University Park, Pa. – Penn State scored 11 straight points in the third quarter to fight off the Youngstown State women's basketball team for a 77-63 win on Tuesday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Penguins trailed 33-32 at halftime, and they hit 3-pointers on their first three possessions of the second period to take a 41-35 lead. Penn State answered by scoring 11 straight points over nearly five minutes, and YSU was never able to reclaim the lead.
Paige Shy scored a career-high 19 points and made five of Youngstown State's 10 3-pointers. Lilly Ritz scored all 12 of her points in the second half, and Mady Aulbach scored all eight of her points in the third period.
Makenna Marisa scored 15 of her 21 points in the second half, and Leilani Kapinus matched her with 21 points for Penn State. Penn State improved to 3-0, and Youngstown State dropped to 1-1.
Youngstown State shot 50 percent from the field, including making 15-of-22 from inside the 3-point arc, and it had 19 assists on its 25 field goals. However, Penn State forced the Penguins into 26 turnovers, and the Lady Lions used their plus-six edge in turnover margin and 10 offensive rebounds to attempt nine more field goals and 14 more free throws. Penn State shot 49.2 percent, including 17-for-27 from the field in the second half, and outscored the Penguins by 11 at the free-throw line.
Penn State committed 20 turnovers, and Youngstown State converted those into 27 points.
Youngstown State finished 10-for-28 from 3-point range, including 5-for-11 in the second half. The Penguins were 5-for-17 from long distance in the first half as forwards Ritz and Emily Saunders were whistled for two fouls.
Hazardous winter weather forced the game to start 10 minutes late, and neither team scored until Shy hit a 3-pointer at the 7:23 mark. Penn State started 2-for-12 from the field, and the Penguins held the upper hand at 13-12 at the end of the period.
Ritz was whistled for her second foul 15 seconds into the second quarter, and Marisa scored off the ensuing out-of-bounds play to give Penn State its first lead of the evening at 14-13. Youngstown State counter punched with a 7-0 run that featured two baskets by Saunders and a 3-pointer by Shay-Lee Kirby to force a Lady Lions timeout with 7:53 on the clock.
Penn State scored five straight points out of the timeout, and Youngstown State went more than five minutes without a field goal as the Lady Lions went on an 11-2 run to take a 25-22 lead. Malia Magestro nailed a 3 for YSU to tie the score at 25 with 2:51 remaining, and Shy scored five straight points to give the Penguins a 30-28 advantage just over a minute later. YSU's final lead of the half came at 32-30 on a Jen Wendler basket, and Kapinus' three-point play put Penn State ahead 33-32 at the break.
Penn State had 12 turnovers in the opening half, and YSU was able to convert those into 16 points.
Aulbach, Shy and Megan Callahan made 3-pointers on YSU's first three possessions of the second half to put the Penguins ahead 41-35 with 8:33 remaining, but that's when Penn State went on its run that shifted the game in its favor. The Lady Lions scored the next 11 points as part of a larger 21-7 burst to take a 56-48 lead with less than a minute left in the quarter. Aulbach scored on a driving layup on YSU's final possession for her eighth point of the period, and the margin was 56-50 after 30 minutes.
Ritz's first points of the night didn't come until the 3:55 mark of the third quarter to stop the 11-0 Lady Lions run. She went on to score 10 of YSU's 13 points in the fourth quarter, but Penn State outscored the Penguins 21-13 in the period.
Youngstown State was within six points three different times in the fourth quarter, including when Shy made her fifth 3-pointer of the night at the 3:26 mark. That made the score 67-61, but YSU managed just one field goal the rest of the way. Penn State followed Shy's 3 with six straight points to go up 73-61, and Ritz scored YSU's final points with 58 seconds left to make it 73-63. Penn State made four free throws in the last minute to extend the final difference to 14, which was the largest of the night.
Youngstown State will continue its three-game road stretch when it plays at Akron on Friday night. Tipoff at James A. Rhodes Arena is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN3.
