YSU falls to Wright State in Horizon tournament opener

DAYTON

A season that won’t ever be forgotten, but couldn’t end soon enough, mercifully came to a fitting conclusion for the Youngstown State women’s basketball team on Monday night.

The same woes that plagued the Penguins all season — poor shooting and turnovers — combined to doom them again in a 61-43 loss to Wright State in the first round of the Horizon League tournament at the Nutter Center.

The Penguins season concluded with 30 losses and no wins. The program has lost 31 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the nation, and has had 10 straight losing seasons since appearing in the NCAA tournament in 2000.

Still, coach Cindy Martin was determined after Monday’s game that the program will eventually be turned around.

“I’m just extremely proud of our ladies,” she said. “We [are] going to do everything we can to … celebrate the success and the steps we have taken this year.”

What’s going to turn the program around will be players. The Penguins dressed only eight — and sometimes fewer — players because of injuries.

Getting those players healthy, and bringing in some recruits, is Martin’s almost immediate focus.

“We did a good [recruiting] job in the fall,” said Martin. “I’m real excited about our true freshmen [and] the four girls who were sitting out this year with injury, and we have two more [scholarships] to go.”

Martin said the focus for those two last spots will be junior college transfers.

Monday night Kenya Middlebrooks led the Penguins with eight points.

YSU shot just 32.5 percent from the field (13 of 40) and committed 23 turnovers.

YSU trailed only 20-17 with 4:03 remaining in the first half but Wright State outscored the Penguins 30-8 over the next 13 minutes to assume its largest lead, 50-25, with just over 11 minutes remaining.

The Raiders (11-18) advanced to play at No. 2 seed Butler on Wednesday.