Box Score 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.