Almost: Penguins lose another close contest

January 23, 2011 at 12:07a.m.

Youngstown

Right about now, the Youngstown State women’s basketball team has got to feel like they’re using a nine-foot reach to try and grab something off of a 10-foot shelf: they’re close. But what they want is still just out of their grasp.

This time the heartbreak came at the hands of Detroit, which walked out of the Beeghly Center with a 66-57 victory Saturday.

The Penguins never led in the second half, but trailed by one on several occasions. Still, this is a hump the team must get over if it’s going to exceed its win total from the past two seasons combined. Junior forward Tieara Jones said it’s frustrating to come so close only to walk away will another loss.

“We’re tired of just competing and hearing ‘good job’ and stuff like that. We want to see it in the win-loss column,” she said. “It’s frustrating to us. But that’s basketball, and being an athlete comes with pain. And that’s what we’re feeling right now because we’re working so hard and it’s not coming through for us right now.”

Jones, who fouled out with 9:03 left in the game, said it was hard to watch her team struggle without her. And the Penguins (3-16, 1-7 Horizon League) could have used Jones’ presence.

Along with sophomore Brandi Brown, Jones provides some of the limited height for the interior defense. But the ill-timed foul caused the paint to open up for the Titans.

“I just made a play for the ball and I didn’t think I reached in so aggressively,” she said. “It did throw us off as a team because me and Brandi are the ones down there holding down the paint,” she said. “So it was just kind of hard to find that player to rebound the ball and get things started for us.”

Jones was having a good night prior to her early exit. She scored 10 points and had seven rebounds before her departure. And coach Bob Boldon knows that production isn’t exactly easy to come by some nights.

“She had another 10 minutes to play, and this was the type of game where she could have had a double-double,” Boldon said of Jones. “That’s something that you wish you had down the stretch.”

The Penguins got another strong effort from Brown, the reigning Horizon League player of the week. She had a game-high 18 points and brought down 10 rebounds. Brown entered the game leading the conference in scoring with 17.9 points per game.

But the Titans (9-9, 3-4) had four players score in the double figures. Leading the pack was sophomore forward Yar Shayok, who tallied the other double-double of the night. Shayok had 17 points and 13 rebounds.

The Penguins will play host to Cleveland State on Saturday before embarking on a two-game road trip.