Lilly Ritz scored 26 points, and the Youngstown State women's basketball team battled to fight off Detroit Mercy for a 72-67 victory on Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins had to grind through 15 lead changes and nine ties, and a 19-5 run midway through the second half proved to be the difference.
Youngstown State improved to 18-7 overall and 12-4 in Horizon League play, and the Penguins are now 12-2 on their home floor. Detroit Mercy dropped to 4-21 overall and 2-14 against the conference.
The Penguins led for 14:26 in the game, and more than nine minutes of that came in the fourth quarter. Detroit Mercy held a 16-13 lead after the first quarter, and the teams were tied at 30 and 50 at the conclusion of the next two periods.
The Titans led 47-43 with 1:49 left in the third quarter, but Youngstown State ended the third period on a 7-3 run and started the fourth on a 12-2 burst to take a 62-52 lead when Malia Magestro buried a 3-pointer with 7:03 remaining. The margin was 10 again at 64-54 on a Ritz basket at the 5:33 mark, but YSU didn't score for more than four minutes as the Titans shaved eight points off the margin.
Ritz, who scored 31 points in Thursday's win over Oakland, stopped the scoring drought with a putback with 1:23 on the clock to give YSU a 66-62 lead. Emma Trawally Porta answered with a three-point play on Detroit Mercy's next possession to make it a one-point affair, and YSU went 6-for-8 from the free-throw line to hold on.
Paige Shy was fouled on a screen and made a charity toss with 40.9 seconds remaining, and Megan Callahan followed a Detroit Mercy turnover with two free throws to put YSU up 69-65 with 24.2 ticks left. The Penguins got another stop defensively to lead to a Magestro free throw that upped the cushion to 70-65 with 15.6 seconds left, and the Titans scored from an offensive rebound with 3.6 seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game.
YSU called timeout to advance the ball to the frontcourt, and Shy was sent to the line again with 1.9 seconds remaining. The senior hit both attempts to push the margin to five and put the game out of reach.
Ritz was 11-for-19 from the field and made four free throws in her 26-point effort. She grabbed 12 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season, and she added three assists, three steals and a block. Callahan finished with 16 points, and Shy filled the box score with 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Magestro contributed nine points, and she tied her career high with seven rebounds.
Trawally Porta led the Titans with 21 points, and Irene Murua recorded 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Detroit Mercy scored six of the first eight points of the game, and Youngstown State's first lead came on a three-point play by Ritz at the 4:07 mark of the first quarter. Shy's first of three triples in the game put YSU ahead 13-11 on its next possession, but the Titans scored the final five points of the period to take a 16-13 lead.
YSU scored on its first two possessions and took a 17-16 lead on a pull-up jumper by Callahan at the 9:12 mark, but the Penguins didn't score for the next five-and-a-half minutes as Detroit Mercy took its largest advantage of the afternoon at 23-17. Magestro ended a long field-goal drought with a drive to the basket at the 2:09 mark to cut the deficit to 23-21 and start a stretch of buckets for both teams to end the half.
The Titans answered with a basket to go up 25-21, and YSU got four points on one trip when Ritz made her first free throw, grabbed her own miss and passed out to Dena Jarrells for a 3-pointer that tied the score at 25. Callahan's 3-pointer with 36 seconds on the clock, and Ritz beat the buzzer to tie the score again at 30.
Ritz was 3-for-9 from the field before the basket at the horn, and she was 7-for-9 in the final 20 minutes.
YSU led by one three different times in the third quarter, but Detroit Mercy immediately answered with a basket each time. The Titans led 45-40 at the 3:34 mark of the period for their largest margin of the second half, and YSU was able to catch them at 50-50 when Ritz beat the buzzer again to end the quarter.
Murua scored on a putback on Detroit Mercy's first possession of the fourth period, but YSU was finally able to string enough baskets and stops together to go on a 10-0 run. Callahan started it with a three-point play, and Shy followed with a key sequence where she jumped a pass into the post for a steal and hit a 3 in transition that forced a Titans timeout. Ritz hit a jumper at the 7:51 mark to push the lead to six at 58-52, and YSU had another four-point trip to extend the run to 10-0. Ritz split two free throws with 7:07 on the clock, and Callahan rebounded the miss to set up a 3-pointer by Magestro with 7:03 left that gave YSU a 62-52 lead.
Imani McNeal made two free throws with 5:58 left to end a scoring drought of nearly four minutes for the Titans. Trawally Porta then stopped the field-goal drought 40 seconds later that started the Titans' 8-0 run to close the gap for the final stretch.
Youngstown State shot 39.7% overall and went 7-for-23 from 3-point range. Detroit Mercy countered by making 42.9% overall, going 6-for-16 from 3-point range and making 13-of-14 at the free-throw line. The Penguins had a big 17-2 advantage off turnovers, and they were plus-six in turnover margin.
The Penguins will continue their homestand next week by hosting Milwaukee on Friday at 7 p.m.
