Youngstown State University
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Hiram
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| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiram | 10 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 26 |
| Youngstown St. | 17 | 24 | 26 | 32 | 99 |
11/2/2026 9:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Youngstown, Ohio — Senior transfer Mia Kalich scored her 1,000th career point during a 30-2 run in the first half, and Youngstown State's women's basketball team beat Hiram 99-26 to open the 2026-27 season on Monday night inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
All 12 Penguins on the roster made at least one field goal, and YSU made 14 3-pointers to tie for the 12th-most in a game in program history. Danielle Cameron made three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and Hayden Barrier buried four of her five triples in the second quarter to help Youngstown State build a sizable lead over the Division III Terriers.
The Penguins shot 50% from the field while going 14-for-34 from long distance, and they had 24 assists on their 35 field goals. Defensively, the Penguins held the Terriers to 18.8% shooting from the field, including 0-for-8 from 3-point range, while forcing 38 turnovers. Youngstown State's 25 steals tied for the fourth-most in program history and were the most in a game since 1990.
Youngstown State outscored the Terriers 44-3 off turnovers and 34-3 in transition.
Youngstown State missed its first six field goal attempts until Cameron's 3-pointer with 5:40 remaining. Hiram's Maya Joiner scored on a putback on the next possession to put the Terriers up 8-5, but Cameron's back-to-back triples gave YSU an 11-8 lead with 2:57 left. Kalich followed with her milestone bucket, a coast-to-coast layup through defenders after intercepting a pass under YSU's basket, and the Penguins extended their lead to 17-8 with less than a minute left.
Kalich entered the game with 999 career points, which were all scored at the Division II level at Seton Hill University. She finished with eight points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in her YSU debut.
Youngstown State led 17-10 at the end of the first quarter and scored the first 18 points of the second quarter to go up 35-10. Barrier had three 3-pointers during that opening burst, and her fourth in the quarter gave YSU a 38-12 lead with 3:02 left. The Penguins held a 41-15 advantage at halftime, and they outscored the Terriers 48-11 in the second half.
Seven different Penguins scored in the third quarter, and the advantage eclipsed 30 when Erica King's 3-pointer put YSU up 48-17 with 7:30 remaining. Dacia Lewandowski's steal and jumper pushed the margin to 64-24 with 1:35 left, and Evelyn McKnight's 3-pointer in the final seconds capped a 9-0 run to end the quarter and give YSU a 67-24 advantage.
Youngstown State had 11 steals in the fourth quarter and held Hiram to 0-for-10 shooting from the field. Gemma Walker scored all 10 of her points in the final period, and Kaitlyn Turinsky's first career field goal with 3:41 remaining got all 12 Penguins in the scoring column.
Barrier finished with a career-high 17 points, adding two free throws to her five 3-pointers, to lead all players in scoring. King finished with 12 points, and Walker's 10 points came in just over 11 minutes off the bench. Jada Leonard had game highs of five assists and five steals in her YSU debut as a transfer from Cleveland State, and Paulina Hernandez and Sarah Baker both grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Youngstown State's next game will be against Buffalo on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
