Box Score
Youngstown -- Sophomore forward Brandi Brown scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Youngstown State women's basketball team defeat Bucknell 71-57 and snap a 34-game losing streak on Wednesday evening at Beeghly Center.
Brown hit a 3-pointer on YSU's last offensive possession, and she grabbed the final rebound as she experienced a win for the first time in her collegiate career. Youngstown State's last victory before Wednesday came on March 7, 2009, which was 627 days ago.
It was Brown's first double-double of the season, and she had plenty of help. Heidi Schlegel reached double figures for the first time in her career with 11 points, and Kenya Middlebrooks scored 10 points in the second half. Macey Nortey added nine points, and she had three steals in the final three minutes as YSU started to pull away.
The win was also gave first-year head coach Bob Boldon his first Division I victory.
The game featured six ties and 11 lead changes, and Bucknell's final lead came at 8:53 on a Felicia Mgbada jumper. Liz Hornberger nailed a deep trifecta, and Middlebrooks hit a fast-break lay-up to give YSU a four-point cushion at 54-50 and put the Penguins up for good.
The Bison cut the margin to one on a Shelby Romine 3-pointer off a missed free throw, but Youngstown State scored the next 10 points to go up 64-53 with 2:19 remaining. The Penguins hit six free throws during that stretch and went 21-for-24 from the charity stripe for the game.
Rachel Voss hit a jumper with 2:11 remaining to make the score 64-55 and end Bucknell's scoring drought, but YSU hit four more free throws in the final 1:10 and got the game-ending trey from Brown.
The Penguins shot 47.8 percent in the second half as they outscored the Bison 44-27. YSU outscored Bucknell 21-5 from the free throw line and 21-11 off turnovers. The Penguins had 14 steals and forced 25 turnovers.
The last time YSU scored more than 70 points was at UIC on March 8, 2008.
Trailing 30-27 at halftime, YSU scored the first five points of the second half behind two free throws and a 3-pointer from Brown. Brown had nine points in the first four minutes of the period.
Monica Touvelle and Middlebrooks then hit triples on back-to-back possessions to give YSU its largest lead at the time at 42-36 with 15 minutes remaining.
Bucknell reclaimed the lead at 45-44 on a Cosima Higham lay-up with 11:22 remaining, and the Bison led by one two more times before Hornberger's triple started YSU's surge.
In the first half, Bucknell hit five of its first six shots to lead 10-6 with 15:29 remaining. A Maryum Jenkins triple gave the Penguins their first lead at 18-16 with 8:43 remaining. That capped a 7-0 run for YSU.
Bucknell scored the next four points to reclaim the lead at 20-18 with 6:39 on the clock, but YSU went on another 7-0 run to go up 25-20 with 4:35 remaining on Nortey's steal and breakaway lay-up.
Bucknell tied the score at 25-25 with 3:30 left, and the Bison scored the final five points of the half to take a 30-27 lead at the break.
Higham led the Bison with 12 points, and Joyce Novacek scored all nine of her points in the first half.
Youngstown State will play Ohio on Saturday at 4:35 p.m. in the first half of a doubleheader with the YSU men.
