Youngstown, Ohio — The Youngstown State women's basketball team had arguably its best performance of the season and got contributions from throughout the lineup in a 71-46 victory over Robert Morris on Saturday at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins never trailed, and they used pressure on the defensive end to fuel their offense. YSU forced 22 turnovers and had 13 steals, and it translated to shooting 50% from the field on the offensive end.
Emily Saunders was dominant on the inside, going 10-for-12 from the field offensively while blocking four shots defensively. She tied her career high with 23 points, and the four blocks brought her season total to 50. Saunders is just the second player in program history to have at least 50 in a single season.
Malia Magestro scored eight of her 20 points in the first quarter to help the Penguins gain an early lead, and she made five 3-pointers in a 20-point effort. She added four steals, and Haley Thierry grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.
Danielle Vuletich and Naomi Barnwell scored 10 points apiece for Robert Morris.
Youngstown State improved to 8-13 overall and 4-7 in Horizon League play, and it avenged a 65-63 loss to the Colonials in December. Robert Morris dropped to 6-15 and 2-10.
The Penguins scored nine points off of seven turnovers in the first quarter to take a 16-10 lead, and they held Robert Morris to six points in the second quarter to extend their advantage to 31-16 at halftime.
YSU led by double digits for the final 25 minutes, and Mackenzie Hurd's 3-pointer with 3:29 on the clock gave YSU a 27-12 lead and forced a timeout. The largest lead of the half came when a Saunders bucket put the Penguins ahead 31-14 with 2:12 left.
The lead reached 20 when Dena Jarrells scored on a driving layup to make the score 48-28 with two minutes left in the third. Thierry's layup in the final seconds of the period gave YSU a 50-32 lead, and the Penguins scored 13 straight points in the fourth to push their lead to 65-36. The largest advantage was 71-41 when Abby Liber scored with 47 seconds left.
Youngstown State will play at IUPUI on Wednesday to close out January. Tipoff at The Jungle is set for 11 a.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and ESPN+.
