Dayton, Ohio — Youngstown State had its season come to a close in the First Round of the 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday with a 73-58 loss to Wright State at the Nutter Center.
The Penguins end the season under first-year head coach Melissa Jackson with a 12-19 overall record, while Wright State improves to 10-21 and advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
The game also marked the end of the careers of YSU seniors Malia Magestro, Haley Thierry and Jewel Watkins. Thierry and Watkins tied for team-high honors with 14 points, while Magestro added four points to bring her career total in a Penguins uniform to 1,280.
Sophia Gregory, the Horizon League's Freshman of the Year, finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, four steals, two assists and two steals.
Wright State's Amaya Staton finished with 17 points and broke the school and tournament records for most rebounds in a game with 27. The Raiders held a 44-26 rebounding edge, and they had 17 second-chance points.
The Raiders led 12-4 at the 5:23 mark of the first quarter, but the Penguins kept them scoreless for nearly five minutes. YSU scored the next seven points to get within 12-11 on two Magestro free throws with 3:38 left, and neither team scored until Macie Taylor made Wright State's third 3-pointer of the quarter with 39 seconds on the clock. Erica King scored on YSU's next possession, and Wright State led 17-13 heading into the second.
The Raiders then torched the nets in the second quarter going 9-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, as they scored 27 points in the period. YSU fought to keep up and trailed 32-24 after a three-point play by Thierry with 4:26 remaining, and Wright State scored 12 of the final 16 points of the half to take a 44-28 lead.
Youngstown State's best quarter was the third, and it went on a 12-2 run from the 3:55 mark until there was 1:16 remaining to trim the deficit to 53-46. Abby Liber's 3-pointer got YSU within 10 at 51-41, and King scored five straight points to end the burst. The Penguins trailed 54-46 and had momentum entering the fourth, but Wright State scored the first six points of the final period and led by double digits for the final 9:21.
Watkins made a 3-pointer with 2:39 left to keep YSU within striking distance at 68-57, and she finished her career making a 3-pointer in her final 20 games. That ended up being YSU's final field goal of the game.
Youngstown State shot 40.4% overall from the field while going 4-for-11 from beyond the arc, and the Penguins went 12-for-18 from the free-throw line. Wright State shot 42.6% while making five more field goals than the Penguins, and the Raiders finished with 10 3-pointers and 11 free throws.
