Cleveland, Ohio — Cleveland State transfer Paulina Hernandez scored a career-high 18 points on her old home court, and Youngstown State's women's basketball team earned an impressive 70-63 Horizon League win over the Vikings on Monday at the Wolstein Center.
Youngstown State won in Cleveland for the first time since 2022 while improving to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play. The Vikings are now 12-3 overall and 2-2 in Horizon League games. Cleveland State had won 55 of its last 58 contests on its home floor.
Hernandez was 8-for-13 from the field overall, including 1-for-1 from 3-point range, while adding a free throw. Her contributions were crucial for the Penguins as starting forwards Sophia Gregory and Sarah Baker battled foul trouble. Casey Santoro matched Hernandez with 18 points while adding five assists, and YSU had 24 assists on 28 field goals.
Baker finished with 12 points in just under 19 minutes of action, while Gregory had eight points, nine rebounds and five assists. Danielle Cameron made three 3s in an 11-point effort, and Erica King made her only field-goal attempt while contributing a career-high seven assists.
Izabella Zingaro and Macey Fegan led Cleveland State with 14 points apiece.
Youngstown State led for nearly 28 minutes, and its largest deficit was four with 7:10 left in the second quarter. The Penguins led 23-21 at halftime, and they took the lead for good after an 8-0 run put them ahead 34-27 with 5:09 left in the third period.
YSU's advantage was 42-38 heading into the fourth, and the margin reached 10 at 60-50 on a Cameron 3-pointer with 3:06 left. That Cameron triple started a stretch where the teams traded 3-pointers on four straight possessions, and a jumper by Baker with 1:38 remaining gave the Penguins a 62-53 lead. Cleveland State got as close as five in the final 10 seconds, but Gregory scored off an inbounds play on the final possession for the final margin.
Youngstown State shot 45.9% overall and 52.9% in the second half, and the Penguins were 6-for-12 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes. They outscored the Vikings 47-42 in the second half after the teams combined for 44 points in the first half.
The Penguins will play their final nonconference game of the regular season on Friday by hosting Salem University. Tipoff inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center is set for 1 p.m.
