Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Cleveland State used a 23-0 run in the second half en route to an 88-54 victory.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CLEVELAND -- At halftime at Cleveland State, the Youngstown State women's basketball team looked to have a good chance of opening Horizon League play with a win and ending a nine-game losing streak.
The Penguins played a solid first half on the road and trailed the Vikings by just 36-32 at the end of the first half.
YSU, however, suffered a complete meltdown in the final 20 minutes as the Vikings opened the second half with a 23-0 run and pulled away to an 88-54 victory.
The Penguins missed their first 11 shots of the half and didn't score until Jen Perugini's basket with 11 minutes, 38 seconds left in the game.
From the 2:20 mark of the first half until 12 minutes into the second period, CSU outscored the Penguins, 40-2.
"Unfortunately, I've seen this with our team before," said first-year YSU coach Tisha Hill. "Once we started losing our poise in the second half, it was like a shark seeing blood and [Cleveland State] went after it.
"It was good defense on their part," Hill added. "CSU played hard, won the hustle plays and that was the key to the basketball game."
Struggling
The Penguins (1-10) could do little right in the second half as they hit just 2-of-11 field goals and turned the ball over 12 times against the Vikings' pressure defense.
"In the first half, Youngstown played a better game than they did in the second half," said CSU's first-year coach Kate Peterson.
"We stepped it up on defense in the second half and were able to get our transition game going a little bit," Peterson added. "We shot the ball pretty well coming out of the locker room and at that point we gained more and more confidence."
All 13 players scored for the Vikings, who were led by senior Shannon Sword with 23 points and eight rebounds.
Youngstown State started strong behind the play of junior Cathy Hanek, who scored all 14 of her points in the first half.
The Penguins held their last lead, 32-31, with 2:20 left in the first half on a basket by Nicole Neila.
Few highlights
Freshman Kristy Gaudiose came off the bench to score 12 points, but no other Penguin player scored more than six points.
The Penguins were also pounded on the boards by the Vikings, who outrebounded YSU 50-34.
"The players are frustrated, very frustrated," Hill said. "After three losses in a row, it's tough. The girls are really starting to feel the effects of this and aren't enjoying it.
"What can't happen is that they can't bring that frustration on the court and I think they did in the second half."
The Penguins don't get a break as they face Detroit in Horizon League action Saturday at 4 p.m. at Beeghly Center.
"We have to rebound," Hill said. "We have to refocus our efforts on the defensive end. We can't give up 88 points and expect to win."