Rally comes up short for YSU

Staff report

CLEVELAND

The final nine seconds of Monday’s game did a pretty good job of summing up the last two months for the Youngstown State women’s basketball team.

Good effort. Close game. Close loss.

The Penguins had three tries to force overtime in the final seconds, but missed three 3-pointers, falling 59-56 to Cleveland State in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament at the Wolstein Center.

With 8.9 seconds left, the Penguins set up Monica Touvelle for the first try from straight on, but her shot glanced off the left side of the rim.

“The kids executed it perfectly,” YSU coach Bob Boldon said of Touvelle’s shot. “We got ‘Mon’ a shot maybe a step out [farther] than probably than we would have liked but we’ve watched Monica make shots from there.

“[That’s] something I’ll take from her and I think our teammates would take from her every time.”

Junior forward Brandi Brown grabbed the rebound, but her off-balance 3-pointer from the wing bounced out. Heidi Schlegel grabbed the second rebound and dribbled out to the 3-point line, but her shot at the buzzer didn’t fall as the Vikings (12-18) advanced to play at Detroit on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals.

“I thought Brandi made a great effort running down the rebound — I thought it was going to go out of bounds — and then Heidi outhustled one of their guards and got us a third shot, so I thought they gave a great effort,” said Boldon. “They executed the plan.

“We just didn’t get the results we wanted.”

The Penguins finished the season on a nine-game losing streak. Six of those losses were by five points or fewer.

“These kids hang in there,” Boldon said. “These kids don’t quit.”

Kelsea Fickiesen led the Penguins with 11 points, including a driving layup with 18 seconds that cut the deficit to two, 58-56. After CSU’s Honesty King made one of two free throws with 16.6 left, the teams traded turnovers to set up the final drama.

Senior Kenya Middlebrooks and Touvelle each finished with 10 points. Cori Coleman had game-high honors with 17 points while Shalonda Winton had 15 and King added 13.

YSU’s leading scorer, Brandi Brown, had 14 rebounds and three steals but scored just six points — more than 10 below her average.

“Brandi’s done so much since I’ve gotten here and I think it [the accumulation] got to her,” Boldon said. “I don’t think she’s missed a practice since I’ve been here and I think as the season wound down, she started to get fatigued.

“She’ll never tell you that [but] for the last two weeks, she’s just been a little bit less explosive than she’s been all year. But she’s a kid who will work hard at it and she’s obviously a kid I’m excited to have coming back next year.”