Horizon success again eludes YSU in loss at Beeghly

The Penguins had a second-half lead before losing to UW-Milwaukee.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team made a gallant effort Thursday, but the Penguins still couldn't come up with their first Horizon League victory of the season.
Despite all-out efforts from local standouts Kristy Gaudiose and Ashlee Russo as well as Michelle Holmes off the bench, the Penguins' second-half effort fell short against UW-Milwaukee. The Penguins bowed 64-59 before more than 2,000 fans at Beeghly Center.
"We put ourselves in a position to win and that's really all I can ask of them," YSU coach Tisha Hill said. "I'm excited about the fact that we executed our gameplan and did a good job on their top scorers in the first half."
The Penguins, who trailed 31-25 at halftime, put on a 14-0 run early in the second half for a 44-41 lead.
Gaudiose, a junior from Poland, hit back-to-back 3-point goals in that run while Russo, a senior from Boardman, had a three-point play and another basket as the Penguins got back into the game.
Close call
The contest stayed close with Milwaukee leading 50-48 with 7:18 remaining when the Panthers' top scorer, freshman Traci Edwards, started to take control.
Edwards, who finished with a game-high 21 points, scored 16 in the second half and nine in the final six minutes to lead the Panthers (7-7, 3-1).
YSU (4-11, 0-4), was led by Gaudiose with 14 points while Jessica Schloemp added 11 and Holmes 13.
The Penguins shot 44.4 percent from the field in the second half, the best they've shot in the last four games, but ended up 36.4 for the night.
YSU also outrebounded the Panthers, 37-35. Milwaukee's Edwards had a game-high 13 and finished with a double-double.
The Penguins held their own with the Panthers throughout most of the first half of play.
First half
After Gaudiose opened the game with a 3-point goal, the Penguins held the lead at 5-3 before the Panthers tied the score on a basket by Dana Schultz.
Edwards put the Panthers ahead to stay with a pair of free throws. Edwards, the team's leading scorer with a 16.2 point per game average, had only five points in the half, all from the foul line.
UW-Milwaukee took advantage of some cold shooting again by the Penguins as the Panthers reeled off eight straight points to pull to a 17-7 advantage with just more than 10 minutes remaining.
After trailing 19-9 the Penguins made a run outscoring the Panthers 11-4 and closed the gap to 23-20 with 3:46 left in the half.
But Milwaukee finished the half outscoring YSU 8-4 and took a 31-25 lead at intermission.
YSU shot 28.6 percent from the field in the half while the Panthers hit on 43.5 percent. YSU held an edge in rebounding 19-17.
mollica@vindy.com