YSU BASKETBALL Penguins fall short in Thanksgiving Classic

James Madison won the championship game.
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Youngstown State senior Jen Perugini scored a team-high 17 points but the Penguins (2-2) fell, 79-62, to James Madison (2-1), in the championship game of the FAU Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday evening.
Perugini and YSU senior Barb Fabianova were named to the all-tournament team.
James Madison jumped out to a 15-6 lead with 13 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the first half, but the Penguins rattled off nine straight points to tie the score at 15-15 with 11:58 to go.
The Penguins took the lead, 19-17, on a layup by Aliyah Sabree, but the Dukes answered with four straight points to retake a 21-19 advantage with 8:51 remaining.
Short lead
Youngstown State held a two-point lead, 25-23, at the 7:13 mark but the Dukes outscored the Penguins, 18-6, to close out the half for a 41-31 lead at the intermission.
Tamera Young's basket with 18:15 remaining in the game gave James Madison a 49-31 lead.
The Penguins didn't score their first point of the second half until 15:59 remained, on a free throw by Perugini, and didn't make a basket until Tara Fleming's layup at the 14:58 mark.
By then, Youngstown State trailed 51-34. But, the Penguins outscored James Madison 15-4 over the next five minutes,
Perugini scored seven points in the rally and Melissa Tarrant sank a 3-pointer, as Youngstown State got to within 55-49 with 10:09 to go.
But, the Dukes scored six quick points to get the margin back to double figures and a 3-pointer by Kristy Gaudiose only delayed the rally a bit.
By the 4:06 mark, when Lesley Dickinson converted an offensive rebound, James Madison's lead was back to 19 (75-56).
Gaudiose added a season-high 10 points for the Penguins on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
Dickinson led James Madison with 18 points. She also had seven rebounds.
Young had 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
, while Shirley McCall and Krystal Brooks added 13 points each. Meredith Alexis scored 12 points.
The Dukes shot 50 percent (32-of-64) from the field and held a 42-26 edge in rebounds.
Youngstown State visits Bowling Green Tuesday at 7 p.m.