The Youngstown State women's basketball team used strong first and fourth quarters to beat Robert Morris 65-51 on Saturday afternoon at the UPMC Events Center. It was the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Penguins finish the regular season with a 19-10 overall record and a 13-7 mark in conference play. YSU won at least 13 Horizon League games for the third time in school history. Robert Morris dropped to 11-18 overall and 5-15 against league opponents.
Youngstown State outscored the Colonials 19-5 in the first quarter, and it shook off a tough third quarter as Robert Morris got as close as one. YSU scored the first seven points of the fourth, and it outscored its nearest Division I rival 21-8 in the period.
Lilly Ritz scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for her 18th double-double of the season, and she reached double figures for the 100th time in her collegiate career. Megan Callahan, who graduated from RMU and is in her second season as a Penguin, also scored 17 points and made three of YSU's 11 3-pointers. Malia Magestro was also in double figures with 11 points.
Phoenix Gedeon scored 15 points to lead three Colonials in double figures.
Ritz scored on the first possession of the game, and Youngstown State led the rest of the afternoon. She scored six of YSU's first nine points, and Callahan hit a 3 and made a layup on back-to-back possessions to give the Penguins their first double-digit lead at 14-3 with 5:45 left in the first period. Callahan scored again in the final seconds of the period to get to seven points, and she gave YSU a 19-5 lead after 10 minutes.
Youngstown State led by double figures for all but 17 seconds of the second quarter, and Magestro hit a corner 3-pointer on the final possession to give the Penguins their largest lead of the half at 35-19.
Ritz scored on the opening possession of the third quarter to get to 10 points, and Dena Jarrells scored at the 9:03 mark to give YSU a 39-21 lead. After that bucket by Jarrells, RMU outscored the Penguins 22-5 over the rest of the period. RMU scored 15 straight points to get within three when Simone Morris made two free throws with 4:02 on the clock, and the Colonials closed the gap to one three different times in the quarter.
The Penguins held a 44-43 heading into the fourth, but they quickly regained control in the final period. Ritz scored on the opening possession, Paige Shy nailed a 3-pointer, and Magestro hit a mid-range jumper as YSU went on a 7-0 run over the first three minutes of the quarter. After Morris hit a 3 for RMU to close the gap to five, YSU scored the next 14 points to pull away with a 64-45 lead. Callahan started it with a 3-pointer and a two on consecutive possessions, and Magestro, Jarrells and Shy made 3s in a four-possession stretch.
RMU scored the final five points for the final margin.
Youngstown State 50% overall, and it shot about 50% in the first, second and fourth quarters. Ritz was 8-for-10 from the field to lead the effort, and YSU's guards complemented her with 11 3-pointers on 25 attempts. Callahan and Magestro hit three treys apiece, Shy made two, and Mady Aulbach, Tenleigh Phelps and Jarrells each made one.
Robert Morris shot 31.4% overall, and it was 2-for-17 in the first quarter and 2-for-9 in the fourth. YSU held a 36-27 rebounding edge, and it doubled up RMU 28-14 in the paint.
Youngstown State will be the fourth seed in the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. It will host fifth-seeded Northern Kentucky on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's team.
