March 10, 2008

Karner Sets YSU Single-Season 3-Point Mark in 65-54 Win over Detroit

    Youngstown -- Senior Heather Karner set the Youngstown State single-season 3-pointer record after hitting five and leading the No. 7 YSU women's basketball team with 18 points en route to a 65-54 win over No. 10 Detroit on Monday evening at the Beeghly Center.

    Karner, who has made 83 3-pointers this season, also grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists to pace the Penguins (14-16) to their first Horizon League Tournament victory. Junior Tiara Scott also reached double figures with 11 points.

    The Penguins also benefitted from another strong performance at the free-throw line, converting 22-of-28 or 78.6 percent, including 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) in the second half.

    After Detroit (6-24) cut the Penguins second-half lead down to one, 30-29, junior Toni Roscoe drained a 3-pointer to cushion the Guins lead to four, 33-29, at the 18 minute mark.

    Over the next eight minutes, the Penguins extended its lead to 10 points, 45-35, after Karner hit a 3-point at the 10:08 mark.

    Detroit went on a 15-8 run over the next six minutes to cut the deficit to three, 53-50, with 4:08 remaining.

    A jumper by Ashley Pendleton and a three-point play by Jessica Schloemp pushed the Penguins lead by to seven, 57-50, at the 3:24 mark.

    Detroit would not get any closer than six points, 58-52, the rest of the way.
    In the first half, the Guins shot just 31 percent from the field but were helped by Karner’s three 3-pointers and Tiara Scott’s nine points on 3-of-5 shooting and three free throws.
    Karner tied the single-season 3-point mark with the first basket of the game, which gave the Penguins a 3-0 lead. She broke the mark with her second triple of the evening and cut a five-point deficit to two, 12-10, at the 10:37 mark.
    Karner’s third trey of the half gave the Guins a one-point lead, 13-12, at the 9:51 mark but the teams battled through four ties and two more lead changes over the next five minutes.
    With the game knotted at 20-20, Scott made two free throws and then converted a three-point play to push the Guins ahead by five, 25-20, with 3:28 left.
    A three-pointer by Detroit’s Gabby Hungerford trimmed the YSU edge to two, 26-24, with just under a minute remaining, but Jessica Schloemp’s two free throws with 30 seconds left ended the scoring and gave the Guins a 28-24 halftime lead.

    The Penguins take on No. 2 Wright State, Wednesday, March 12. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Nutter Center.