YSU women upended by Long Island, 68-54

It was the third straight loss for the Penguins, all on the road.

SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Youngstown State women’s basketball team could not overcome a dry spell late in the first half that resulted in a 68-54 loss to Long Island on Friday afternoon in the opening game of the LIU Turkey Classic.

The Penguins (0-3) led 19-16 with 6:34 remaining in the first half but were held without a field goal for the rest of the half as the Blackbirds went on a 16-2 run.

Ashley Pendleton scored a career-high 18 points for the Penguins, who will take on either Albany or Holy Cross today at 2 p.m. in the tournament’s consolation game.

YSU scored the first four points of the game and led by the same margin with 9:08 remaining when Pendleton’s bucket made the score 15-11. LIU scored the next five points to take a 16-15 lead, its first nearly four minutes, but YSU scored four straight to go up 19-16.

LIU went on to score 11 straight points and hit six of its next seven shots, including going 4-for-4 from behind the arc, en route to building a 35-23 halftime advantage.

The Blackbirds (3-2) then scored the first 13 points of the second half and led 48-23 at the 16:10 mark. LIU was up by as many as 26 before YSU closed the gap late thanks to Pendleton’s eight points in the final 3:16.

Valerie Nainima led all scorers with 19 points as one of four LIU players in double figures. The Blackbirds finished 9-of-18 from behind the arc compared to a 1-for-10 showing from the Penguins.

YSU outshot Long Island 43 percent to 39 percent in the first half but was hurt by 13 turnovers that resulted in 16 points for LIU.

The Penguins will play their home opener on Thursday night against Toledo in a 7:05 tipoff at Beeghly Center.