By Marissa Masano / The Jambar
Two teams looked to keep their historic seasons alive in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center, as the Youngstown State University women’s basketball team hosted University of Maryland Eastern Shore on March 24.
The Penguins, who received a bye week in the first round of the WNIT, knocked off UMES 61-42, in the second round for their first win in the tournament since 2013. The victory also marks 25 wins for the season, which ranks second in program history.
With the victory, YSU hosted Marshall University in the Super 16 round of the WNIT on March 27.
Game 35 on the Penguins’ schedule set a new school record, and Head Coach Melissa Jackson said she’s enjoying the journey with her team.
“It’s just big playing in postseason, and what that feels like and practicing in postseason. It’s March 24 and we’re still playing basketball, right? So yes, it’s going to be Game 35, but it doesn’t feel like that because it is so much fun coming to practice every day with this group,” Jackson said.
Sophomore Sophia Gregory led the Penguins with 13 points and started the contest winning the opening tipoff, which found the hands of sixth-year Casey Santoro.
Redshirt freshman Sarah Baker grabbed the team’s first offensive rebound and found Gregory under the basket for the first points of the contest. The Hawks returned the favor with a steal and fast break that resulted in a layup to even the score.
The Hawks took their first lead after holding the Penguins to a last-second jumper by Baker as the shot clock expired, then converted on the opposite end to take a 4-2 lead momentarily before Gregory responded with her second straight bucket.
Down 8-10 with a minute remaining in the first quarter, the Penguins tied it back up as Baker converted a second opportunity off junior Paulina Hernandez’s missed layup. As the buzzer sounded, Hernandez’s shot over the defender fell through the hoop, which gave the Penguins a 12-10 advantage heading into the second quarter.
To start the second quarter, Santoro knocked down her first 3-pointer of the contest, which was accompanied by King’s first 3-pointer to complete a 12-0 run for YSU.
Hernandez hit another buzzer-beater with her pull-up jumper to cap off the second quarter and give the Penguins a 24-17 lead headed into halftime.
Cameron’s first 3-pointer came at the 8:15 mark of the third quarter, which gave YSU its first double-digit lead. Cameron, who entered the contest averaging just over two made 3-pointers per game and knocked down three more in the second half en route to the Penguins’ victory.
The Penguins’ historic season ended with a 72-46 loss to the Thundering Herd on March 27. The 2025-26 campaign saw the program’s second-highest win total in school history at 25-10.
Youngstown State’s last double-digit defeat came at the hands of Northern Kentucky University with a loss 61-49, Jan. 8, 2025.
Cameron picked up where she left off on Roselli Court, when she knocked down her first 3-point attempt to give the Penguins an early 5-2 lead.
The teams exchanged the lead, and with 35 seconds remaining, Gregory grabbed a defensive rebound and launched a pass from beyond half court that split two defenders. The pass found Baker, who made a quick transition layup to give YSU a one-point advantage.
Marshall tagged on back-to-back layups to regain the lead and kept the Penguins trailing for the remainder of the contest.
Entering the game, the Thundering Herd ranked No. 13 in the country in made 3-pointers per game and began to show that strength in the fourth quarter. Senior Meredith Maier kicked off the period with a 3-pointer to put Marshall up 56-33. Her next attempt from beyond the arc was off the mark, but an offensive rebound and another feed to Maier didn’t miss, which pushed the lead to 27 points.
After the game, Baker reflected on the challenge of containing Marshall’s shooting range.
“It was definitely hard because they have a bunch of shooters. So we couldn’t stun on them as much on their drives like we usually do and collapse on them. They’re great shooters. They would kick it out, make it [and] kills us even more. That was definitely the most difficult part,” Baker said.
Santoro was the lone senior on the Penguins’ roster. She finished out her collegiate career with a new single-season high of 413 points and 35 starts, and led YSU by averaging 36 minutes per game.
Jackson’s future is solidified in Youngstown as Ron Strollo, vice president of Intercollegiate Athletics, announced March 26 that the Pennsylvania native signed a contract extension through the 2030-31 season.
