YSU BASKETBALL Penguins suffer second-half fade

Eastern Michigan had a 52-27 advantage in second-half scoring.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Eastern Michigan overcame a 12-point first-half deficit and shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half to defeat Youngstown State 87-62 and remain undefeated Saturday at Beeghly Center.
EMU went on a 15-3 run over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the first half to tie the score at halftime and outscored the Penguins 52-27 in the second half.
YSU's Barb Fabianova scored 20 points in the first half by making 9-of-13 from the field, but the Eagles held the forward to just three points on 1-of-5 shooting in the second half. Fabianova finished with career-high 23 points.
Senior Cathy Hanek scored 13 points and Jessica Schloemp added 10 for the Penguins, while Lauren Branson posted a career-high 10 assists.
Ryan Coleman scored a game-high 26 points to pace the Eagles, while Annie Malatinsky and Colleen Russell each scored 13. Malatinsky entered the game averaging less than four points, and Russell was averaging less than one.
Early success
Fabianova scored YSU's first seven points and, after a Cathy Hanek free throw, the Penguins led 8-2 with 16:47 remaining. EMU's Ryan Coleman then hit three 3-pointers in the next 2:30 to key a 10-2 run as the Eagles took a 15-10 lead with 12:29 remaining.
YSU then went on a 15-2 run to take a 25-17 advantage with 8:40 remaining.
Coleman connected on a 3-pointer with one second remaining on the shot clock coming out of a timeout to cut the lead to five, but two Fabianova jumpers and a Hanek 3-pointer gave the Penguins their largest lead of the game at 32-20 with 4:35 remaining in the opening half. Eastern Michigan held YSU to just three points the rest of the half and chalked up 15 of its own to tie the score at 35-35.
Hanek hit a 3-pointer at the 17:44 mark of the second half to give YSU a 44-41 lead, but the Eagles scored four straight points to take a 45-44 lead. Michelle Holmes hit a free throw with 17:03 remaining to tie the score, but EMU went on an 18-3 run to take a 63-48 lead with 10:05 remaining. YSU did not get closer than 13 the rest of the contest.
EMU outscored the Penguins 46-16 in the paint, 34-10 in the second half. The Eagles also out-rebounded the Penguins 39-25 and grabbed 10 more offensive rebounds (16-6).
The Eagles shot 57.1 percent from the floor, but shot just 55.6 percent at the free throw line after missing its first eight attempts.
The Penguins host to Buffalo on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader with the YSU men. Tipoff at Beeghly Center is 5:15 p.m.