YSU women can’t catch Milwaukee

Staff report

MILWAUKEE, WIS.

Milwaukee shot 58 percent and hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, and the Youngstown State women’s basketball team could not recover despite a strong second-half performance in an 81-66 loss at the Klotsche Center on Thursday.

Milwaukee’s Sami Tucker scored 21 of her career-high 23 points in the first half as the Panthers (8-13, 5-5 Horizon League) built a 51-28 halftime advantage. YSU trimmed the deficit to 15 several times midway through the second half and had the lead down to 68-54 with five minutes remaining. The Penguins never got closer than that.

Brandi Brown finished with 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for Youngstown State (3-18, 1-9), which recorded 16 steals. Tieara Jones added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Bojana Dimitrov scored all 10 of her points in the first half.

Tucker was 9-for-11 from the floor in the game and 8-for-9 in the first period. Lindsay Laur was an assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.