Dayton, Ohio – The Youngstown State women's basketball team closed the first quarter on a 27-2 run and kept Wright State at arm's length the rest of the way in a 76-62 victory over the Raiders on Sunday.
The Penguins earned their first win at the Nutter Center since 2013, and they swept the Northern Kentucky-Wright State road swing for the first time in program history. YSU has now won three straight contests to improve to 4-3 overall, and it will enjoy a 2-0 mark in Horizon League play for the next 24 days as the schedule shifts back to non-conference play. Wright State dropped to 1-6 and 0-2.
Lilly Ritz and Malia Magestro each scored 20 points, and Ritz added 15 rebounds for her fifth double-double in the first seven games of the season. Dena Jarrells scored all 12 of her points in the first half as the Penguins built a 39-19 halftime lead, and Megan Callahan scored 11 points. Callahan, Jarrells and Magestro each made three 3-pointers, and Paige Shy added one as YSU went 10-for-26 from 3-point range.
Ritz's 15 rebounds helped the Penguins hold a 50-30 edge on the glass. Youngstown State outshot the Raiders 42.1% to 36.2% and held edges of 10-8 on 3-pointers and 18-12 on free throws.
Wright State got hot in the fourth quarter and got within nine in the final two minutes, but Youngstown State went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final 52 seconds to end the comeback attempt.
The Raiders scored the first points of the game, but Youngstown State ended the quarter on a 27-2 run. The Penguins led for double digits from the 4:01 mark of the opening quarter until there was 1:34 left in the fourth.
Just under five minutes into the contest, Ritz scored on back-to-back possessions to start a 20-point run for the Penguins. Shy's 3-pointer with 4:01 on the clock put YSU ahead 14-4, and Jarrells scored eight straight points to push the lead to 22-4 with 1:35 remaining. Emily Saunders' basket upped the margin to 20 for the first time, and Magestro hit a 3-pointer to complete the run and give YSU a 27-4 advantage. That ended up being the largest lead of the evening.
Jarrells' third 3 of the opening half put YSU ahead 33-13 at the 5:30 mark of the second period, and her sixth assist led to a Saunders basket that made it 35-13. Jarrells then made a free throw with 1:04 left in the half to get the lead back to its peak at 39-16, and Wright State's Kacee Baumhower made a 3 to make the score 39-19 at the break.
Baumhower and Bryce Nixon both made three 3s for Wright State, which was 8-for-30 as a team from beyond the arc. They both had 13 points, and Makiya Miller finished with a team-high 14.
Magestro's 3-pointer three minutes into the second half put YSU up 46-24, but Wright State held the Penguins to just three points over the final seven minutes of the third period as it shaved the margin to 14. Miller then hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter to make the score 49-38, but Magestro countered with her own trey to make it 52-38. That started a high-scoring period as both teams scored 27 points in the quarter.
Callahan's third 3-pointer of the second half pushed YSU's lead to 64-45 with 6:25 remaining, and Ritz's 20th point just over a minute later gave the Penguins a 66-45 advantage. Wright State made another push with a 14-2 run and got to within 68-59 when Lauren Scott made a 3-pointer with 1:34 left. The Raiders were 9-for-13 from the field in the quarter at that point, but they missed their last four attempts as Magestro and Mady Aulbach combined to go 8-for-8 from the free-throw line for YSU.
Youngstown State will play at home the rest of the month with six consecutive home games up next. It begins with a contest against WVU Tech on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
