Brooklyn, N.Y. -- A strong defensive effort and 12 consecutive makes from the free throw line helped Youngstown State rally to defeat Albany 54-52 in the consolation game of the LIU Turkey Classic on Saturday.
     The Penguins trailed by as many as 11 in the first half but outshot the Great Danes 41 percent to 31 percent in the second half and made 12 of their 14 free throws.
     Heather Karner scored a game-high 17 points while Ashley Pendleton notched her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
     The win was YSU's first of the season while Albany dropped to 1-5.
     In a game that featured 47 turnovers, the Penguins outlasted Albany's full court pressure and held the Great Danes to only 18 points off of turnovers.
     Two free throws from Charity Iromuanya at the 18:12 mark of the second half put the Great Danes up 29-22, their largest lead of the half. They led 31-37 with 11:53 remaining when Heather Karner treys on back-to-back possessions to tie the score for the first time since the 10:27 mark of the first half.
     Lauren Branson hit two free throws to tie the score again at 39-39, and Tiara Scott followed with two makes of her own from the charity stripe to give the Penguins the lead that they would not relinquish.
     The Penguins scored six straight pints to lead 49-41 after  Pendleton sank a lay-up. Albany scored five straight to get within three and eventually worked the margin to 54-52 on two free throws from Kristin Higy with 36 seconds remaining.
     YSU missed on its next possession after working the shot clock down to two, and Tanika Thrower's desperation three was off the mark at the buzzer.
     The Penguins held the Great Danes without a field goal for more than five minutes late in the second half as they made their surge.
     Higy and Thrower scored 10 points apiece to lead Albany. The Great Danes hit just 1-of-16 from behind the arc.
     Similar to their previous game against Long Island, the Penguins suffered another lengthy scoring drought in the first half. This time, however, they battled back to trail 27-22 at the half.
     Tiara Scott's free throw put the Penguins ahead 12-8 at the 10:55 mark of the first half, but the Great Danes scored the next 15 points to go up 23-12 until Karner hit a jumper with 3:53 remaining.
     Albany went back up by 11 on its next possession, but YSU scored the next seven points to get within four on a Karner trey.
     The Great Danes forced 15 first-half turnovers for YSU but were only able to convert those into 10 points. YSU finished with 27 turnovers and forced 20.
     Karner led all scorers at the break with 10 points, which was six more than she scored in the opening round game against Long Island on Saturday.
     The Penguins will play host to Toledo in their home opener on Thursday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m.