The Youngstown State women's basketball team outscored LIU 38-14 over the second and third periods and finished off an unbeaten November schedule with a 70-55 victory on Friday at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins are now 5-0 for the third time in Head Coach John Barnes' nine seasons, while the Sharks dropped to 0-5 this season.
YSU forward Lilly Ritz was dominant again in the post as she finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds while adding five steals in 26 minutes of action. It was her third straight 20-point effort and her second double-double, and she became the first Penguin to finish with at least five steals in a game since Feb. 27, 2020. Youngstown State had 14 steals as a team, which was its highest total against a Division I opponent in the Barnes era.
Chelsea Olson scored 12 points, and she hit milestones in rebounds and assists in the win. Her eight rebounds against the Sharks gave her 705 in her career, and her four assists gave her 402 in her career. Mady Aulbach added a career-high seven assists and four steals.
Olson and Aulbach combined for 11 assists and four turnovers, but turnovers were a problem for both squads on Friday. The Penguins committed 24 turnovers that led to 19 LIU points, and the Sharks had 22 turnovers that Youngstown State translated into 26 points.
The Penguins had six turnovers and started 1-for-9 from the field in the first period, but they weathered the poor offensive start and distanced themselves over the final three quarters. YSU led for 32:46 in the game, and it was ahead by double digits for the final 23 minutes.
Megan Callahan scored five points in the opening quarter, and her three free throws at the 7:52 mark accounted for the first points of the game for either team. Paige Shy added two free throws just over a minute later to give the Penguins a 5-0 lead, but YSU's first field goal didn't come until the 3:05 mark when Callahan converted a fast-break layup on a steal from Aulbach.
LIU's first lead came at 8-7 when Emaia O'Brien made a 3 at the 2:39 mark, and the Sharks scored again 57 seconds later to push the margin to 10-7. Olson scored on a floater on YSU's next possession, and Ritz beat the buzzer with a close-range bucket on a pass from Callahan to put YSU up 11-10. The Penguins did not trail again.
Ritz split a pair of free throws 24 seconds into the second period to put YSU up 12-10, and Kiara Bell scored for LIU at the 9:15 mark to tie the game at 12. From that point, the Sharks went scoreless for the next nine minutes as Youngstown State took control of the game.
Lexi Wagner hit a triple at the 8:26 mark of the quarter to give YSU its first 3-pointer of the game, and Lindsey Mack's try at the 5:49 mark put the Penguins ahead 21-12. The lead reached double digits for the first time at 23-12 on Paige Shy's basket with 3:03 remaining, and the largest difference in the opening half was 28-12 when Olson buried a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left.
Dyamond Butler-Worley hit a 3-pointer on LIU's final possession of the first half to end the nine-minute drought for the Sharks, and Aulbach put back her own miss at the buzzer to give the Penguins a 30-15 lead at halftime.
The Sharks got within a dozen twice in the first 70 seconds of the second half, but the Penguins went on an 8-0 run to build their lead to 20 for the first time when Ritz scored on a pass from Malia Magestro at the 4:36 mark. YSU's 49-24 lead at the end of the quarter was its largest up to that point, and the lead grew to its peak of 27 at 51-24 with 9:17 left in the game.
The margin was as high as 23 at 66-43 with 2:09 left before LIU shaved eight points off the deficit for the final margin.
Youngstown State shot 50 percent overall making 26-of-52 from the field, and it held a big 40-22 advantage in the paint. LIU made eight 3-pointers and shot 34.5 percent from the field.
Youngstown State will begin December by hosting a pair of challenging Horizon League opponents as the Wisconsin teams come to Beeghly Center. The Penguins will host Milwaukee on Thursday at 7 p.m., and they'll welcome Green Bay next Saturday at 1 p.m.
