Box Score
The Youngstown State women's basketball team held Purdue Fort Wayne scoreless for an eight-minute stretch in the second half and used another strong effort in the third quarter to beat the Mastodons 68-52 on Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
The victory gave the Penguins wins in eight of their last nine games and improved their record to 8-4 this season. Purdue Fort Wayne dropped to 0-18.
McKenah Peters led all scorers with 19 points, and she made the 150th 3-pointer of her career in the second half. Nneka Obiazor had 16 points and a team-best eight rebounds, and Mary Dunn had 15 points in 21 minutes. That duo combined to go 11-for-16 from the field.
Sierra Bell had 14 points to lead Purdue Fort Wayne, which trailed just 27-24 at halftime. The Penguins outscored the 'Dons 18-7 in the third period, and their lead grew to 60-38 with 4:20 remaining.
Youngstown State shot 57.7 percent in the second half and 51 percent for the game. The Penguins had success again inside, making 20 of their 30 attempts inside the 3-point arc and holding a 38-14 edge in the paint.
Purdue Fort Wayne shot 30.6 percent, but it turned 15 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points and forced 14 YSU turnovers. That helped the Mastodons keep the margin close until YSU's big run in the second half.
YSU scored the first 16 points of the game in Friday's 102-60 win, but the Mastodons had an early spark on Saturday and held the lead for more than half of the opening quarter. Purdue Fort Wayne hit two 3s in just over a minute's span to take a three-point lead, and a Zoe Ketterman free throw at the 3:09 mark gave the Mastodons their largest lead of the day at 11-7. Their advantage was 15-12 in the final minute of the opening quarter before Malia Magestro hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to spark a 13-3 run.
Chelsea Olson's 3-pointer at the 5:50 mark of the second period gave YSU a 2518 lead, but the Penguins didn't score again until the final seconds of the half. Purdue Fort Wayne got within 25-24 at the 1:47 mark, and Obiazor scored near the basket with five seconds left to give YSU a three-point halftime edge.
Peters hit a 3 on YSU's second possession of the third period to push the lead to 30-24, and Purdue Fort Wayne countered by getting to within 32-31 on an Aubrey Stupp 3-pointer with 6:44 left. The Penguins didn't allow another point until the 8:38 mark of the fourth period. Six different YSU players scored as the Penguins built a 45-31 at the end of the third, and Dunn's basket 24 seconds into the fourth increased YSU's run to 15 straight points. Purdue Fort Wayne got no closer than 14 the rest of the contest.
Peters' 150th career 3-pointer at the 6:04 mark came during a 7-0 run that put the Penguins up 56-35, and the largest lead was 60-38 on an Obiazor basket with 4:20 remaining. YSU led 68-47 with fewer than 25 seconds left.
Youngstown State will play the final road games of its regular-season schedule next weekend as it travels to play IUPUI. Tipoff on Friday and Saturday against the defending conference champion Jaguars will be at 6 p.m.
