Women beat Ohio Legends

The men beat Geneva in head coach Jerry Slocum's debut.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- The YSU women's basketball team held off a late charge by the Ohio Legends and came away with a 78-75 exhibition victory at Beeghly Center.
Michelle Holmes, one of five returning players from last year's team, led the Penguins with 21 points and seven rebounds.
Newcomer Velissa Vaughn from Clairton, Pa., added 12 points and sophomore Jessica Schloemp chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds.
All but one of the Penguin players got into the scoring column as YSU built a 10-point lead with 2:18 remaining on two free throws by Vaughn before Legends rallied against many of the new faces dotting the Penguin roster.
Getting started
"It was exciting to see the team in action," Hill said. "We had to shake the cobwebs out a little bit but our girls just pulled it out and showed a lot of poise.
"I was glad to see a lot of people get into the game and show some good things."
Hill has brought in seven new players to complement returnees Holmes, Schloemp, Lauren Branson, Ashlee Russo and Kristy Gaudiose.
All five of those players started and they helped YSU pull out to a 36-26 late in the first half before the Ohio team closed with a 5-point run to cut the lead to 36-31.
In the second half, YSU controlled the game until Hill decided to let the young players finish out the last two minutes with a 10-point lead.
The Legends had an opportunity to tie the game while trailing by 3 with 8.7 seconds left but couldn't manage to get off a shot before the buzzer.
Despite the last two minutes, the Penguins played well all night and it was several of the newcomers that gave Hill and many of the fans reason for optimism this upcoming season.
Vaughn played guard like a seasoned veteran and drilled three consecutive 3-point shots in the first half and freshman Megan Snorf from Dayton played well in the post, scoring 8 points and grabbing five rebounds.
YSU outrebounded the Legends 42-36 and shot 47.5 percent from the field. The Penguins made 15 of 17 attempts at the foul line.
Men
In the nightcap, the YSU men's team placed five players in double figures as the Penguins raced away to an 82-64 exhibition victory over Geneva in the debut of first-year head coach Jerry Slocum.
Derrick Harris led the Penguins with 16 points while last year's leading scorer, Quin Humphrey added 15 points. John Barber scored 13 points and newcomer Keston Roberts, a junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., had 12 points.
Domonique Crawford came off the bench to score 11 points, including three consecutive 3-point baskets in the second half.
The Penguins raced away from a 40-27 halftime lead to open up a 76-49 lead on back-to-back baskets by freshman Jack Liles.
YSU featured a strong 3-point shooting attack and solid pressure defense all night against the visiting Golden Tornadoes.
The Penguins connected on 12 of 25 (48 percent) 3-point shots and shot over 50 percent from the field overall. YSU outrebounded Geneva 33-26 behind eight rebounds from Barber.