Penguins defeat Detroit; face Wright State next

March 11, 2008 at 1:17a.m.

YSU women posted their first Horizon Tournament win, 65-54 at home.

YOUNGSTOWN — It took Tisha Hill five years to win a Horizon League tournament game andshe did it in the final game she coached at Beeghly Center.

Hill, who announced her resignation as Youngstown State’s basketball coach last Friday, guided the Penguins to their second straight win and the first Horizon League tournament victory in their seven seasons in the league, turning back Detroit, 65-54, before lessthan 400 fans

The Penguins (14-16)advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament Wednesday at No. 2 seed Wright State in a 7 p.m. contest at the Nutter Center in Dayton. Detroit finished the season 6-24.

Hill was elated with the victory, “especially since it was a tournament win. I have the utmost respect for these girls, they’ve fought through some difficult times, but they’ve never quit fighting and I’m proud of them.”

Hill said she made her announcement last weekend in Chicago because she wanted to get things straight with the team before entering tournament play.

“There were a lot of rumors flying around and I just wanted to settle things,” Hill said. “It’s always been about the kids for me and I’m so fortunate to have had this great group. It’s just time for me to move along.

“They came out and played very well tonight and Detroit is a very difficult team to play against,” she added.

Senior Heather Karner led the Penguins with 18 points, including five 3-point baskets, which ran her season total to 83. That broke the YSU record of79 held by Tiffany Adams in 1992-93.

Junior Tiara Scott finished with 11 points.

The teams battled throughout most of the first half, although the Titans did jump out to a 12-7 advantage before Karner connected on back-to-back 3-point shots — the first broke the school record — and put the Penguins on top 13-12.

The contest was last deadlocked at 20-all with 4:40 remaining before Scott hit a pair of free throws to give YSU as 22-20 lead which they never relinquished. The Penguins held a 28-24 halftime lead.

The Penguins scored first to open the second half but then the Titans came back to cut the lead to two points, 33-31. Once againKarner connected on two more 3-point shots that pulled the Penguins back to a comfortable 48-37 margin with 8:31 remaining.

Detroit cut into the YSU lead and were within three points, 53-50, with 4:05 remaining, but the Penguins answered with an 8-2 run to pull back on top 61-52 and coasted home to victory.

The Penguins, who struggled in the first half from the field, shooting just 31 percent, improved in the second half to 42.9 percent and once again had a big night at the free throw line where they connected on 22-of-28 attempts.

The Titans outrebounded the Penguins 38-37, as senior Jessica Schloemp led YSU with nine. They also cut down on turnovers, making just 14, while forcing the Titans into 17 mistakes.

Hill said she’s excited to have the opportunity to play Wright State again.

“They are the number two seed in the tournament and we’ve defeated them twice this year,” Hill said. “We feel that we have a good rotation against them defensively and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to play them again.”

mollica@vindy.com