Box Score
Senior forward Mary Dunn scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the second half, and the Youngstown State women's basketball team rallied for a 71-64 win at Robert Morris on Saturday.
The Penguins trailed 47-35 just over 90 seconds into the second half, but they outscored the Colonials 36-17 from that point forward to come away with the seven-point victory.
Youngstown State bounced back from a 61-46 loss on Friday to earn a split, and it will enter February as winners of six of its last seven games. YSU improved to 6-4 in Horizon League play while Robert Morris dropped to 3-9.
Dunn finished 8-of-16 from the field and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line, and she added 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Chelsea Olson had 18 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, and Nneka Obiazor posted 15 points and nine rebounds.
With Robert Morris taking its largest lead of the game at 47-35, Obiazor, Olson and Maddie Schires hit 3-pointers during a 13-2 run that got the Penguins within one at 49-48 with 3:57 remaining in the quarter. A Dunn layup with 1:59 left gave YSU its first lead since early in the first period at 53-51, and the Penguins did not trail again.
Dunn scored again in the final minute of the third to give YSU a 56-53 lead, and her bucket on the first possession of the fourth period extended the lead to 58-53. That's what the score remained until Dunn's putback at the 5:41 mark put YSU up by seven. Robert Morris's first points of the final period didn't come until Esther Castedo's two free throws at the 4:59 mark, and Dunn answered immediately on the other end with a three-point play that gave her 21 points and the Penguins a 63-55 cushion.
After a Mady Aulbach free throw put YSU up 64-55 with 3:45 left, Robert Morris scored the next six points to close the gap to just three at 64-61 after Nina Augustin hit a 3 with 1:07 on the clock. Dunn and Olson combined to go 7-for-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch to help the Penguins complete the comeback.
RMU led by seven three different times in the opening period, and the margin reached 11 three times in the second period, including 42-31 at halftime. The Penguins got within nine twice in the first 90 seconds of the third period before Castedo's 3-pointer at the 8:24 mark gave the Colonials their largest lead at 47-35. Obiazor answered with a 3 just 15 seconds later, and YSU held Robert Morris to 6-for-30 from the field the rest of the game as it made its charge offensively.
Both teams shot 40 percent from the field and made six 3s, but YSU outscored Robert Morris 21-6 at the free-throw line.
Youngstown State will play another first-year Horizon League member next week as Purdue Fort Wayne comes to Beeghly Center. The Penguins and Mastodons will play at 2 p.m. on Feb. 5 and at 1 p.m. on Feb. 6.
