Fort Wayne, Ind. — Behind a dominant performance from Sophia Gregory, Youngstown State's women's basketball team rallied for a 76-71 victory at Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday.

The Penguins have locked up the second seed in the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship while improving to 21-8 overall and 14-5 in conference play. YSU earned its fourth straight win, tied the program's single-season record for road victories with 11, and set a new program standard with its eighth Horizon League road win.

Gregory was nearly unstoppable at the Gates Sports Center, finishing with career highs of 37 points and 19 rebounds while going 16-for-19 from the field. According to HerHoopStats.com, no other player in the country this season has had at least 37 points and 19 rebounds in the same game. She added three assists, three steals and two blocks to her legendary stat line.

She had the highest point total by a Penguin since Heidi Schlegel scored 38 points at Valparaiso 11 years ago to the date, and her 16 field goals tied Schlegel for the most by a YSU player since 1988. Her 19 rebounds were the most since Lilly Ritz grabbed 21 on March 2, 2023.

Gregory scored 13 points in the second quarter to help Youngstown State take a 41-36 lead at halftime, and scored 14 points in the final 5:28 to help the Penguins hold off the Mastodons.

Alana Nelson scored 21 points for Purdue Fort Wayne, which dropped to 16-12 overall and 10-8 in Horizon League play.

The Mastodons scored seven of their first nine points of the game off of YSU turnovers, and they held an 11-4 lead after Jordan Reid's turnaround with 5:40 left in the first quarter. Erica King's 3-pointer capped an 8-2 run that brought the Penguins to within 13-12 with 2:56 left, and Sarah Baker's putback on one of Gregory's three misses on the day beat the first-quarter buzzer and trimmed the Penguins' deficit to 18-16.

YSU took its first lead on another King 3-pointer at the 8:05 mark of the second period, and the lead changed hands five times before Gregory scored three times in four possessions to give the Penguins a 31-26 advantage. Purdue Fort Wayne scored six straight points to go back up 32-31 on a Rylee Bess 3 with 1:45 left, and YSU scored 10 of the final 14 points to go up 41-36 at halftime as Danielle Cameron hit a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Purdue Fort Wayne went on a 16-4 run to start the second half to take a 52-45 lead, matching its largest margin from the first half. The lead was 54-47 when King's third 3-pointer started a five-point burst that Gregory finished with a putback, but the Mastodons remained in front and led 58-55 at the end of the period.

A Nelson field goal at the 8:48 mark accounted for the only points for either team in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the fourth, and Paulina Hernandez scored four straight points to bring YSU to within 60-59 with 5:55 left. Gregory scored on a pass from Casey Santoro on the next possession to give YSU a 61-60 lead, and the teams went back-and-forth until Gregory took over down the stretch.

She scored with 3:36 left on a pass from Baker and knocked down a 3-pointer on the next possession to give YSU a 68-64 lead. Gregory then blocked a shot and scored on a converted a driving layup with 1:36 left to push the margin to 70-64.

The Mastodons stayed within striking distance as YSU missed free throws, and they were within 72-69 after a Santoro free throw with 40 seconds left. Gregory stole a pass on Purdue Fort Wayne's next possession, and she grabbed her 19th rebound with 12.1 seconds left to set up two free throws that gave YSU a 74-69 lead. Following a Mastodon bucket, Santoro made two free throws with 7.5 seconds remaining for the final margin.

Youngstown State shot 46% from the field and limited its turnovers to just six over the final three quarters. Purdue Fort Wayne shot 41.4% from the field, and YSU held the Mastodons to 4-for-20 from beyond the arc. YSU also blocked eight shots, with Hernandez recording three.

The Penguins host Detroit Mercy in the regular-season finale on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. inside Zidian Family Arena. It will be Senior Day for Casey Santoro, and fans can purchase two tickets for $20 in upper reserved and general admission sections as part of a special discount celebrating YSU's 20-win season.