WOMEN'S BASKETBALL YSU suffers 88-72 loss to Toledo

The Penguins are now 2-5 on a long nine-game road trip.
STAFF/WIRE REPORT
TOLEDO -- The Youngstown State University women's basketball team just couldn't take advantage of Toledo's mistakes Saturday and suffered an 88-72 defeat at Savage Hall.
The loss dropped the Penguins to 3-6 on the season, and they are 2-5 on their current nine-game road trip. Toledo improved to 4-5.
The Penguins put four players in double figures, led by senior Jenny Horner and sophomore Cathy Hanek with 16 points apiece. Horner also had nine rebounds. Sophomore Jessica Forsythe added 12 points and freshman Barbora Fabianova tossed in 10 points.
Missed opportunities: But the Penguins just couldn't take advantage of the 22 Toledo turnovers, especially in the first half when they had the opportunity to break open the contest.
"We played hard, but we have to take better care of the basketball," said YSU coach Ed DiGregorio. "And we need to capitalize on our opponents' mistakes.
"Our young kids have to learn to play competitive basketball and be able to play at both ends of the floor.
"We played pretty well offensively tonight, but we really struggled on defense."
The Penguins shot well from the field, hitting 43 percent in the first half and 52 percent in the second half, but the Rockets shot 56 percent in the second half.
The Penguins started out strong, jumping out to a 22-13 first half lead during the first 10 minutes, but then nothing went right and YSU was outscored 29-11 over the second 10 minutes and trailed 42-33 at the half.
The Penguins couldn't make a layup when they needed it, missing five key buckets in the first half and eight total for the contest.
The 88 points the Penguins gave up was the most scored by the opposition this season. The Penguins allowed 81 in a win over Robert Morris last week.
Toledo outrebounded the Penguins 36-29, while they also committed 22 turnovers to the Penguins' 18.
Perugini still out: YSU played the game without freshman Jen Perugini, the 6-foot-2 standout who was the team's second leading scorer and the team's top rebounder averaging double figures in both.
The Penguins will next play on Dec. 28 when they make their eighth straight road appearance in Oakland, Mich., in a 7 p.m. tipoff. It will be their final tuneup before opening play in the Horizon League, which begins Jan. 3 at Cleveland State.