Youngstown, Ohio — Jewel Watkins delivered a virtuoso performance on Senior Day, and Youngstown State's women's basketball team made winning plays in the second half to beat Cleveland State 73-70 on Saturday at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
Watkins, Malia Magestro and Haley Thierry were honored in a Senior Day ceremony before tip, and they finished their home careers with the three-point victory over the Vikings in the regular-season finale.
Youngstown State's attention will now turn to the 2025 Horizon League Barbsol Women's Basketball Championship, where the Penguins will be the ninth seed and play at eighth-seeded Wright State. Tipoff at the Nutter Center will be at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the first round. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
YSU concluded the regular season at 12-18 overall and 7-13 in Horizon League play, and the Penguins will enter the postseason as winners of three of their last four games.
Watkins scored 29 points, her most in her one season as a Penguin, and 14 of those came in the third quarter as YSU flipped an eight-point deficit halftime into a four-point lead. She finished 9-for-20 overall from the field, 3-for-10 from 3-point range, and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line. Magestro scored all seven of her points in the second half, and Thierry finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
While the seniors played on Rosselli Court for the final time in their careers, freshman Sophia Gregory put an exclamation point on her regular season with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Bella Samz scored five points and hit the biggest shot of the game to put the Penguins ahead in the final minute, and Xoe Rosalez hit a 3.
Jordana Resima and Destiny Leo scored 18 points apiece to lead Cleveland State, which finished the regular season 23-8 overall and 14-6 in league play to earn the third seed in next week's tournament.
Cleveland State led 17-10 at the end of the first quarter as the teams combined to go 6-for-32 from the field, and the Vikings added a point to their advantage in the second quarter. The Penguins shot 53.3% from the field and scored 18 points in the second period as they started to find their rhythm offensively, and they got within two at 26-24 after a three-point play by Gregory with 3:10 on the clock. The Vikings closed the quarter on a 10-4 run, and they led by as many as 10 before taking a 36-28 lead into the break.
The Penguins scored the first 10 points of the second half with Gregory and Watkins scoring five apiece, and YSU took its first lead of the game on a 38-36 Watkins 3-pointer with 7:55 on the clock. From when Gregory got the Penguins within three with 8:38 left, the score was within a possession until Samz's layup just over eight minutes later gave YSU a 54-50 advantage.
That ended up being Youngstown State's largest lead of the game, and Cleveland State was able to get its lead back to five at 66-61 after three free throws by Leo with 4:29 left in the fourth. The Vikings led 70-66 with 2:25 remaining, but the Penguins scored the final seven points of the game.
After Mya Moore's bucket gave the Vikings their 70-66 lead, Watkins made two free throws to cut the deficit in half on the next possession, and the score remained 70-68 until Samz's go-ahead 3-pointer with 55.1 seconds left. Down 70-68, the Penguins got a big stop defensively, and Thierry's 12th rebound led to the deciding sequence. She passed ahead to Magestro, who passed back to Thierry in the frontcourt, and the ball moved around the perimeter to Watkins to Samz in the left corner. Samz shot in rhythm and buried the biggest shot of her career to send Zidian Family Arena into a frenzy.
Sara Guerreiro missed on Cleveland State's next possession, and Watkins drove the baseline from that same left corner for a bucket that put YSU ahead 73-70 with 11.6 seconds left.
The Vikings called timeout to advance the ball beyond midcourt, and Leo got off a quick 3 that was off the mark and led to a held ball with 4.4 seconds left. Cleveland State kept possession, and Thierry tipped away the ensuing inbounds pass and threw the ball in the air in celebration as the buzzer sounded.
Youngstown State finished the game shooting 36.4% from the field while making six 3-pointers, and the Penguins outscored the Vikings 19-15 at the free-throw line. YSU went 19-for-22 on its foul shots, and the Penguins grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to help them attempt 12 more field goals than their opponents.
