Correspondent photo / David Dermer Youngstown State Penguins forward Faith Burch (22) battles for the loose ball during the Penguins’ game against Milwaukee on Wednesday.

YOUNGSTOWN – The Youngstown State women’s basketball team learned some hard lessons on the road over the last couple of weeks. Injuries and travel took their toll on the Penguins, but they were back at Beeghly Center Wednesday night.

YSU created some breathing room and maintained the lead in a 66-50 win over Milwaukee to open Horizon League play.

“After these last few losses, we were hungry,” senior guard Jewel Watkins said. “Our freshmen have been amazing, working in the gym. We had good days at practice, so we were ready for this one.”

The Penguins have been without their leading scorer, Malia Magestro, and she also missed Wednesday’s game. So the Penguins relied on their defense in the first half.

It wasn’t the greatest start for the Penguins (5-4, 1-0 HL) offensively. They committed three turnovers in their first four possessions, and they fell behind 8-2.

But they started jumping passing lanes, and they started capitalizing on Milwaukee turnovers. Eventually, YSU took its first lead with a pair of free throws by Jewel Watkins with 3:06 to play in the first quarter.

“We settled in,” YSU head coach Melissa Jackson said. “We tried to simulate their zone in practice – and our scout team does an unbelievable job – but it’s not the same. At first, I think they were really trying to figure it out and settle in. I’m glad we were able to do that, but we really got the ball movement going in the high-low game with our post play.

“Really happy with how Sarah (Baker) and Faith Burch worked off of each other to start the game.”

Both teams traded baskets throughout the second quarter, and the Penguins took a 33-28 lead into halftime. YSU’s offense didn’t find another gear until the start of the second half.

The trio of Sophia Gregory, Baker and Watkins started to click. They combined to score 12 of the Penguins’ 17 points in the quarter as YSU withstood a comeback attempt by the Panthers (3-7, 0-1).

“We were really focused on getting stops,” Watkins said. “We kinda let the offensive end work its way there.”

YSU’s scoring allowed it to take a 50-43 lead into the fourth quarter, and the defense did the rest from there.

Milwaukee was held to 3-for-11 shooting, and 0-for-4 from 3-point range. That resulted in a seven-point fourth quarter. Meanwhile, YSU’s offense did just enough – 6-for-18 shooting and 3-for-9 from three – to create a little more separation.

Watkins’ step-back 3-pointer with 1:24 to play extended the Penguins’ lead to 61-50 and put the game away.

“We really got back to our identity, which has been defend and rebound at a really high level,” Jackson said. “We got away from that a little bit in Puerto Rico, so it was really good to come back, watch the film, get in two really good days of practice.”

YSU’s defense created 19 turnovers, and they led to 28 points. They also held the Panthers to 17-for-49 (34.7%) from the floor and 3-for-21 (14.3%) from behind the arc.

Milwaukee’s Kacee Baumhower entered play averaging 17.4 points per game, the best on the team. She was held to nine points. Anna Lutz led the Panthers with 15 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

“It’s big getting (those) stops,” Watkins said. “Being able to go in transition, it really helps open the floor for us. It was big that we could get the steals and get the stops.”

Watkins led all scorers with 22 points, and Baker and Erica King both scored 16 – King entered the game averaging 4.8 points per game. Burch finished with five points and six rebounds.

After just getting back into town, the Penguins will head right back to the bus. They will travel to Northern Kentucky to take on the Norse Saturday afternoon. The tip is set for 1 p.m.