Detroit, Mich. — The Youngstown State women's basketball team fought through a low-scoring battle at Detroit Mercy to beat the Titans 54-49 on Saturday and win its third consecutive game.
The Penguins completed a sweep of their road trip in Michigan, and they improved to 11-14 overall and 7-8 in Horizon League play. YSU has won four of its last five contests and five of its last seven dating back to Jan. 18. Detroit Mercy dropped to 15-11 overall and 8-7 against the league, and the Titans lost just their second game on Dick Vitale Court in 10 tries.
Dena Jarrells made three 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with a team-high 12 points, and Malia Magestro and Shay-Lee Kirby scored 11. Magestro and Kirby hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when the Titans had trimmed an 11-point lead down to three, and Magestro came up with the biggest offensive rebound of the game with 13 seconds left and YSU up by three. The Titans were forced to foul Magestro, and the senior made both of her free-throw attempts for the final points of the game and her 10th and 11th of the second half. Detroit Mercy missed three close shots on its final trip down the floor.
In addition to the three guards reaching double figures, Lindsey Linard had eight points and five rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench, and she scored six of those points in the second half. Emily Saunders finished with six points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Imani McNeal scored 14 points, and Irene Murua had 12 to lead Detroit Mercy.
Coupling its 85-79 win at Oakland on Thursday, the Penguins swept their road trip against the Horizon League's Michigan teams for the fifth straight time.
Both teams struggled to make shots consistently throughout the contest, but Youngstown State made seven 3s and went 13-for-14 from the free-throw line to hold the advantage. YSU shot 34.7% from the field, while Detroit Mercy shot 36%. The Titans made one more field goal, but YSU had five more 3s and two more free throws. The Penguins also forced 20 turnovers, and they converted those into 24 points.
Haley Thierry scored on the first possession of the game for YSU, and Detroit Mercy tied the score with 8:06 on the clock. The score remained 2-2 for three minutes until Kirby hit the first of her three 3s in the game with 5:07 remaining. The Titans scored the next four points to take their first lead at 6-5, but the Saunders and Jarrells scored in the final 75 seconds to give YSU a 9-6 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Penguins extended their lead to 17-10 on a 3-pointer by Jarrells with 6:34 left, but Detroit Mercy scored the next nine points to take a 19-17 advantage on a 3-pointer by Amaya Burch. Thierry tied the score with two free throws, and another Jarrells triple put YSU back on top 22-19 with 3:02 left. Detroit Mercy went back ahead 23-22 when Murua scored with 43 seconds left, and Jarrells buried her third trey on YSU's final possession to give the Penguins a 25-23 lead. Youngstown State did not trail again.
The margin was between two and four points in the third period until Abby Liber made two free throws with 2:32 on the clock to make the score 35-29. Linard followed with a bucket with a minute left to give YSU its largest lead up to that point at 37-29, and Myonna Hooper made to free throws to make it 37-31 heading into the fourth.
The Penguins stretched their lead to 11 at 42-31 when Kirby hit a 3 with 8:18 left in the fourth, but the Titans went on a 10-2 burst to get within 44-41 with 4:39 remaining. The teams traded turnovers, and an offensive rebound by Kirby led to a Magestro 3 at the 3:39 mark that put YSU up 47-41. Kirby then hit a 3 on the next possession to extend the lead to nine at 50-41.
The Titans scored the next six points to close the gap to 50-47 with 1:17 left, and Saunders scored on the next possession to give YSU a 52-47 lead. McNeal answered with a quick bucket for Detroit Mercy, and Jarrells missed a 3-pointer late in the shot clock on YSU's next possession. Magestro grabbed the long rebound, and she calmly made two free throws with nine seconds left for the final margin.
Youngstown State will go for its fourth straight victory on Wednesday when it plays at Wright State at the Nutter Center. The game will be at 7 p.m., and it will be broadcast on 1390 WNIO and ESPN+.
