Toledo, Ohio -- Youngstown State scored 22 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes to cut a 22 point deficit to six, but the Penguins came up just short in falling 69-61 at Toledo on Tuesday at Savage Arena.
     The Penguins trailed 61-39 with 4:55 remaining before outscoring the Rockets 22-8 the rest of the way.
     Jaquetta Westley scored a career-high and game-high 20 points to lead the Penguins. Kelsey Gurganus scored seven of her nine during the rally, and Nikita LaFleur notched her third double-double of the year with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
     YSU went on two 6-0 runs and an 8-0 run during the rally and got within 65-59 on LaFleur's put-back with 52 seconds remaining.
     Naama Shafir hit two free throws for Toledo to up the margin to eight, and LaFleur's bucket with 24 seconds left got the difference back to 67-61. The Rockets hit two more free throws with five seconds remaining for the final tally.
     "We're very happy with our effort tonight," YSU head coach Cindy Martin said. "We left every ounce of our energy today on the court, and I've never seen a team look so happy in the locker room after a loss. We're not happy that we lost, but we're happy about how far we came in the game and how far we've come overall. I think our team is ready for conference play."
     Shafir was one of four Rockets in double figures, scoring 11 points to go along with her seven assists. Allie Clifton had 15 to lead Toledo, and Tanika Mays had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
     YSU trailed 31-23 at halftime but scored the first five points to get within 31-28. After Toledo went back up by eight, Rachael Manuel's bucket at the 13:47 mark got the Penguins within four points at 37-33. From that point, Toledo went on a 24-6 run to take a 61-39 lead with 4:58 remaining.
     Tiara Scott hit a layup with 4:36 remaining to kick-start YSU's offense, and the Penguins went on to hit six straight from the field and eight of their final 13.
     YSU shot 58.3 percent in the second half and outrebounded Toledo 37-32.
     Toledo hit six of its final eight shots in the first half and kept YSU's top two scorers to a combined three points to build a 31-23 lead at the break.
     Westley scored all of her 10 first-half points in-a-row for the Penguins in a 5 1/2-minute span. Her second 3-pointer at the 7:36 mark cut Toledo's margin to 17-16.
     The Rockets answered by scoring five straight and led 22-16 on Jessica Williams' trey with 5:36 left.
     Scott was held out of the final 16:14 of the first half after she picked up two quick fouls.
     The Penguins will play Valparaiso in their Horizon League opener on Saturday at 2:35 p.m.