Penguins snap skid, top Robert Morris 65-51
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MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- When the going got tough Saturday, the Youngstown State women's basketball team responded.
After allowing Robert Morris to erase a 16-point halftime lead throughout the third quarter, and pull within one as time ticked off the clock in the period, the Penguins responded with a big run of their own.
Behind four three-pointers, a layup, and an intense approach on the defensive end, Youngstown State rattled off a 14-0 run with just under five minutes left to pull away from the Colonials for a 65-51 Horizon League victory at the UPMC Events Center.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Penguins (19-10, 13-7) as they head into the Horizon League Tournament, in which they will host Northern Kentucky in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday at the Beeghly Center.
"We've stumbled a little bit here late, lost three in a row, and being able to get a first-round bye and host a second round is important," Youngstown State head coach John Barnes said. "So the work through the middle of the season was pretty good, but we stumbled a little bit at the end and that's really what we talked about, trying to find a way to get a win here to give us some confidence and kind of propel us into the tournament."
Youngstown State seemed to start the game with all of the confidence in the world as it raced out of the gates with a 17-3 run. The Penguins went 8-of-14 from the field in the first quarter and hit two three-pointers before going 6-of-11 from the field in the second quarter and 4-of-8 from deep.
Barnes said the quick start came from a good week of practice leading into a crucial game.
"We had two really good practices heading into the game today and that's really important. When we practice well, when we practice with high energy, we usually play pretty well," Barnes said.
The focus all year long for the Penguins has been on the defensive end. Barnes says when they play well defensively, and keep teams to a low field-goal percentage, the results are usually positive. Saturday was just another example as Robert Morris went 8-of-29 from the field in the first half, and made just two of its eight 3-point attempts.
Youngstown State won the rebounding battle in the first half as well, grabbing 21 boards compared to Robert Morris' 11, and only gave up two second-chance points.
"That was huge for us," Megan Callahan said. "We really talked about locking down on defense, so that was our focus throughout the game and I think that really propelled us throughout the whole game."
Robert Morris started to find its rhythm out of halftime and went on a 13-0 run at the beginning of the third quarter. RMU forward Phoenix Gedeon, who scored a team-high 15 points and went 7-of-7 from the line, led the charge for the Colonials and tallied six straight points.
"She's super explosive and athletic and kind of rams her way into the paint and she made her free throws too, which is crucial," Barnes said. "7-for-7 from the free throw, I mean she is shooting like 60 percent or something crazy like that. I think she did a really good job."
Defensively, the Penguins clamped down in the fourth quarter and a few crucial steals led to easy baskets at the other end.
Lilly Ritz, who finished the game with 17 points and 15 rebounds, started the frame off with a layup, and a three by Paige Shy followed shortly after. A Malia Magestro jumper then extended YSU's lead to eight before RMU's Simone Morris answered with a three to cut it back to five.
With just under five minutes remaining, Callahan sparked the run that put the game away. The senior guard converted a three from the right wing, then followed it up with a layup in the paint on the next possession for her 17th point of the game.
Magestro then made her third three of the game before Jarrells and Shy consecutively answered with treys of their own. With just over a minute remaining the Penguins led by 19 points and sealed their final regular season win.
Youngstown State has had success all season long from outside, but it has become even more crucial down the stretch when teams start to focus more on Ritz in the paint.
"We definitely have shooters and I think Lilly, especially down the stretch, did a great job of finding them and so did the other players," Barnes said. "They started to double and triple Lilly and that's tough because we want to get the ball to her and need her to score. They (Robert Morris) kinda decided that they weren't going to let her beat them. Then, Dena hit a big shot, Malia hit some big shots, Paige hit a big shot, and Megan hit a few big shots, it was definitely a big team effort."
Callahan added that seeing that type of offensive output, especially with their backs against the wall, will be big for their postseason run.
"I think it's huge, especially going into the playoffs because if we lose we are out," Callahan said. "So we have to know down the stretch that we have to be willing to get the shots off and we are all capable of hitting them."
gmacafee@tribtoday.com