Penguins suffer 14th loss in row

By Pete Mollica

YSU played better offensively in a 70-62 loss to Detroit.

YOUNGSTOWN — They say that records are made to be broken, but this was one record the Youngstown State women’s basketball team doesn’t want to break.

The Penguins (2-22, 0-13 Horizon League) suffered their 14th straight defeat Thursday night, equalling the school record for most consecutive losses, as they dropped a 70-62 decision to Detroit at the Beeghly Center.

The Penguins actually played one of their better games this year as the 62 points was the second most scored by the team since they scored 67 points in one of their two victories back in November when they defeated Weber State 67-60.

“I was very pleased with our offensive effort tonight,” said YSU coach Cindy Martin. “I was especially pleased with our 3-point shooting.”

The Penguins connected on 8-of-17 long range shots for a 47.1 percentage. They were 23-of-51 from the field for the game (45.1 percent).

“We still need some work defensively, but I was pleased to see that we finished out this game better than we have in the past,” Martin added.

“Everybody is frustrated with the losses, the pressure is on and our backs are to the wall, but we’re not lying down,” she said.

The Penguins were led by junior Jaquetta Westley with 16 points, while senior Kelsey Gurganus added 15.

The Penguins were unable to contain Detroit’s Sandi Brown, who finished with a game-high 27 points and a team-high six rebounds. The Titans (9-16, 5-9) outrebounded the Penguins 34-27.

The first half was one of streaks by both teams.

After YSU took an early 7-5 lead, the Titans then ran off 11 straight points to pull to a 16-7 advantage with just over 10 minutes left.

The Penguins then came back with a 16-2 run and pulled to their biggest lead of the contest 23-18 with three minutes left. The two teams battled the rest of the way and when Brown connected just before the buzzer the score was deadlocked at 29-29.

The two teams then battled back and forth for the first eight minutes of the second half. The Titans had a seven-point lead 41-34 before the Penguins came back to pull within one 43-42 with 12:38 left.

Then the Titans went on another streak scoring 14 straight points over the next four minutes and took command of the contest 57-42 with 8:17 left.

The Penguins got the lead down to nine points 67-58 when Westley hit a 3-pointer and Kenya Middlebooks followed with a basket and Gurganus hit two free throws, but the Titans added four quick points and the Penguins final two baskets made little difference.

The Penguins will be at home again on Saturday afternoon when they play host to Wright State in a 2:05 p.m. tip off at Beeghly Center.

mollica@vindy.com