Youngstown, Ohio – Senior Malia Magestro scored a season-high 22 points, but the Youngstown State women's basketball team dropped an 82-68 decision to Wright State on Friday evening at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins fall to 4-9 overall and 0-3 in the Horizon League while Wright State improves to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the league.
Magestro also led the Penguins with a career-high-tying eight rebounds and had four assists. Senior Emily Saunders scored 14 points while senior Lindsey Linard recorded a career-high 10 points. The Penguins scored 11 points above their season average, but Wright State's 82 points were 25 points above YSU's defensive average.
Alexis Hutchison, the Horizon League's scoring leader, scored a game-high 26 points while Kacee Baumhower had 15 and Layne Ferrell added 14 to lead the Raiders. Wright State made just three 3-pointers in the contest, but it was 25-for-40 inside the arc and went 23-for-31 from the free-throw line.
Wright State scored the first eight points of the game, and Saunders was whistled for two fouls before the Penguins got on the scoreboard. Dena Jarrells broke the drought with a layup at the 5:52 mark, and she added a 3-pointer to cut the margin to 8-5. Magestro scored YSU's final five points of the quarter, but Wright State held a 17-10 lead after 10 minutes.
Down 19-12 early in the second, the Penguins scored seven of the next 11 points to cut the lead down to four, 23-19, with 6:14 to go. A Linard basket started the Penguins' run, and a Magestro 3 and a layup by Saunders followed.
Magestro scored six the Penguins' final nine points of the half, but the Raiders took a 37-28 lead into the locker room at halftime. Magestro finished with 14 first-half points, and Hutchison had 17 for the Raiders.
The Penguins began the third quarter making five of their first six field goals, but the Raiders kept pace connecting on five of their first seven shots, including a pair of 3s, and pushed their lead to 51-38 at the 4:17 mark.
The Penguins finished the quarter on a strong note outscoring the Raiders 12-5 to get within six, 56-50 heading into the fourth.
Youngstown State made its first four shots of the final stanza to stay within six, 62-56, after a jumper by Magestro, two baskets by Linard and one by Shay-Lee Kirby at the 7:59 mark. The Penguins cooled off from the field and the Raiders went on a 15-6 run over the next 5:22 to extend their lead to an insurmountable 15 points at 77-62. Wright State went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line in the final quarter.
Youngstown State will continue Horizon League play on Sunday when it hosts IUPUI at noon at Beeghly Center.
