Emily Saunders had a career night in her first career start, and the Youngstown State women's basketball team used a strong defensive effort to beat Xavier 55-41 on Wednesday evening in the 2023-24 opener for both squads.

Saunders, a fifth-year senior forward, took advantage of her first opportunity as YSU's starting center in its inside-out offense. She was 10-for-15 from the field to score 20 points, and she added 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. It was her first career double-double, and she set new career highs in both scoring and rebounding.

Malia Magestro scored 14 points and made four 3-pointers, and the Penguins held the Musketeers to 33.3% shooting from the field. Xavier did not make its first 3-pointer until the 6:18 mark of the fourth quarter, and it finished 1-for-19 from beyond the arc in the game.

Youngstown State picked up its first victory over a Big East opponent since the 2012 season, and it celebrated in the locker room as Acting Head Coach John Nicolais earned his first career win.

Nila Blackford led Xavier with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Xavier scored six of the first eight points of the game as YSU had just two points nearly five minutes into the game, but Dena Jarrells' pull-up jumper at the 5:30 mark sparked a 10-0 run for the Penguins. Jarrells found Lindsey Linard on a layup with 1:40 left on the clock to put YSU ahead 14-6, and the Penguins led by at least four the rest of the night.

The Penguins' largest lead of the opening half was 23-14 on a Jarrells layup with 2:06 on the clock, and their halftime advantage was 25-18.

Saunders secured her double-double by getting to 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first two minutes of the third quarter, and Magestro's third triple of the night gave YSU its first double-digit lead at 30-20 with 7:33 left in the period. Youngstown State matched that 10-point advantage at 36-26 heading into the fourth, and an 8-0 run featuring 3-pointers by Magestro and Shay-Lee Kirby pushed the margin to 48-31 with 4:27 remaining.

Youngstown State will continue its season-opening three-game homestand on Saturday by hosting Slippery Rock at 6:30 p.m.