Box Score
An eight-point burst at the end of the third quarter kickstarted the Wright State offense, and the Raiders went on to beat the Youngstown State women's basketball team 54-39 on Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
Wright State improved to 5-3 overall and 5-1 in Horizon League play, and Youngstown State fell to 0-2 after its opening weekend of the season.
The Penguins were either ahead or tied for nearly 28 consecutive minutes from the 9:22 mark of the first period until the 1:47 mark of the third before the Raiders scorched the nets. Emani Jefferson split a pair of free throws to give Wright State a 31-30 lead, its first advantage since the score was 2-0, and the Raiders scored on seven straight possessions to pull ahead 48-34.
YSU freshman Nneka Obiazor scored a gane-high 12 points, and she had two points and an impending free throw wiped away late in the third quarter. The Penguins were ahead 28-26 when Obiazor scored in traffic and was awarded a free throw on a foul. After an officials conference, Obiazor was ruled to travel before the basket, and Wright State seized the momentum.
Angel Baker scored to tied the score on the next possession, and McKenah Peters' two free throws gave the Penguins their final lead of the afternoon at 30-28 with 2:36 remaining. Jada Wright answered with a bucket to tie the score at 30 and begin the 8-0 run to end the period.
Wright State ended up making nine of its last 16 attempts from the field and five of its last nine tries from beyond the arc. Before that stretch over the final 11 minutes, the Raiders were 11-for-40 overall and 2-for-12 on 3-point attempts.
Wright State finished making 37.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range. Youngstown State's offense couldn't match the defensive effort as the Penguins were 12-for-43 from the field and 6-for-23 from 3-point range.
Baker made a jumper for Wright State on the first possession of the game, and a baseline jumper by Mary Dunn on YSU's first possession tied the score at 2. YSU did not trail again until Jefferson's free throw at the 1:47 mark of the third quarter.
Dunn's basket was followed by 3-pointers by Maddie Schires and Nneka Obiazor that put the Penguins up 8-2, and YSU led 12-7 at the end of the first period. Schires' second triple of the game gave Youngstown State its largest lead of the second quarter at 15-10 with 7:27 remaining. Wright State got as close a one at 15-14, and the Penguins led 22-18 at halftime as Obiazor beat the buzzer on a pass from Dunn to break a press.
YSU's biggest advantage of the second half came when Lexi Wagner hit her first career 3-pointer with 4:45 left to make the score 28-24. Wright State tied the score at 28 and 30 before its run to end the third period.
Youngstown State will be home again next weekend as it hosts Oakland in another Horizon League series. Friday's game will tip at 5 p.m., and Saturday's contest will begin at 7 p.m.
