Ny'Dajah Jackson scored 14 of her team-high 19 points in the second half to lead the Youngstown State women's basketball team to a 72-63 win over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday evening at McBrayer Arena.

The Penguins trailed by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, but they worked the deficit down to four at halftime and outscored their old Ohio Valley Conference rivals 41-28 in the second half.

Jackson scored the final seven points of the third period to give Youngstown State a 54-47 lead heading into the final 10 minutes, and the Penguins built their lead to as high as 13 in the fourth.

Youngstown State improved to 4-3 and earned its first road victory of 2019-20. Eastern Kentucky had its three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 5-3.

Jackson's 19 points came on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, and she was 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Taylor Petit also made three 3s and finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Chelsea Olson had 13 points and six rebounds.

Youngstown State went 11-for-20 from 3-point range in the game and 7-for-13 in the second half.

Teri Goodlett led EKU with 21 points.

Both teams got off to a slow start, and the Penguins had just one field goal in the first 9:53 of the period. After Jen Wendler tied the score at 5-5 with two free throws at the 4:40 mark, Eastern Kentucky scored the next nine points to make the score 14-5. The Penguins made just one of their first 10 attempts from the field, but Petit banked in a 3 on the final possession of the first period to trim the deficit to 14-8.

EKU started the second period on a 14-5 spurt to take its largest lead at 28-13 at the 5:57 mark, and YSU was 4-for-17 from the field at that point. The Penguins made four of their last five field-goal attempts in the first half, and they were 14-for-25 in the second half.

Down 28-13, YSU started to chip away with five guards in the game and playing a 2-3 zone on defense. Petit's 3-pointer at the 3:28 mark got the score back within single digits at 30-22, and McKenah Peters made a free throw to complete a 16-3 run that got the Penguins to within 31-29 with 1:18 left. The Penguins trailed 33-31 after two more Peters free throws before EKU scored on a putback on the final possession of the half.

The teams traded 3-pointers for the first four baskets of the second half, and the Penguins took their first lead of the game when Olson and Maddie Schires hit back to-to-back triples to make the score 45-43 with 3:33 left in the third period. The Penguins did not trail again.

Eastern Kentucky tied the score at 45 and 47, and that's when Jackson heated up. The redshirt-junior scored seven straight points over the final 1:06 of the third period on a 3-pointer, a jumper and a Euro-step layup to put the Penguins ahead 54-47. Jackson also scored YSU's first two points of the fourth period to extend her individual run to nine straight for the visitors, and a Wendler layup put YSU ahead 58-49.

Eastern Kentucky scored the next four points and held YSU scoreless for almost two-and-a-half minutes, but Peters rattled in a deep 3-pointer to push the lead back to 61-54. Jackson then made YSU's 11th triple of the night on the next possession as YSU took its first double-digit lead at 64-54, and the Penguins' largest advantage was 70-57 when Jackson scored on a drive with 2:19 remaining.

Youngstown State finished the game shooting 46.8 percent overall from the field and 55 percent from 3-point range. The Penguins also went 17-for-19 from the free-throw line, including 9-for-11 in the second period as they clawed their way back. Eastern Kentucky shot 40.3 percent overall but was 7-for-26 from beyond the arc and outscored by 11 at the free-throw line.

Youngstown State will continue its three-game road stretch at Saint Francis U on Saturday. Tipoff at DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pa., is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on 1390 WNIO and NEC Front Row.