Youngstown, Ohio – Western Michigan's Megan Wagner made two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining to lift the Broncos past the Youngstown State women's basketball team, 54-52, on Thursday evening at Beeghly Center.
With the loss the Penguins fall to 2-1 while the Broncos improve to 1-2.
Three players reached double figures for the Penguins, led by Paige Shy's 15 points. Dena Jarrells scored 13 points with six assists while Emily Saunders added 12 points.
Youngstown State led 20-14 after a 9-0 run to end the first quarter, but Western Michigan shaved five points off the deficit heading into the fourth. The Broncos scored the first nine points of the final quarter, and YSU had to play catchup the rest of the way.
With the Penguins down 47-39 with just over six minutes left in the game, they started to chip away. A 3-pointer by Jarrells cut the deficit to a possession with 5:27 left, and a Magestro steal and layup at the 3:58 mark go the Penguins to within 50-48.
Kaitlyn Zarycki scored on Western Michigan's next possession to make the score 52-48 with 3:37 on the clock, and that was the Broncos' final field goal of the night. Shy split two free throws after an offensive rebound, and she hit a long 3-pointer with 1:24 left to knot the score at 52.
The Penguins forced a turnover, and Saunders had one of her three misses from the field on YSU's attempt to take its first lead of the quarter. Western Michigan went late in the shot clock on its last possession, and Megan Wagner was awarded two free throws on a drive to the basket with 3.5 seconds left. She made both attempts, and the Penguins had two passes to Saunders from out-of-bounds plays get deflected as the time ran out.
Hannah Spitzley went 8-for-12 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, to score a game-high 20 points for Western Michigan. Zarycki finished with 18 points and made WMU's other two triples.
Youngstown State outshot the Broncos 38.5% to 37.9%, but WMU had 13 offensive rebounds that allowed the visitors to take six more shots that resulted in two more field goals than YSU. The Broncos held a 36-29 rebounding advantage for the game.
The Penguins got off to a hot start going 9-for-14 from the field and leading 20-14 after the first quarter.
Saunders scored four of YSU's first six points, and Jarrells answered a WMU 3-pointer with one of her own to give the Penguins a 9-5 lead at the 4:37 mark of the first quarter. WMU then scored seven straight points in a 1:29 second span to take a 12-9 after two free throws and a 3-pointer by Maggie Stutelberg and a layup by Zarycki.
A 3-pointer by Kirby tied the game at 14 with 1:50 left in the quarter, and it sparked a Penguins' 9-0 run to close out the first quarter that gave them their 20-14 edge. After the 3, a layup by Saunders, a steal and layup by Jarrells and a putback by Kirby gave the Penguins the six-point lead.
Over the first five-plus minutes of the second, Youngstown State missed its first six shots and the Broncos scored six straight to tie the game at 20-20. Jarrells hit her second 3-pointer of the game to allow YSU to regain the lead 23-20 at the 4:48 mark of the second, and the teams battled through five lead changes over the final 3:21 of the quarter as the Penguins clung to a 29-28 lead at the intermission.
The Penguins' offensive struggles continued to start the third, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Shy and Magestro gave the Penguins a 37-32 lead with 5:45 left in the stanza. Youngstown State missed its next six shots as the Broncos rallied to take a 38-37 lead.
Saunders answered with a layup at the 1:22 mark of the third and the Penguins took a 39-38 advantage into the final quarter.
The Penguins visit West Virginia on Sunday at 4 p.m. in Morgantown, W. Va.
