YSU unable to stop Edwards, falls, 76-66

The YSU women lost at
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
for their seventh loss of
the season.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Youngstown State was unable to stop the Horizon League’s leading scorer and rebounder and saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Thursday night.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee junior Traci Edwards, the 2006-07 Horizon League player of the year, scored 30 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Panthers held off the Penguins, 76-66.

YSU (7-7, 2-1 HL) trailed by 12 points at halftime 36-24, but battled back in the second half to cut that lead in half, but couldn’t pull out a win.

Edwards scored 15 points in each half, and had 11 rebounds in the first half, but the Penguins kept her off the boards in the second half as she collected just one more rebound.

Junior Tiara Scott led the Penguins with 22 points, 14 of them in the second half, while senior Lauren Branson added 17 points and five assists. Nikita LaFleur led the Penguins with 10 rebounds, but YSU was out-rebounded 43-33 by the Panthers (7-7, 2-1).

YSU shot 39 percent from the field for the game, 33 percent in the first half, but improved to 48 percent in the second half when they outscored Milwaukee 42-40.

The Panthers shot 48 percent from the field, but turned the ball over 19 times, while the Penguins made 14 turnovers. Meredith Onson added 12 points for the Panthers.

The Penguins will return to action on Saturday when they conclude their Wisconsin road trip with a 1 p.m. contest at UW-Green Bay.