The Youngstown State women's basketball team had three players score in double figures and was strong defensively once again in a 65-48 victory over Robert Morris on Thursday evening at Beeghly Center.
Lilly Ritz posted game highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds, and she was joined in double figures by Paige Shy with 15 points and Megan Callahan with 14. Those three players matched RMU's total, and five other Penguins combined for 17 points in the 17-point victory.
Youngstown State improved to 12-4 overall and 6-1 in Horizon League play, and the Penguins have won 11 of their last 12 contests. Robert Morris dropped to 7-9 overall and 1-6 against the conference.
While Ritz, Callahan and Shy provided the bulk of the offense, YSU played well defensively as a unit to hold the Colonials to 28.1% shooting from the field. The Penguins also won the turnover margin 14-9, which was significant as RMU came into the night ranking 14th in the country in turnover margin at plus-6.3.
Youngstown State shot 40.7% despite going just 4-for-24 from 3-point range. The Penguins were 20-for-35 inside the arc, and they added 13 points from the free-throw line.
Phoenix Gedeon led Robert Morris with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Youngstown State did not trail for the final 37:54 of the game, and a 15-3 run to end the second quarter gave it a 31-19 halftime lead. The final tie of the night came at 16-16 with 8:49 on the second-period clock, and YSU scored the next 13 points over the next 5:19 to take a 29-16 advantage. Callahan and Mady Aulbach both hit 3-pointers during that stretch, and Shy scored four of her six points in the quarter during it.
The Colonials got as close as six points in the final minute of the third quarter at 42-36 as YSU went just 3-for-13 from the field in the quarter, and two free throws by Malia Magestro gave the Penguins a 44-36 lead heading into the fourth.
Ritz scored on the first possession of the fourth period to push the margin back to double figures, and Callahan nailed a triple with 9:17 on the clock to give YSU a 49-36 lead. The margin was double digits for all but 46 seconds in the quarter, and the largest difference was 65-46 when Ritz scored with just over a minute remaining.
Youngstown State's next contest will be against IUPUI on Monday at 7 p.m.
