The Youngstown State women's basketball allowed the second-fewest points in a game in school history and beat Davis & Elkins 71-27 on Friday evening at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins led 20-2 after a quarter and were ahead by double digits for more than 35 minutes as they improved to 9-1 this season.
The 27 points were the fewest scored by an opponent since Malone had 25 at Beeghly Center on Dec. 29, 1990. It was the fourth time in program history that an opponent scored fewer than 30 points but the second time in the last four seasons. The Penguins held UIC to 29 points on Jan. 3, 2019.
Lilly Ritz scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 16 minutes in her first starting role this month, and all 12 Penguins who appeared scored. Behind Ritz, Megan Callahan, Chelsea Olson and Malia Magestro each scored eight, and YSU got 32 points from its bench.
Mady Aulbach led a strong defensive effort on the perimeter as the Penguins held Davis & Elkins leading scorer Dream Cherry to two points, which was 15 below her average. The Senators shot 18.9 percent from the field and went 3-for-32 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Davis & Elkins missed its first 13 field-goal attempts as Youngstown State built a 13-0 lead, and the Penguins led 20-2 at the end of the first. Allie Taylor hit two 3-pointers during a 10-0 D&E run to start the second period to trim the margin to 20-12, but the Penguins closed the half on an 18-3 run to take a 38-15 lead at halftime.
Aulbach, Megan Callahan and Chelsea Olson hit 3-pointers during an 11-0 YSU run to start the third that pushed the lead to 49-15, and the margin reached 40 on a four-point play by Lexi Wagner with 6:54 remaining in the fourth. Emma Randall followed with her first 3 of the season to increase the lead to 44, which was the largest gap of the game.
Marissa Berlin had 14 points and played well defensively in the post to lead Davis & Elkins. She was whistled for her third foul when Magestro drew a charge at the 4:47 mark of the second period. The score was 22-12 at that point, and Ritz scored eight points over the next two-and-a-half minutes as the lead surged to 35-12.
Youngstown State shot 42.9 percent overall and went 9-for-25 from 3-point range. It outrebounded D&E 50-29 and committed just three turnovers in the second half.
Youngstown State will finish the non-conference portion of its schedule on Tuesday morning as it hosts Point Park in the Eighth Annual School Field Trip Game, presented by Chick-fil-A. The game against the Pioneers will tip at 11 a.m.
