Box Score
Youngstown -- Milwaukee shot nearly 58 percent in the second half and erased an 11-point halftime deficit to come back and knock off the Youngstown State women's basketball team, 76-71, on Thursday evening at the Beeghly Center.
Meanwhile, the Guins, who led 45-34 at half, connected on just 30 percent of their field-goal attempts after halftime, committed 12 second-half turnovers that led to 12 Panther points and were outscored by the Panthers, 42-26.
Junior Brandi Brown led three Penguins scoring in double figures with 20 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Liz Hornberger scored a season-high 12 points, and sophomore Melissa Thompson came off the bench to score 10. Three other Penguins scored at least seven.
For the game, the Guins, connected on 11-of-24 3-pointers and seven different players made at least one 3-pointer, led by three from sophomore Monica Touvelle, who finished nine points.
Youngstown State falls to 10-15 overall and 4-10 in the Horizon League while Milwaukee improves to 7-17 overall and 3-10 in conference play.
YSU, which came into the game averaging almost 11 points more in the second half than in the first, scored a season-high 45 points in the first half tonight.
UWM outscored the Guins, 16-5, in the first seven minutes of the second half to tie game at 50-50 with 13:09 left in the game.
Brown scored 5 straight to give YSU 55-50 lead before Milwaukee knotted the game again at 55-55 midway through the stanza.
Free throws by Kelsea Fickiesen, Kenya Middlebrooks and Thompson rebuilt the Guins advantage back to five, 61-56, at the 8:52 mark.
Hornberger drilled a 3-pointer for the Guins, who did not make a field goal for almost eight minutes, at the 3:53 mark to tie the game at 65-65.
A jumper by Milwaukee's Kiki Wilson gave the Panthers a 70-66 advantage with 2:01 to go but Thompson hit her second triple of the night to get within one, 70-69, at the 1:38 mark.
A jumper by Courtney Lindfors and a 3-pointer by Sami Tucker with 34 seconds to go gave the Panthers a 75-69 lead and put the game away.
In the first half, the combination of pressure defense and a barrage of 3-pointers set the tone for the Penguins.
The Guins, who shot 48.6 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range in the first half, scored 16 of their first 18 points off of Panther turnovers and six different players made at least one 3-pointer.
After trailing 7-2, the Guins used a 16-2 run, including 13 straight points, and made five of their next seven shots to take a 15-7 lead with 13:57 to go.
A 3-pointer by Middlebrooks, a layup by Fickiesen, a 3-pointer by Hornberger and a layup by Middlebrooks forced the Panthers into a timeout.
Hornberger matched her season high of nine points in the first 12 minutes of the game and put the Guins up by 11, 33-22, with 8:29 left.
Twice the Guins built their lead to as many as 13 when Brown made jumpers at the 3:05 mark and with 37 seconds left.
Milwaukee, who shot 54.2 percent in the half, cut the lead down 11, 45-34, on Wilson's jumper with 19 seconds left.
The Guins host nationally-ranked Green Bay, Saturday, Feb. 18. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.
