Penguins Improve to 2-0 in League Play with 69-58 Win at UIC

by YSU

Saturday, Jan 11, 2014 10:05 pm

Chicago – The Youngstown State women's basketball team used an early flurry of 3-pointers and strong defense throughout in a 69-58 win at UIC on Saturday.

The Penguins made six 3-pointers in the first 8:20 of the game, and their aggressiveness on the offensive end helped out the defense as UIC's top scorers battled foul trouble. Youngstown State, which led from start to finish, is 2-0 in Horizon League play for the first time in six years.

Heidi Schlegel had game highs with 28 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow Penguin forward Latisha Walker used a strong second half to post 10 points and 10 rebounds. Liz Hornberger had three of YSU's early treys and finished with 16 points.

UIC had four players reach double figures, but the Penguins forced the Flames into tough shots all day. Leading scorers Rachel Story (18.9 points per game) and Ruvanna Campbell (15.1 ppg) combined for 22 points on 8-for-29 shooting, and both players finished with four fouls.

Youngstown State improved to 6-9 overall while UIC dropped to 11-4 and 0-2. The Flames entered Horizon League play on an 11-game winning streak.

Hornberger made three 3-pointers in the first four minutes, and Schlegel made YSU's sixth 3-pointer of the game at the 11:42 mark to put the Penguins up 18-9. UIC scored seven of the next nine points to climb within 20-16, and Story's seventh point in four minutes cut YSU's lead to 22-21 with 7:11 left before halftime. Schlegel scored on YSU's next possession to spark a 7-0 run that put the Penguins ahead 29-21, and they led by at least five the rest of the game.

Campbell was whistled for her third foul at the 7:35 mark of the first half and had to head to the bench. That allowed YSU to work inside, and Campbell had to play less aggressively for the duration of the game.

YSU scored the first four points of the second half to take its first double-digit lead at 38-28, and it led by at least 10 for all but three seconds of the final 12:47. The largest margin came when Walker scored six straight points to put the Penguins up 59-43 with 6:46 remaining.

YSU outshot UIC 48.8 percent to 32.4 percent and outrebounded the Flames 47-33. UIC was a Horizon League best plus-7.9 in rebounding margin entering the game.

Youngstown State will play Horizon League home opener on Thursday against Green Bay. Tipoff against the Phoenix is set for 7:05 p.m.

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