The Youngstown State women's basketball team played outstanding defense and earned a hard-fought 53-52 victory over Akron on Wednesday evening at Beeghly Center.
Emily Saunders scored a game-high 13 points, and her free throw with 4.9 seconds left gave YSU a 53-49 lead. Akron hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final tally.
Saunders added three blocks, and she was part of a collective defensive effort with Lindsey Linard, Paige Shy and Abby Liber to limit Akron offensively in the post. The Penguins held Reagan Bass, who came into the night ranking fifth in the country at 23.3 points per game, to 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
Dena Jarrells scored 12 points, making 5-of-6 from inside the arc, and she hit two free throws with 16.6 seconds on the fourth-period clock with the Penguins clinging to a 50-49 lead. Shay-Lee Kirby added 10 points, and she made three of YSU's five 3-pointers.
The Penguins still struggled to find their touch from long distance going 5-for-29, but their effort on the defensive end that had been evident during most of their losing streak was finally rewarded. Youngstown State snapped a six-game skid and improved to 3-6 win the victory. Akron, which had an overtime win over Pitt earlier this season, dropped to 3-4.
YSU went nearly four minutes before getting on the scoreboard at the outset, but the Penguins started to get into a rhythm and held a 13-9 lead after 10 minutes. After missing its first seven field-goal attempts, YSU scored on three of its next four possessions and went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-4 lead with 3:49 remaining. The Penguins did not trail again.
Akron tied the game on a 3-pointer by Zakia Rasheed, and Jarrells scored twice in the final 45 seconds to put YSU ahead by four. The margin was between one and six for the entire second quarter, and the Penguins outscored Akron 7-1 over the final 4:15 of the half to take a 28-22 lead at the intermission.
Kirby hit two 3-pointers within a 40-second span to push YSU's lead to 34-22 at the 8:43 mark of the third quarter, and Saunders scored on a pass from Malia Magestro to give YSU its largest lead of the night at 36-22.
Akron went on a 14-5 burst to get within five at 41-36, but the Penguins clamped down defensively again and did not allow a field goal from the 2:48 mark of the third until there was 4:54 left in the fourth.
A Jarrells bucket gave YSU a 43-36 lead heading into the fourth, and Liber scored on the first possession of the final period to push the margin to nine. The Penguins didn't score again until the 3:03 mark, but the strength of their defense allowed them to keep the lead throughout the drought.
Saunders scored to end a 6-0 Akron run, and her putback with 2:16 on the clock gave YSU a 49-44 lead. The Zips didn't score until Rasheed's stepback 3-pointer with 35.8 seconds remaining made the score 50-44, and Magestro was whistled for an offensive foul two seconds later to give Akron another quick possession.
Bass scored on a driving layup with 18.4 on the clock to make it a 50-49 game, and Jarrells hit two big free throws with 16.6 seconds remaining to give YSU a 52-49 cushion. Aulbach smothered Rasheed defensively on Akron's next possession, and Morgan Haney's tying 3-point attempt hit the rim. Saunders grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 4.9 seconds left, and she made her second attempt to all but put the game out of reach.
Youngstown State shot 35.6% for the game, and it went 6-for-8 at the free-throw line in the physical contest between two Northeast Ohio opponents. Both teams made 21 field goals, Akron had a 6-5 edge in 3-pointers, and YSU outscored the Zips 6-4 at the free-throw line.
Youngstown State will head back on the road to play a non-conference game at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday. Tipoff at DeGol Arena is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and NEC Front Row.
