Youngstown, Ohio — Casey Santoro, Danielle Cameron and Sophia Gregory combined for 48 points, and Youngstown State's women's basketball team showed its character with a 58-54 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.

The Penguins improved to 12-5 overall and 5-2 in Horizon League play, finishing their homestand with a 3-1 mark. YSU bounced back from a disappointing result on Thursday to earn a big win over the Mastodons, who dropped to 11-7 overall and 5-3 in league play.

Youngstown State trailed 26-21 at halftime before outscoring Purdue Fort Wayne 22-9 in the third quarter to pull ahead.

Santoro led the Penguins with 18 points while adding seven rebounds, and she went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help YSU close out the victory. After fighting foul trouble in the first half, Gregory was a difference maker in the second half with 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block. Cameron scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half, shooting 6-for-7 inside the arc while adding a 3-pointer.

Rylee Bess scored a game-high 20 points and made six 3-pointers for Purdue Fort Wayne, which came into the game averaging 70.7 points and shooting 44.6% from the field. Youngstown State alternated its defenses from man-to-man, a 2-3 zone and a 1-3-1 zone throughout the game, holding the Mastodons 16 points below their scoring average on 31.7% shooting.

YSU scored the first four points of the contest, which appeared to be seven before a video review showed an Erica King 3-pointer came after the shot clock had expired. Purdue Fort Wayne's first lead came at 9-6 with 3:30 on the clock on Bess's first 3-pointer, and the Mastodon freshman hit another 3 two minutes later to extend the lead to 14-10.

Purdue Fort Wayne led the entire second period despite going just 5-for-19 from the field in the quarter. The Mastodons forced the Penguins into eight turnovers, and Gregory sat for the final seven minutes with two fouls as YSU trailed 26-21 heading into the break.

Gregory hit a 3-pointer on YSU's first possession of the third quarter, and the Penguins tied the score at 26 and 28 in the first 2:10 of the period. Alana Nelson's 3-pointer at the 6:30 mark put the Mastodons ahead 31-28, but the Penguins answered with a 10-0 run that tilted that game in their favor.

Gregory and Santoro each went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to put YSU up 32-31 with 5:03 remaining, and Cameron followed a steal with a driving layup to push the lead to 34-31. The redshirt-freshman guard who ranks fifth in the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game added two more layups as Youngstown State stretched its advantage to 38-31 with 3:23 remaining. Cameron then buried a triple in the final minute as YSU claimed its largest lead of the day at 43-35.

Bess started the fourth period with a 3-pointer, and her fifth of the game brought the 'Dons to within 45-43 with 6:54 remaining. Gregory was forced to the bench again after picking up two fouls in a nine-second stretch, but she re-entered with 4:34 on the clock and immediately scored in the post to put YSU ahead 53-47.

YSU's lead was six points again at 55-49 on another Gregory bucket at the 2:03 mark, and the score remained that until Bess' 3-pointer with 40.1 seconds left. The Mastodons elected not to foul on YSU's next possession, and they got a stop with 10.9 seconds remaining. YSU elected to foul with its lead at three, and Lauren Lee made both attempts with 8.0 seconds left.

The Penguins called timeout and advanced the ball to the frontcourt, and Santoro was fouled quickly by Bess with 7.2 seconds left. That foul was Bess's fifth, and Santoro made both attempts to push the margin to 57-54. Gregory then tipped the inbounds pass on Purdue Fort Wayne's possession, and Santoro split her free throws with 4.3 seconds left to give the Penguins the final margin.

Youngstown State's next game will be at Wright State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.