Indianapolis, Ind. — Paulina Hernandez scored seven points in the final four minutes, and Youngstown State's women's basketball team survived a game of runs for a gritty 69-65 victory at IU Indy on Sunday.
The Penguins earned their ninth road victory of the season and snapped an eight-game slide at The Jungle, improving to 19-8 overall and 12-5 in Horizon League play. YSU fought off the Jaguars, who won earlier this season in Youngstown, to remain in second place in the conference standings with three games left in the regular season. Youngstown State is one-and-a-half games ahead of next week's two opponents, Northern Kentucky and Purdue Fort Wayne.
Casey Santoro led the Penguins with 17 points, nine of which came in the first quarter as Youngstown State went 11-for-13 from the field and outscored the Jaguars 26-18. Erica King scored 10 of her 15 points in the opening quarter, and Hernandez anchored the back of the game by scoring seven of her 12 points in the fourth.
Sophia Gregory and Sarah Baker scored nine points apiece and helped seal the win in the final 10 seconds. With the Penguins up 67-65, Baker walled up in the paint to force a miss by IU Indy's Olivia Smith. Danielle Cameron grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 6.4 seconds left, and YSU advanced the ball to the frontcourt. Cameron inbounded the ball to Gregory, who was fouled with 4.8 seconds remaining. Gregory calmly swished both of her free-throw attempts to seal the victory, YSU's first at The Jungle since Feb. 8, 2018.
The Penguins finished shooting 48.1% from the field overall, and they were 6-for-14 from 3-point range and 11-for-12 at the free-throw line. IU Indy shot 41.5%, matching the Penguins with six 3s. Nevaeh Foster led the Jaguars with a game-high 20 points, and four IU Indy players reached double figures.
Youngstown State led 12-6 on Cameron's layup at the 6:19 mark of the first period, and King's 3-pointer at the 5:21 mark capped a 7-2 run that gave the Penguins a 17-8 lead with 5:21 remaining. YSU's lead reached 10 at 23-13 with 3:08 on the clock following back-to-back 3s from Santoro and King, and the Penguins held a 26-18 advantage at the end of the quarter.
IU Indy made its first five field-goal attempts while opening the second quarter on a 16-3 run, capped by a Foster 3-pointer with 5:57 on the clock that put the Jaguars up 34-29. Gregory scored the next five points to spark a 10-1 burst for the Penguins that put them ahead 39-35 on King's third 3-pointer with 3:29 remaining.
IU Indy scored the final seven points of the second quarter to take a 42-39 lead into the locker room, and the Jaguars extended the run to 12 straight points by scoring the first five points of the third. Destini Craig's turnaround jumper less than two minutes into the third quarter gave IU Indy its largest lead of the afternoon at 47-39.
Cameron made a 3-pointer on YSU's next possession, and her layup with 5:22 remaining finished an 11-0 burst that put the Penguins ahead 50-47.
Craig scored for IU Indy on the next possession, and the Jaguars went on to outscore the Penguins 11-2 over a span of six-and-a-half minutes that stretched into the fourth quarter. After a three-point play by Baker cut the margin to 58-55 with 8:12 left, Hailey Smith scored on IU Indy's next possession to give the Jaguars a 60-55 advantage. YSU allowed just one field goal and five points the rest of the way.
IU Indy led 63-57 with 6:11 left on a three-point play by Foster on the Jaguars' final field goal. Santoro's three-point play cut the margin in half with 5:27 on the clock, and Hernandez flipped the game in the Penguins' favor during a 35-second stretch.
Hernandez had a putback on a Santoro miss with 3:49 left that trimmed the margin to 63-62, and she blocked her fifth shot of the game on IU Indy's next possession. Hernandez then dove to the floor to tap her own miss out to Cameron, who passed it back to Hernandez for a three-point play. Her field goal gave the Penguins a 64-63 lead, their first advantage of the fourth quarter, and her free throw made it a two-point lead with 3:14 remaining.
Neither team scored until Craig made two free throws to tie the game with 1:12 left, and both teams got stops on the next two possessions. Hernandez was fouled after a post-entry pass from Gregory with 35.5 seconds left, and her two free throws put the Penguins ahead 67-65.
Hernandez was whistled for her fifth foul while blocking a shot with 27.4 seconds remaining, and Craig missed both of her attempts. Olivia Smith grabbed the rebound, IU Indy called timeout, and Baker's defense in the paint followed to set up Gregory's finishing free throws.
Youngstown State's big road will begin on Thursday at Northern Kentucky. Tipoff at Truist Arena is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and 570 WKBN.
