YSU women take it on chin

The Penguins had little luck dealing with Robert Morris' speed at both ends.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University women's basketball coach Tisha Hill took the high road following the Penguins' 84-54 home loss Monday night to Robert Morris at Beeghly Center.
The Colonials, who last won at Beeghly Center in 1991, placed four players in double figures and held the Penguins to a dismal 31 percent shooting from the field.
The loss was the sixth in a row and the worst at Beeghly Center since a 96-57 loss to Indiana State last December 17.
Hill lamented the frustration her young squad is facing but still said she believes that the Penguins can turn around their season.
Day-to-day
"It's punishing right now with the frustration of working with a young group that we are really trying to find positives and little successes each day, not just each game, Hill said.
"We knew we were going to have our hands full with a very athletic, very quick team in Robert Morris," Hill added. "We needed to be on our A-game. We haven't found our A-game yet but I know it's coming.
"This group continues to fight and show the right things although we didn't show that in the first half tonight."
The Penguins (1-8) came out flat after a loss on Saturday to Akron and fell behind 8-0 right out of the gate.
The Colonials were led by the hot shooting of senior Jenna Burkett who came off the bench to drill five 3-point baskets for 17 points in the first half.
Robert Morris shot over 50 percent in the half and continued to build on their lead closing out the half on an 8-2 run that gave them a 25-point lead, 48-23 at the break.
Psyche Butler added 12 of her 14 points in the first 20 minutes as the Penguins had little luck dealing with the Colonials' speed on both ends of the court.
Poor performance
The Penguins shot just 26 percent from the field and were outrebounded 25-13 in the first half.
Overall, YSU was outrebounded 52-28 for the game.
"We told the kids that it was really important to get off to a quick start on the road," said Robert Morris coach Sal Buscaglia. "We wanted to show the [Penguins] that we were going to come after them right from the start.
"We wanted to be the attacker and I think we did that well."
In the second half, YSU didn't fare any better against the Colonials who also got 16 points from Sugeiry Monsac and 15 from Chinata Nesbit.
The Colonials built a lead of 39 points at 74-35 before cruising home.
The Penguins got 14 points each from Monique Godfrey and Nikita LeFleur and eight points from Heather Karner.
"It's a confidence issue with this team right now," Hill said. "A few losses under your belts over and over can knock your confidence right out the door.
Searching
"So we've got to continue to find those little positives so we can go into our conference play feeling a little better about ourselves."
Hill said she believes her young team is resilient enough to overcome this loss in time for the next contest.
"We're going to put this game behind us but we have to continue to learn from it so we don't put ourselves in this position again."
The Penguins will try to end their losing streak and get their season headed in the right direction with another home game Thursday against Division II Clarion.