By Marissa Masano / The Jambar
The homestand continued inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center as the Youngstown State University women’s basketball team hosted two Horizon League opponents.
A four-game winning streak came to an end in a 61-49 loss to Northern Kentucky University on Jan. 8. In just their second conference defeat, the Penguins shot a season-low 27.1% from the field and 10.7% from 3-point range.
The Norse controlled the interior and outscored YSU by 38-18 in the paint and 20-7 in second-chance points.
Redshirt freshman Sarah Baker led the Penguins with 12 points. Redshirt freshman Danielle Cameron and junior Erica King added 11 points apiece.
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early and combined to shoot 2-for-16 and 3-for-17 in a 7-6 first quarter. In the second quarter, both teams traded misses for nearly two minutes before freshman Brooke Adkins hit a free throw to extend YSU’s lead to four. Cameron followed with her second 3-pointer to push the advantage to five.
Despite the lack of scoring, Head Coach Melissa Jackson said her team opened the game with the right energy.
“I thought we started off the game great. I thought the pace, even though we weren’t scoring, we were at least moving the ball and getting up the floor. It was just really stagnant tonight. And again, I do think our lack of rebounding, lack of cleaning up the glass, played a role in that,” Jackson said.
NKU responded with back-to-back jumpers to take the lead, but Cameron closed the half by sinking two free throws to send the game into halftime tied at 25.
The back-and-forth continued in the third quarter, highlighted by Baker’s jumpers and a three-point play from sophomore Sophia Gregory that put YSU ahead by one possession.
NKU connected on its first 3-pointer of the game with 6:26 left in the third quarter to retake the lead. Off the bench, junior Paulina Hernandez scored three straight points from the line to trim the deficit to 39-35.
The Norse hit a jumper to take a one-point edge into the fourth quarter, then opened the final quarter on a 13-4 run that included three 3-pointers. NKU stretched the lead to 12 and secured its fourth straight win.
A quick turnaround followed as the Penguins hosted Purdue University Fort Wayne on Jan. 10. YSU bounced back and secured its fifth conference victory with a 58-54 win over the Mastodons.
Sixth-year Casey Santoro led the Penguins with 18 points, while Cameron and Gregory added 11 apiece.
The Penguins scored first, but Purdue Fort Wayne grabbed the lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter and held it until midway through the third quarter.
YSU outscored PFW by 22-9 in the third quarter, and after the game Santoro addressed how the team handles a shift in momentum.
“I think a big emphasis for us this week is when we’re down, it doesn’t mean we’re down for the rest of the game. It’s a game of runs, and we knew that our turn was coming, and we just kept talking about that,” Santoro said.
Gregory, who sat late in the first half with foul trouble, returned in the third quarter and went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line to spark the Penguins’ surge.
Santoro knocked down two free throws to give YSU the lead, and Cameron followed with three straight layups to extend the margin to seven. Cameron then beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 43-35 as the game entered the fourth quarter.
Gregory, Cameron and Santoro accounted for all of YSU’s scoring in the fourth quarter. Santoro went 5-for-6 from the line down the stretch to help seal the win.
The Penguins traveled to Wright State University on Jan. 14 for another Horizon League matchup. The Penguins face Indiana University Indianapolis at home on Jan. 17. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.
