Manati, Puerto Rico — Towson caught fire in the second half and rallied to defeat Youngstown State's women's basketball team 68-57 on Saturday at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu to conclude the Puerto Rico Clasico.

The Penguins led for more than 23 minutes, including by 11 in the first half, and they held a 40-30 advantage after a Faith Burch basket a minute into the third quarter. Towson scored 16 straight points over the next six minutes to take a 46-40 lead, and Youngstown State was never able to reclaim the lead.

Jewel Watkins scored 15 points and had a career-high six assists, and Sarah Baker scored a career-high 13 points to lead the Penguins offensively. Sophia Gregory and Abby Liber added eight points, and Erica King scored six points to go along with a career-best five assists.

Towson had three players score at least 15 points, led by Khady Leye's 19 points off the bench. Jordan Wakefield went 4-for-5 from 3-point range and scored 17 points, and Indian Johnston had 15 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.

The Tigers held a 37-19 edge in rebounding, including a 25-6 advantage in the second half. Youngstown State was plus-nine in turnover margin, and that helped the Penguins hold a 25-11 edge in points off turnovers.

King's first of two 3-pointers came on YSU's first possession, and her second gave the Penguins an 11-3 advantage at the 5:34 mark of the first period. Youngstown State's largest lead came at 19-8 after Liber made a 3-pointer and Baker scored five straight points during an 8-0 run that concluded with 1:59 on the clock. Baker scored again just over a minute later to get to seven first-quarter points, and YSU led 21-14 after 10 minutes.

Towson fought to get within one on two occasions in the second quarter, but the Penguins were able to protect the lead and held a 35-29 advantage heading into the locker room.

Liber drilled a 3-pointer on YSU's first possession of second half, and Burch's layup on a pass from King gave the Penguins their 40-30 lead at the 9:06 mark. The Penguins were held scoreless until Xoe Rosalez's 3-pointer with 2:49 left, and they trailed just 46-43 at that point. Towson, however, stretched the lead to 51-43, and the Tigers led by at least eight the rest of the game.

Youngstown State will return home to begin Horizon League play on Wednesday against Milwaukee. Tipoff at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center is set for 6:30 p.m.