that point, Saint Francis went on an 8-1 run to grab its biggest lead of the half at 24-17 on a basket by Leach with 2:06 remaining. Rachel Manual scored with 1:44 left in the first half as the Penguins trailed 24-19 at the break. YSU begins a three-game road trip this Saturday when the Penguins travel to Bowling Green. Tipoff for the contest at Anderson Arena is set for 2 p.m. and will be carried live on 570 WKBN. |