Youngstown, Ohio — Senior Jewel Watkins scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and the 16th time this season, but the Youngstown State women's basketball team fell to Purdue Fort Wayne, 79-56, on Wednesday evening at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
Watkins scored a team-high 16 points to lead the Penguins (9-13, 4-8 Horizon League) while freshman Sophia Gregory just missed a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds. Gregory added three assists and three blocks to her stat line, and fellow freshman Erica King contributed 11 points off the bench.
Four players reached double figures for Purdue Fort Wayne (17-5, 12-0 Horizon League), led by Sydney Freeman's 22. Lauren Ross and Jordan Reid each scored 16 points and Renna Schwieterman had 12 points. The Mastodons won their 14th straight game to tie a program record and remained at the top of the conference standings.
Each team struggled to find its rhythm offensively through the first five minutes of the contest as the Penguins began just 1-for-7 from the field while the Mastodons started 2-for-9. Purdue Fort Wayne led 5-3 with 4:55 left in the first quarter, and it went on a 10-2 run to close the period to take a 15-5 advantage.
The Mastodons pushed their lead to 21-7 at the 5:15 mark of the second before a pair of free throws from King and back-to-back 3s from Watkins trimmed the deficit to 23-15 just 66 seconds later. The margin was eight again at 30-22 in the final minute, but Ross hit a 3-pointer and Amellia Bromenschenkel made a layup before the buzzer to extend the lead to 35-22 heading into the locker room.
Purdue Fort Wayne then opened the second half by scoring nine of the first 12 points to boost its lead to 44-25 midway through the third quarter. The Penguins battled back with a 12-2 run keyed by a 3-pointer by Malia Magestro and a three-point play by Gregory to trim the deficit to 46-35 at the 2:48 mark. The Mastodons answered by scoring eight of the next 12 points to head into the final 10 minutes with a 54-39 lead.
Although the Penguins shot 47 percent from the floor in the final quarter, Purdue Fort Wayne went 5-for-6 from beyond the arc and outscored YSU 25-17 to close out the game.
Youngstown State will make its annual trek to Wisconsin next week for games at Green Bay and Milwaukee. The Badger State swing will start against the Phoenix at the Kress Center on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. Eastern.
