Box Score
Youngstown State had three players reach double figures but could not overcome a hot-shooting Oakland squad and dropped its home finale, 86-73, on Sunday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins fall to 13-14 overall and 6-10 in Horizon League play while the Golden Grizzlies improve to 11-16 overall and 6-10 in the league.
Chelsea Olson led the Penguins with 18 points and eight rebounds, while McKenah Peters had 14 points and Ny'Dajah Jackson added 11 points.
Oakland's Chloe Guingrich scored a game-high 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting and posted a double-double with 10 rebounds. Four other Golden Grizzlies reached double figures, including Alona Blackwell and Kahlaijah Dean with 13 points each, Breanne Beatty with 11 and Brianna Breedy with 10. All seven Golden Grizzlies players who played more than eight minutes had at least seven points.
Both teams were hot from the field in the opening period. The Penguins connected on 61.4 percent (8-for-13) from the field while Oakland made 60 percent (9-of-15), including five 3-pointers. The Golden Grizzlies also capitalized on six YSU turnovers and scored 11 points off those miscues.
The Penguins made their first five field-goal attempts and led 12-9 three minutes into the game. Olson scored five points and assisted on two Peters baskets during the hot start. The Golden Grizzlies went on a 12-2 run to take a 21-14 advantage with 4:21 left, and the Penguins never did catch them.
The Golden Grizzlies led by as much as 28-20 in the first quarter before ending the period with a 30-24 lead. Oakland was able to extend its lead to 11, 45-34, at halftime despite just shooting 33.3 percent from the floor in the second quarter.
The Golden Grizzlies scored the first two baskets of the second quarter to push their lead to 10, 34-24, before buckets by Emma VanZanten and Gabby Lupardus got the Penguins within six, 34-28, at the 6:08 mark.The Penguins scored just two points over the next 4:13 and fell behind by 12, 42-30, and Oakland led 45-34 at halftime.
The Golden Grizzlies caught fire again the third quarter making 8-of-12 from the field, including three 3-pointers, and extended their lead to 15, 64-49 after three periods. On the other hand, the Penguins continued to misfire and shot just 29.4 percent from the floor. The Penguins made just five field goals and went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Youngstown State made 8-of-12 field goals with two 3s in the final period and cut the deficit to nine midway through the stanza after trailing by 15, but Oakland was too much offensively down the stretch. The Golden Grizzlies were 11-for-19 from the field in the fourth period, and they had six offensive rebounds that translated into 10 second-chance points.
The Golden Grizzlies shot 57.9 percent in the fourth period, and the only quarter they shot below that was the second. Oakland also converted 17 YSU turnovers into 21 points, and the Golden Grizzlies outscored the Penguins 16-5 in transition.
The Golden Grizzles shot 55.2 percent for the game and made eight 3-pointers. YSU shot 46.5 percent but made six fewer field goals and three fewer 3s. The Penguins made their first 16 attempts from the free-throw line before missing their last attempt with 2:43 left in the fourth quarter.
The Penguins close out the regular season with a pair of games in Wisconsin next week beginning with a match at Milwaukee on Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern.
