Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State women's basketball team never found its rhythm offensively and suffered a 61-49 setback to Horizon League Northern Kentucky on Thursday evening at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins, who fell to 11-5 overall and 4-2 in the Horizon League, shot a season-low 27.1% from the floor and just 10.7% from 3-point range as their four-game winning streak ended.
Sarah Baker led the Penguins with 12 points, while Danielle Cameron and Erica King each posted 11 points.
The Norse, who improved to 7-11 overall and 4-3 in league play, were led by Maddie Moody with 17 points, while Abby Wolterman posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The teams battled through six ties and 11 lead changes before the Norse created separation in the fourth quarter.
Both teams struggled from the floor offensively to open the game as Youngstown State went 2-for-16 (12.5%) while the Norse were 3-for-17 (17.6%) at the end of first quarter. The Norse connected on 47.7% (21-for-44) from the field the rest of the way while the Penguins struggled in the second half.
NKU missed its first five shots as the Penguins jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a 3-pointer by Cameron and a layup by Baker. The Norse then scored six straight to take a 6-5 lead as the Penguins missed their next 14 field-goal attempts. King made a pair of free throws with 9.1 seconds left to give the Penguins a 7-6 lead at the end of the period.
Youngstown State opened the second quarter making its first four shots to take a 15-10 lead. A Hayden Barrier jumper, two buckets by Baker and a turnaround jumper by King gave the Penguins a five-point edge with 8:01 left before halftime. Cameron buried her second 3 of the game to give the Penguins a 19-14 advantage, and a layup by Casey Santoro at the 3:16 mark maintained the five-point edge, 21-16.
NKU scored six straight points for its first lead of the game, 22-21, as part of a 9-2 run to take a 25-23 advantage eight seconds before the intermission. A pair of free throws by Cameron tied the game with 1.1 seconds to go, and the teams entered the locker room deadlocked at 25-25.
The Penguins and Norse traded baskets to open the second half, and a three-point play by Sophia Gregory put YSU up 32-30 at the 7:37 mark. NKU, which missed its first 12 3-point attempts, scored seven straight points, including its first 3-pointer of the night, as part of another 9-2 run to take a 39-34 lead with 5:04 left in the third.
YSU answered with a 7-2 spurt of its own to knot the game at 41-41. A free throw by Hernandez and a King corner 3 cut the Norse lead to 39-38 at the 3:32 mark of the third, and three charity tosses by Cameron tied the contest with just over a minute left. Paulina Hernandez split two free throws with 22 seconds left for a 42-41 lead, but NKU's Kamora Morgan hit a jumper with six seconds remaining to give the Norse a 43-42 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Penguins switched to a zone to start the fourth after NKU went 1-for-15 from deep in the first three quarters, but the Norse connected on three 3-pointers in the first five minutes to extend the lead to 54-44 with 4:52 to go in the game. NKU pushed the lead to a game-high 12 points in the game's final minute.
NKU held a 41-38 rebounding edge, and the Norse converted their 12 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points. Northern Kentucky also held a significant 38-18 scoring advantage in the paint.
Youngstown State closes out its four-game homestand by hosting Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
