Youngstown, Ohio — The Youngstown State women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with first-place Cleveland State on Tuesday night but fell one bucket short, losing 56-53 at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins, who lost to the Vikings by 42 in Cleveland on Jan. 6, fell for just the second time in February and showed how much more competitive they've become in the last month. YSU trailed that game in January 21-4 at the end of the first quarter, and a commitment to physical play and energy on defense on Tuesday allowed the Penguins to limit the Vikings to 21 points at the end of the first half.
YSU trailed by as many as eight in the fourth quarter, and they went on an 8-1 run to get within one on a 3-pointer by Dena Jarrells with 2:54 remaining. The Penguins trailed by three and had possession with 11.4 seconds left, and Malia Magestro's tying attempt from well beyond the arc went off the rim.
Youngstown State is now 13-16 overall and 9-10 in Horizon League play, while Cleveland State improved to 26-4 overall and moved into first place by a half game in the conference standings with a mark of 17-2.
Shay-Lee Kirby led YSU with 14 points, and she hit a shot from beyond half court at the end of the third quarter that gave the Penguins a 39-38 lead with 10 minutes left. Jarrells finished with 13 points, and Magestro scored 10 points and set a new career high with six assists.
Colbi Maples scored 18 points, and Mickayla Perdue had 14 points on 22 field-goal attempts for the Vikings. They combined to go 12-for-13 at the free-throw line, and Cleveland State outscored YSU 18-4 on foul shots.
Youngstown State's first lead of the night came when Haley Thierry scored at the 3:31 mark to give YSU an 8-6 advantage. That was the first of five lead changes, and YSU held the upper hand for just 1:21 in the contest as the Vikings were able to answer quickly each time.
The Penguins went nearly minutes without scoring after that Thierry bucket, but their defense kept them in it. Jarrells hit a 3 at the 5:33 mark of the second quarter to end the drought to get YSU to within 14-11, and YSU got within one when Magestro hit a 3 to make the score 20-19 with 1:26 left. Maples made a free throw with 25 seconds to give the Vikings a 21-29 lead at the midway point.
Emily Saunders tied the game at 21 with a bucket on the first possession of the second half, and the margin was within four the entire third period. CSU led 38-36 when YSU had the ball on the far baseline with 2.2 seconds left in the quarter. Magestro passed to Kirby in the backcourt, and the fifth-year senior took one dribble and swished a heave from beyond 50 feet to give the Penguins a 39-38 lead. Kirby scored 11 points in the quarter, and she gave YSU's raucous crowd of nearly 2,000 a boost for the final 10 minutes.
Sara Guerriero hit a 3 on Cleveland State's second possession of the fourth period to put the Vikings up 41-39, and YSU did not lead again. The final tie came when Thierry went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line at the 8:53 mark, and the Vikings went on a 10-2 run to take a 51-43 lead on a Perdue 3-pointer with 5:09 left.
The Penguins had one more run in them, and they went on an 8-1 burst to get within 52-51 with 2:54 left after 3s by Kirby and Jarrells and a two by Aby Liber. CSU scored the next four points as YSU went scoreless for more than two minutes, and Magestro hit a floating jumper with 39 seconds left that made it 56-53. Thierry drew a charge on Maples as YSU made a big defensive stand before the Penguins came up short on their final possession.
Youngstown State shot 35% from the field, which was better than Cleveland State's 29.3%, and went 7-for-26 from 3-point range. The Vikings made four 3s on just 13 attempts, and they held the big 14-point advantage at the free-throw line. Cleveland State came into the game averaging a league-best 75.4 points and shooting 46.8% from the field.
The Penguins will play their final game of the regular season on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Purdue Fort Wayne. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
