Box Score
The Youngstown State women's basketball team used a 12-2 run in the second quarter and an 11-0 burst in the third to beat UIC 71-55 on Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins have now won five straight games for the first time in two years, and they earned their fourth straight victory over the Flames. YSU improved its record to 5-3, and UIC dropped to 2-9 overall and 1-7 in Horizon League play.
YSU freshman Nneka Obiazor put together another standout performance with 20 points and 13 rebounds to collect her second double-double of the season. It was the second time in the last 15 days that she posted at least 20 points in a double-double, which is something that just one other YSU freshman has done since the 1994-95 season.
Mary Dunn and McKenah Peters added 11 points apiece, and Chelsea Olson registered 10 points and a game-best six assists. Mady Aulbach came off the bench to score eight points and contribute four assists and four steals in 29 minutes.
Kristian Young led UIC with 15 points, and Tiana Jackson had 12.
Maddie Schires hit a 3 nine seconds into the game, and a layup by Obiazor at the 9:05 mark gave the Penguins a quick 5-0 lead. A Malia Magestro 3-pointer off an offensive rebound from Dunn ended a three-minute scoreless stretch for the Penguins that gave them an 8-5 advantage, and the lead grew back to five at 13-8 on two Obiazor free throws with 2:13 remaining. Olson's bucket in the post gave YSU a 15-12 advantage at the end of the quarter.
UIC tied the score at 16 in the first minute of the second period, and it began the quarter with a 9-1 spurt that put the Flames up 21-16. The Penguins countered with a 12-2 run to take a 28-23 lead, and the Flames cut the margin to 28-25 at the break. YSU missed its first five attempts from the field in the quarter, but Dunn's jumper at the 5:04 mark started a span where the Penguins made their final five attempts.
Before Dunn's bucket, YSU was 5-for-19 from the field. The Penguins went 20-for-29 for 69 percent over the final 25:04 of the game and finished at 52.1 percent overall.
Obiazor nearly had her double-double in the first half with eight points and eight rebounds.
YSU's lead was 31-27 when Peters hit two 3-pointers within 24 seconds to increase the margin to 37-27 with 7:23 remaining. It was 40-34 with less than 3:30 left when the Penguins went on an 11-0 run that increased their margin to 17. Obiazor started it with a basket at the 3:22 mark, and she ended it with two free throws with 15 seconds left. In between was a 3-pointer by Olson and twos by Magestro and Dunn. The YSU lead was 51-37 at the end of the period as the Penguins won the quarter 23-12.
Youngstown State led by at least 11 the entire fourth period, and the lead peaked at 18 at 66-48 and 68-50.
Peters finished 3-for-5 from 3-point range, and Olson and Aulbach were both 2-for-4. The Penguins made nine for the second straight day.
Youngstown State will look to extend its winning streak next week with two games at Robert Morris. The Penguins and Colonials will play at 7 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. next Saturday.
