The Youngstown State women's basketball team scored 14 of the first 16 points of the game but had an extended field-goal drought and never recovered in a 78-58 loss at Penn State on Sunday afternoon.
The Penguins started 6-of-8 from the field and led the Lady Lions 14-2 following a Lilly Ritz basket with 6:05 left in the opening quarter. Penn State called timeout, and YSU missed its next 26 field goal attempts.
Youngstown State made enough free throws to stay in the game and trailed just 38-25 when Ritz ended the field goal drought at the 6:35 mark of the third period. The deficit was 44-36 in the final minute of the third quarter, but Penn State scored the next 14 points to pull away.
Youngstown State dropped its first decision of 2021-22 and will enter final exams week with an 8-1 record. Penn State improved to 6-5.
Five Penguins scored between eight and nine points in the game. Chelsea Olson scored seven of her nine points during the 14-2 start, and Lindsey Mack and Malia Magestro also had nine points apiece. Lilly Ritz and Paige Shy both had eight points.
Leilani Kapinus scored a game-high 20 points to lead Penn State. Lady Lion leading scorer Makenna Marisa was held to 12 points and was whistled for three fouls in the first half.
Olson scored on YSU's first possession, and she went on to score the first seven points of the game. Shy then hit a 3 at the 7:06 mark and another bucket with 6:37 on the clock to give the Penguins a double-digit lead at 12-2. Ritz then scored on a pass from Aulbach to push the margin to a dozen and prompt a Lady Lion timeout.
YSU didn't score again until Magestro made two free throws with 33.7 seconds left in the quarter, and the lead was 16-12 at that point. The Penguins led 16-14 at the end of the first period, and Anna Camden hit Penn State's first 3-pointer of the day less than 90 seconds into the second period to give the Lady Lions their first lead.
Youngstown State was 0-for-9 from the field in the second period but went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line as the margin reached 14 twice. YSU's deficit was 36-23 at halftime.
The Penguins outscored the Lady Lions 13-10 in the third period and got as close as eight twice on a Shy layup at the 1:57 mark and a basket by Jen Wendler with 46 seconds left. Maddie Burke hit a late bucket for Penn State to get the lead back to double digits, and the Lady Lions capitalized on four straight YSU turnovers to start the fourth period as the lead reached 56-36 at the 8:33 mark.
The largest lead was 65-41, but Mack hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second stretch during an 11-0 run that brought the Penguins to within 65-52 with 4:18 left. That's as close as the Penguin got as Kapinus hit a 3 on Penn State's next possession.
Youngstown State will be off for final exams until it hosts Davis & Elkins on Friday at 7 p.m. It will be the first of two non-Division I opponents that the Penguins will play before Christmas break.
