By Marissa Masano / The Jambar
A play that landed No. 4 on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 sent the Youngstown State University women’s basketball team into an overtime victory over Robert Morris University on Feb. 11.
The Penguins defeated the Colonials by 69-62 to improve to 11-5 and remain in second place in Horizon League standings. Redshirt freshman Sarah Baker scored a game-high 21 points, while sophomore Sophia Gregory posted 15 points, including her buzzer beater, and a career-high 16 rebounds.
The first quarter saw five ties, and the teams entered the second stanza tied at 11-11. An 11-2 RMU run gave the Colonials their biggest advantage at eight points. Baker went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line to close out the quarter as YSU trailed 24-18 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Penguins chipped away at the Colonials’ lead. Redshirt freshman Danielle Cameron hit two 3-pointers. The second gave YSU a 36-34 lead with under a minute left.
A jumper from the Colonials tied the game late, and RMU regained the lead early in the fourth quarter. The team scored on back-to-back possessions as YSU was unable to convert from the charity stripe.
RMU made a 3-pointer with 7:04 left to play to extend its lead to seven points. After a trip to the free-throw line for the Colonials with 3:37 remaining, the Penguins went on a 7-0 run.
Junior Erica King’s jumper started the scoring spree. Out of a Penguins’ timeout, sixth-year Casey Santoro had a steal that led to Baker being fouled and sent to the free-throw line.
The Colonials turned the ball over on their next possession, and Santoro grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a layup to put the Penguins within two points of the lead. This led to another YSU timeout.
Out of this timeout, the Penguins grabbed another offensive rebound, this time by Gregory. Gregory was fouled on the putback, which sent her to the free-throw line where she converted both attempts to tie the game at 51-51.
RMU regained the lead with a layup in the final seconds and forced a Penguins’ timeout.
From the inbound, with 0.4 seconds left, Cameron’s full-court pass found Gregory, who split two defenders. Last year’s HL Freshman of the Year was able to jump, catch and shoot the ball before her feet landed back on the court. The basket tied the game at 53-53 and forced overtime.
After the game, Gregory said emotions were high after her buzzer-beater shot, but the team channeled that energy and used it to their advantage in overtime.
“It was super exciting to get another chance to show that we can beat this team. It was pretty exhilarating, but I also think the shot going in and everything that happened before, it just shows all the grit that this team has,” Gregory said.
YSU began its three-game road trip at Indiana University Indianapolis on Feb. 15 and defeated the Jaguars for the first time in eight meetings at IU Indy. Santoro led the Penguins with 17 points in the 69-65 victory.
Similar to the matchup with the Colonials, the game against the Jaguars came down to the final seconds.
With 3:44 left to play in the first quarter, Santoro made her first 3-pointer. On the defensive end, junior Paulina Hernandez blocked the Jaguars’ next two attempts in the paint, which allowed Gregory to secure the rebound and assist King’s 3-pointer at the 3:08 mark. This gave the Penguins their largest lead of the quarter at 10 points.
Down 26-18 at the end of the first, IU Indy opened the second quarter on a 16-3 run to regain the lead, 34-29.
Out of a Penguins timeout, Gregory sparked a 10-1 run capped by another 3-pointer from King to put YSU ahead 39-35 with under five minutes until halftime.
IU Indy scored the final seven points of the half as the Penguins committed five turnovers in the final 2:30.
The Jaguars extended their run into the third quarter with five straight points and eventually took an eight-point lead.
At the 7:48 mark, Cameron’s 3-pointer sparked an 11-0 rub by the Penguins over the next three minutes. Ahead 50-47, YSU was then outscored 11-2 entering the fourth quarter.
In the final four minutes, Hernandez scored seven points. She grabbed an offensive rebound and completed the putback to bring the Penguins within one.
Hernandez blocked the Jaguars’ next attempt, and grabbed another offensive rebound and converted a three-point play to give YSU a 65-63 lead.
Hernandez was fouled with 30 seconds remaining and went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, but was then fouled out of the contest. The Jaguars missed both free throws on the other end, and Gregory sealed the 69-65 win at the line.
The Penguins will continue the road trip Feb. 19 at Northern Kentucky University. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.