Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State women's basketball team struggled from the 3-point line and dropped its Horizon League opener to Detroit Mercy 59-50 on Thursday evening at the Beeghly Center.

Senior forward Emily Saunders scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half, but the Penguins were just 6-for-34 from 3-point range in the game. YSU is now 2-5 overall with the loss, and Detroit Mercy has matched its win total from last season with its 5-3 record.

Saunders connected on 6-of-9 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds, but the Titans limited her to just two shot attempts in the first half. YSU was 5-for-22 from beyond the arc in the first half as Detroit Mercy took a 32-25 lead at the break.

The Penguins played well enough defensively in the second half by limiting the Titans to 33.3% shooting from the field, but they just couldn't overcome the ice-cold shooting from long distance. The Penguins shot 32.8 percent from the floor overall.

Abby Liber scored all of her career-high nine points in the first half, and Malia Magestro matched her with nine points.

Myonna Hooper scored 16 points and was 7-for-11 from the field, and Irene Murua had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Titans. Detroit Mercy shot 38.9% from the field, but the visitors attempted 18 more free throws than YSU and outscored the Penguins by 11 at the charity stripe.

The Penguins, who went 4-for-8 from the floor to start the game, and Titans battled through three lead changes and three ties through the first five minutes of the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Paige Shy and Shay-Lee Kirby put the Penguins up 10-7 midway through the first quarter.

The Titans scored the next five to take a 12-10 lead before a bucket by Magestro ended a 4:12 scoreless drought and knotted the game at 12-12. UDM's Emma Trawally Porta's old-fashioned three-point play with 37 seconds left gave the Titans a 15-12 lead and ended the scoring in the first quarter.

A 3-pointer by Shy to start the second quarter knotted the game at 15-15 with 9:56 left, but the Titans scored the next six points over the next 1:21 to take a 21-15 lead. The Penguins battled back with a 7-0 run to regain a 22-21 edge after two baskets by Kirby and a 3-pointer by Magestro at the 5:38 mark. That ended up being YSU's final lead of the game.

Detroit Mercy answered with a 7-0 run of its own as part of an 11-3 run to end the half.

Detroit Mercy then outscored the Penguins 11-4 over the first seven minutes of the third quarter to extend its lead to 43-29 with 3:05 remaining. YSU got within 10 twice in the third period, and it cut the margin down to eight, 45-37, after a basket by Dena Jarrells to start the fourth. After that Jarrells jumper, the Penguins did not make a field goal for more than three minutes.

The Penguins will try to snap their skid when they visit Robert Morris on Sunday. . Tipoff is set for noon at the UPMC Events Center, and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.