Youngstown, Ohio – Lilly Ritz scored the most points by a Penguin in eight years, and the Youngstown State women's basketball team had one of its best performances of the season in an 85-62 victory over Oakland on Thursday at the Beeghly Center.
Ritz scored 31 points on 15-for-21 shooting from the field while adding nine rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots. That was the highest point total since Heidi Schlegel scored 38 points at Valparaiso on Feb. 21, 2015, and it was the most points scored in a women's game on Rosselli Court since Brandi Brown scored 31 against Cleveland State on March 13, 2013.
The Penguins never trailed, and they led by double digits for the final 30 minutes.
YSU improved to 17-7 overall and 11-4 in Horizon League play, and they were able to emphatically shake off two conference road losses last week. The Penguins shot 54.1% from the field overall and 52.4% from 3-point range in posting their highest point total against a Division I opponent this season.
Three other Penguins scored in double figures to complement Ritz. Shay-Lee Kirby matched her season high with 13 points and went 5-for-5 from the field, and Malia Magestro and Megan Callahan both scored 12 points. Dena Jarrells had a career-high 10 assists, and YSU had 24 assists on its 33 field goals.
Oakland's leading scorer was Kennedie Montue, who scored 14 points off the bench. The Golden Grizzlies dropped to 11-13 overall and 6-9 in Horizon League play.
Ritz missed her first attempt of the game, but she made 8-of-10 to close the opening half. Her first bucket gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead at the 8:42 mark of the opening quarter, and the only tie came when Alexis Johnson scored for the Golden Grizzlies on their next possession. Callahan hit a 3-pointer a minute later for the Penguins, and she partnered with Magestro for back-to-back 3s to push the margin to 15-6 with 4:19 on the clock. The closest Oakland would get the rest of the way was five.
After Montue's 3 trimmed the advantage to 19-14, YSU scored eight points in the final 1:16 of the quarter to open up a 13-point lead. Magestro started it with her second 3 of the quarter, and Kirby scored the final five points on her own 3-pointer and a transition layup.
Ritz scored eight points in the second quarter as YSU took a 44-30 halftime lead, and the Penguins pushed the advantage to 20 for the first time at 59-39 on an Emily Saunders putback with 4:28 left in the third quarter.
Ritz scored her 26th point to put the Penguins up 68-46 in the final minute of the third quarter, and she scored on YSU's first possession of the fourth quarter to give her a season-high 28 points. She was stuck there until her fifth steal led to a fast-break layup at the 3:26 mark. Ritz made her ensuing free throw to get to 31 points, and she gave the Penguins a 79-56 lead as she went to the bench for the remainder of the night.
YSU's largest lead reached 26 twice, and both times came on 3-pointers by Kirby. Her first one at the 2:54 mark put YSU ahead 82-56, and she made another with 1:29 on the clock to make the score 85-59.
Youngstown State will host Detroit Mercy on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+, and the Penguins will wear pink jerseys to raise awareness for breast cancer.
