Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State's women's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half to force overtime, but Wright State held on to win 78-76 on Thursday evening at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins were down 43-32 at halftime, but they caught the Raiders in the fourth quarter thanks to a freshly-installed 2-3 zone. YSU led by three with five minutes left in regulation, and Jewel Watkins scored two of her 22 points with 53 seconds left to tie the score at 66.
Both teams missed 3-pointers on their final possessions of regulation, and the Penguins led twice in the first two minutes of overtime before a five-point burst allowed Wright State to seize the lead.
Malia Magestro buried a 3-pointer with 10.9 seconds remaining to shave a 77-73 deficit down to one, and YSU had a chance in the final moments to tie the game again or win. With 9.6 seconds remaining, Wright State's Makiya Miller made her first free-throw attempt but missed her second, and Watkins' left-handed floater in the lane with two seconds left went off the rim.
Watkins finished with a team-high 22 points to lead three Penguins in double figures, and she added three assists. Faith Burch scored a career-best 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, and Magestro scored 16 points with four assists.
Amaya Staton led Wright State with game highs of 23 points and 16 rebounds. She grabbed nine of Wright State's 17 offensive rebounds, though those caroms only led to 11 second-chance points.
Wright State made its first five field goal attempts of the game, and its lead was 12-3 after two free throws by Chloe Chard Peloquin at the 5:04 mark of the opening quarter. Youngstown State got within 14-11 after back-to-back three-point plays by Watkins and Magestro, but the Raiders scored six of the final eight points of the quarter to lead 20-13 after 10 minutes.
Abbie Riddle then made a 3 on Wright State's first possession of the second quarter to create the first double-digit advantage of the day at 23-13.
It was Youngstown State's turn for a big run as the Penguins followed that Riddle 3 with a 15-3 run over a five-and-a-half minute stretch. YSU scored eight straight points to start the burst, and the Penguins took the lead at 28-26 on a jumper by Erica King with 4:11 on the clock.
Wright State answered by scoring seven straight points as part of a larger 17-4 run to end the half. After starting 2-for-8 from the field, the Raiders made six of their final seven attempts in the second period.
Watkins scored 11 points in the first half to lead the Penguins, who shot 56.3% from the field in the second period. Staton scored 10 first-half points, and Wright State shot better than 53% in each of the first two quarters.
YSU scored the first five points of the third quarter to get within 43-37, and the Penguins' success on the offensive end allowed them to get set into their zone on the defensive end. The Penguins got as close as 51-48 on a Burch layup at the 2:51 mark that got the forward to a dozen points, and Wright State's lead was 56-50 heading into the fourth.
Youngstown State closed the gap to 58-57 when Bella Samz hit a corner 3-pointer to force a Raiders timeout with 7:30 on the clock, and YSU's first lead of the second half came when Erica King made two free throws at the 5:59 mark. The Penguins held the advantage until Stanton put the Raiders back up 64-63 with a layup after two offensive rebounds.
Samz split two free throws with 2:03 left to tie the score at 64, and Watkins' bucket with 53 seconds left tied the game at 66 and ended a field-goal drought of nearly six minutes for the Penguins
Gregory's bucket on a pass from Magestro with 3:46 left in overtime gave YSU its largest lead in the extra session at 69-67. Lauren Scott answered with a 3-pointer late in the shot clock for Wright State to end a stretch where the Raiders missed 12 straight 3-point attempts, and the visitors led the rest of the way.
Youngstown State outshot the Raiders 47.6% to 37.9% and made five more field goals than their opponents, but Wright State made three more 3s and had a 21-12 edge at the free-throw line.
The Penguins will try to split their two-game homestand on Saturday as they host IU Indy at 2 p.m. at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. YSU will wear pink jerseys that will be auctioned off to benefit the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center, and there will be a pink t-shirt giveaway to the first 200 fans, courtesy of Mercy Health. Youngstown State will also celebrate six new inductees into its Athletics Hall of Fame at halftime, and there will be a key chain giveaway, courtesy of Key Kutterz.
