Pittsburgh, Pa. -- Youngstown State's posts combined for 27 points in the second half as the Penguins rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Weber State 67-60 on Friday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.
     Senior center Nikita LaFleur had career-highs with 24 points and 17 rebounds, and Tiara Scott added 14 points. LaFleur had 14 points in the second half, Scott had 12, and the pair combined to go 12-for-13 from the line in the final 20 minutes.
     The win improved YSU's record to 1-3 and gave first-year head coach Cindy Martin her first victory at the helm of the Penguins. Weber State, which defeated Pac-10 member Washington earlier in the year, fell to 2-2.
     "Our posts really stepped up inside today," Martin said. "Our guards did a good job of getting the ball inside, and our defense really stepped up and led us to this win. Our coaches also came up with a great scouting report and had us ready for what we would see."
     "This win feels really good. The ladies celebrated like they just won a national title, and they should have. We've been through a lot since April, and I really want them to enjoy this.
     The Penguins will play either Pittsburgh or Elon tomorrow in the winners' final game of the Pitt Tournament at 4:15 p.m.
     Weber State led by 15 eight minutes into the game after making 11 of its first 12 shots. From that point, YSU outscored the Wildcats 55-33.
     "We took a timeout right at the 12-minute and found a way to motive everyone," Martin said. "We changed our defense, upped our intensity and the ladies really responded."
     Trailing 38-32 at the half, the Penguins forced four turnovers in the first four minutes and tied the game at 43-43 on a three-point play by LaFleur with 16:05 remaining. Macey Nortey's jumper with 14:28 remaining then gave the Penguins their first lead of the game at 45-43.
     Abby Thorderson's jumper  at the 11:28 mark gave Weber State a 48-47 lead, and the Wildcats led until Scott made back-to-back layups to put the Guins up 53-51 with 7:53 remaining. Two free throws by Caitlin Anderson put Weber State back on top with 4:26 left, but YSU held the Wildcats scoreless for the next three minutes and built a 60-55 lead. Jaquetta Westley hit back-to-back jumpers to end a drought from the floor and put YSU up 60-55 with 1:57 left.
     Tonya Schnibbe hit a trey with 1:33 left to get Weber State within two, but Scott came up with a big offensive rebound on YSU's next possession, and the Penguins made seven of their eight free throws down the stretch.
     The Wildcats started the first half on fire, hitting 11 of their first 12 shots - including their first four from the 3-point arc - to take a 27-12 lead with 12 minutes remaining.
     YSU's defense tightened up after a media timeout, and WSU didn't score for the next four minutes and had just 11 points in the final 12 minutes. YSU scored seven straight to climb within eight at 27-19 on Kelsey Gurganus' trey. Ali Thorderson's fourth three of the half broke a 1-for-10 stretch for Weber State and put the Wildcats back up 33-23.
     Youngstown State went on a 7-0 run to climb within three on Camisha Alexander's 3-pointer with 23 seconds left, but Caitlin Anderson hit a trey with three seconds left to put WSU up 38-32 at the break.
     Ali Thorderson had 12 points for WSU through the first 20 minutes while Anderson had 10. LaFleur had 10 points at halftime for YSU, which was just four points off her career-high.
     Weber State shot 51.7 percent in the first half, making four of their final 17. YSU shot 43.3 percent. The Penguins also committed just four turnovers in the first half.
     The Penguins held Weber State to 26.9 percent from the floor in the second half and outscored the Wildcats 17-6 at the free throw line.
     Westley finished with nine points and four assists while Nortey had seven points, five steals and four assists. The 14 assists for the Penguins were a season-high, and their 10 turnovers were a season-low.
     Ali Thorderson scored 19 points, Anderson had 17 and Schnibbe had 11 for Weber State.