Wednesday, November 19, 2014
By Steve Wilaj
KENT
Going into Monday’s matchup at Kent State, Youngstown State figured its biggest test would be the size of the Golden Flashes’ fronrcourt.
But after a first half in which the Penguins shot just 42 percent and struggled to find a groove, it became apparent something else was being challenged.
“I think the biggest thing was our mental toughness,” YSU reserve forward Kelsea Newman said.
“That’s what we talk about every practice — being mentally tough and prepared. I think coming into the second half, we focused a lot more and that brought the run.”
YSU used a 19-5 run from the 3:12 mark of the first half to the 15:12 mark of the second half to open a 10-point lead and went on to beat Kent State, 68-49, at the MAC Center.
The 19-point margin of victory matches the Penguins’ largest in the series with the Golden Flashes.
That eight-minute stretch turned a 25-21 deficit into a 40-30 advantage for the Penguins (2-0). The run was sparked by a pair of 3’s by Newman to close the first half.
“Kelsea really saved us in the end of that first half because nothing was going in and then she came in and got us going,” Penguins coach John Barnes said. “We made a few glaring mental errors in that first half and we pride ourselves on being mentally tough. So I think we shored that up in the second half and that helped us go on that run.”
Jenna Hirsch opened the second half with two 3’s before the rest of the Penguins all chipped in to outscore Kent State (0-2) 37-22 in the final 20 minutes.
Heidi Schlegel paced YSU with 15 points, Indiya Benjamin scored 14, Latisha Walker and Newman each scored nine and Nikki Arbanas added seven. In all, the Penguins shot 50 percent from the field and 10 of 26 from behind the arc.
“Our game plan was to pound it inside — and I think when that happened — we got more shots open from the outside,” Newman said. “[The balanced scoring] is nice because you don’t have to depend on one person. Night to night, I think we can all bring something to the table.”
As for YSU’s initial concern of being outsized, the Penguins were outrebounded by just one (36-35). Schlegel led the charge with nine boards, while Barnes was pleased with freshman Sarah Cash’s contributions. Cash finished with four points and three rebounds in her 15 minutes,
“I thought Sarah played great,” Barnes said. “[Kent State] is just so big and long and athletic and [Walker] got in a little foul trouble. So I thought Sarah fought really hard and played great for someone not really expecting to play at all.”
Krista White and Larissa Lurken paced the Golden Flashes with 11 points apiece. YSU — which picked up it first win at Kent State since 1996 — will next travel to Radford on Saturday to take on the Highlanders at 2 p.m.
“It’s really fun to see the confidence grow in these players every day,” Barnes said.