YSU WOMEN Penguinsrally, but come up just short

Central Michigan held on for a 56-51 victory.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team (1-3) rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit, but could not overcome the Central Michigan Chippewas (3-1), losing its third straight game, 56-51, in the consolation of the First Tennessee Tournament Sunday at Memorial Gym.
Trailing 30-22 at halftime, the Penguins scored the first four points of the second half on jumpers by sophomores Tara Fleming and Jessica Olmstead. The Penguins were able to slice the deficit to two points (34-32), on Jessica Forsythe's jumper with 15:27 remaining.
After an exchange of baskets, CMU's Lindy Hatfield sank a 3-pointer to give the Chippewas a 39-34 lead with 12:55 remaining.
Youngstown State put together a 10-5 run over the next six minutes to tie the score at 44 with 6:44 remaining. After ties at 46 and 48, CMU's Erin Kuhl made a 3-pointer and Desiree Eidson converted an offensive rebound to give the Chippewas a 53-48 lead with 2:53 remaining.
"We fought back hard to tie the game but we missed several scoring opportunities and that really hurt us," said YSU coach Ed DiGregorio. "We never put pressure on [Central Michigan] after we tied the game. The opportunities were there but we could not convert them."
Missed opportunities
A Fleming layup with 2:26 remaining cut the Penguins' deficit to 53-50, but YSU missed its last three field goal attempts while Kuhl and Eidson converted a free throw and a layup to put the game away.
The Penguins missed their first eight field goal attempts of the game and quickly fell behind, 16-3, with 11:53 remaining in the half. Youngstown State trimmed the deficit to 18-9, with 9:51 remaining on Jen Perugini's jumper, a free throw by Forsythe and a 3-pointer by Barb Fabianova.
The Penguins used a 10-5 run to close to within 23-19 with 3:31 remaining. Forsythe and Perugini each made two free throws and senior Maggie Johnston sank a jumper and a 3-pointer in the run.
Central Michigan's Lindy Hatfield made a 3-pointer at the 2:47 mark but YSU's Devin Novak answered with a 3-pointer to bring the Penguins to within 26-22 with 2:32 to go. The Chippewas, who missed their first nine shots of the game, scored the final four points of the half to take a 30-22 lead.
Youngstown State plays host to Robert Morris Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Beeghly Center.