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YSU women top Bucknell to stay unbeaten
By Steve Wilaj
YOUNGSTOWN
After mostly smooth sailing for the Youngstown State women’s through its first three games of the season, the Penguins finally received a challenge — or as head coach John Barnes called it, a “push” — from Bucknell late in Tuesday night’s matchup.
YSU led by as many as 14 points midway through the second half, but the Bison cut the Penguins’ lead to six with just 3:30 remaining.
Then — to the delight of Barnes — the Penguins pushed back.
YSU closed the game on a 9-0 run to answer the Bison threat and win, 69-54, to improve to 4-0. Heidi Schlegel led the Penguins with 14 points, Latisha Walker added 11, Indiya Benjamin notched 10. Janae Jackson scored 13 points in 12 bench minutes.
“They turned up the dial toward the end and we started to shake a little bit,” Barnes said. “But the best thing that I saw was after a couple turnovers or layups, we just settled back down and we created a couple turnovers for layups.
“How we responded to their push down the stretch was the biggest thing.”
A layup by Bucknell’s Tyler Craig at the 3:30 mark sliced YSU’s lead to 60-54. This was after the Penguins built a 55-41 advantage at the 10:51 mark using an 11-1 run that was keyed by two Kelsea Newman 3-pointers.
But the Penguins responded to the Bison push with two Nikki Arbanas free throws, a fast-break layup by Benjamin and back-to-back Walker layups to seal the victory.
“We talked about in the locker room how good and tough of a program Bucknell is,” Barnes said.
“But our girls were pretty mentally tough today. They didn’t let that stuff bother them and hopefully they continue to play that way.”
Barnes also hopes Jackson continues to play the way she did on Tuesday.
The junior guard — who transferred from Northern Illinois in 2012, sat out the following season to fulfill NCAA transfer requirements and missed all of last season due to a knee injury — entered the contest with just six points through the first three games.
She came out firing though, racking up 11 points in just four first half minutes.
The 5-foot-9 righty sparked a YSU offense that shot just 33 percent in the first half and 38 percent overall.
“It feels pretty good to actually be back out there playing after a long time sitting out,” Jackson said. “I just try to get in and do what I can for the team.”
The Detroit native finished the game 5 of 10 from the field, collecting four rebounds to go along with her 13 points.
“She’s a really good kid and I’m excited for her game today,” Barnes said. “She brought it to another level.”
Bucknell (2-2) was paced by Craig and Claire Maree O’Bryan with 10 points apiece.
YSU next travels to Tennessee State this weekend for two games in the Teresa Phillips Thanksgiving Classic. The Penguins will square off with Nicholls State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. YSU will face Tennessee State at 3 p.m. on Sunday.