Seniors end home play as YSU loses
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- It should be more than symbolic that the final basket of Saturday's game came on a dazzling pass from Youngstown State freshman Ashlee Russo to senior Jessica Forsythe.
The YSU women's basketball team lost to Wisconsin-Milwaukee 59-51 at Beeghly Center in the last home game for two Penguin seniors -- Forsythe and Devin Novak.
While the two outgoing Penguins were handing the program to a group of younger players, the entire YSU team is now preparing for the Horizon League tournament.
YSU (4-23, 2-14 HL) plays at Wright State Tuesday. The Penguins won at Wright State, 54-42, on February 12.
Wide-open field
"We feel it's anybody's tournament," YSU coach Tisha Hill said.
"We're kind of happy to be going on the road to play at Wright State because that's the game we won on the road."
Saturday's game proved that sometimes one great basketball player is enough to offset the inspirational advantage of two good players.
Panther center Maria Viall was nearly unstoppable. Viall shot 8-for-12, all on inside moves, and scored 21 points.
She was also the keystone of a Panther defense which forced 20 YSU turnovers.
The Panthers (16-11, 12-4) scored 26 points as a result of YSU turnovers. The Penguins had just five points off Milwaukee miscues.
"In the first half we needed to do a better job of playing some transition defense," Hill said.
Seven lay-ups
Milwaukee had seven lay-ups in the first 20 minutes, building a 31-25 advantage.
While no YSU player finished in double figure scoring, the Penguins played inspired at times with the two seniors receiving significant minutes.
"These two led the way and have all year," Hill said of Forsythe and Novak.
"It's been a rocky road this year."
Forsythe shot 3-for-5, scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in 23 minutes.
"By no means are we ready to be over this season," Forsythe said of the upcoming league tournament.
Crowd honors 2 seniors
A crowd of nearly 3,000 rose to their feet when the two seniors exited the game in the final seconds.
"It's overwhelming," Forsythe said of the applause. "We have come a long way," she added of the team's progress.
In her 27 minutes, Novak hit two baskets including a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 26 seconds to play, cutting the deficit to 56-49.
"We had a great turnout tonight," Novak said. "I'm not ready to be done yet.
"I'm glad we're returning there [Wright State]. We've proved we can beat them on the road."
Tara Fleming scored nine points, Jessica Olmstead and Cathy Hanek each had eight points and Russo had six assists.
Still, Hill chose to focus her comments on Forsythe and Novak.
"They play hard; that's contagious to this team." Hill said. "We're not through."
sullivan@vindy.com