Milwaukee, Wis. — Youngstown State's women's basketball team controlled the first quarter and kept Milwaukee at arm's length for most of the game in a 68-56 win over the Panthers at the Klotsche Center on Friday.
The Penguins held the Panthers without a field goal for the game's first 11 minutes in building a 10-point lead, and that was enough as YSU triumphed in the Horizon League opener for both teams. Youngstown State is now 6-2 overall and 4-1 on the road, while Milwaukee dropped to 2-8. YSU held a two-point edge over the final 29 minutes, and the Panthers got no closer than four points.
Sixth-year senior Casey Santoro scored her 1,000th career point in the final minute of the third quarter, and she finished her first Horizon League game with 14 points. Santoro, a transfer from Florida Gulf Coast who began her career at Kent State, now has 1,009 points in her collegiate career.
Erica King matched Santoro in the scoring column with 14 points to reach double figures for the fifth straight game, and posts Sarah Baker and Sophia Gregory both scored 11 points. Baker added seven rebounds, and Gregory finished with five rebounds and a game-high five assists.
Tierney Madigan scored 17 points for Milwaukee to lead all players.
King scored in transition on YSU's second possession of the game, and the Penguins never surrendered the lead. Milwaukee's scoring in the opening period came on four free throws as the Panthers were 0-for-13 from the field overall and 0-for-7 from 3-point range. YSU finished the period on a 7-1 run that Santoro sparked with a 3-pointer and led 14-4 after 10 minutes.
Madison Fitzgibbon ended Milwaukee's 0-for-14 drought from the field to start the game with a 3-pointer at the 8:52 mark of the second quarter, but the Penguins extended their lead to 12 on a free throw by King with 3:34 remaining in the quarter. The largest margin of the evening came on a Baker basket on YSU's final possession of the half, and Milwaukee's Ritz Gomes made a 3 before the buzzer to make the score 28-18.
Both teams had their best quarter offensively in the third with 22 points apiece, and Milwaukee closed the gap to four points before YSU increased it to 10 again. The Panthers started the second half by making their first four field-goal attempts, and Jorey Buwalda's bucket at the 7:24 mark finished a 10-4 run. Gregory's three-point play on YSU's next possession pushed the margin back to seven, and the sophomore forward went on to score the Penguins' first 11 points of the second half.
Paulina Hernandez made two 3-pointers in the final five minutes of the quarter, her second giving YSU a 47-38 lead, and Santoro's three-point play with 48 seconds on the clock put her over 1,000 career points. YSU led 50-40 at the end of the third, and the margin was between six and 12 in the fourth.
Youngstown State shot 51% from the field overall and 61.1% inside the arc, outscoring the Panthers 44-36 in the paint. Milwaukee shot 37.5% overall, and it was 21-for-42 after missing its first 14 field-goal attempts. The Penguins held a slim 35-32 edge in rebounding, and they were plus-two in turnover margin.
Youngstown State will continue its Wisconsin trip at Green Bay on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
