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CSU rallies past YSU women
By EDDY JANSEN
CLEVELAND
With a chance to clinch a first-round home game in the Horizon League Tournament, the Youngstown State women’s basketball team could not slow Cleveland State, and the Penguins lost their second straight game, 73-62, Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center.
Cleveland State moved ahead of the Penguins in the standings at 17-11 (9-6 Horizon). The win gives the Vikings a 12-2 record at home.
“This is a tough place to play in,” YSU head coach John Barnes said. “We had a lot of uncharacteristic turnovers, and that was mostly because of their defense.”
The Vikings used spurts of 11-0 and 18-5 in the second half to pull away. Imani Gordon led the Vikings with 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting. But three other players scored in double figures for the Vikings, including Brooke Smith (12 points), sharp-shooting Kiersten Green (11) and Cori Coleman (10).
“We had too many defensive breakdowns,” Barnes said. “Imani played possessed. She was unbelievable.”
Offensively, the Vikings were too much for the Penguins in many regards. The Vikings outscored the Penguins in points in the paint (40-22) as well as second-chance points (17-4). Cleveland State also converted 15 YSU turnovers into 26 points.
The Penguins at one point nailed nine of 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, but made just one in the second half in 14 attempts.
“Defensively, they adjusted,” said YSU senior forward Heidi Schlegel, who scored 18 points and moved into fifth place on the school’s all-time scoring list. She also pulled down eight rebounds and had three steals. “The pressure they put on our guards made it tough to get off good shots. They switched it up and the pressure got to us.”
The Penguins dropped to 19-9 and 8-7 in league play.
YSU did have 21 assists on 21 field goals, but could not make the necessary changes to counter Cleveland State’s suffocating defense from beyond the arc. The Penguins led by as many as eight early in the second half, but was outscored by the Vikings 39-22 after halftime.
“To know that we were shooting that well, but only up by a few baskets, you’re probably not going to win a game like that,” Barnes said. “We did get tired down the stretch. Our floor spacing could have been a little bit better. We also missed some free throws, and normally, this is a very good free-throw shooting team.”
The Penguins came in shootin 76 percent at the line, but were just 13-of-21.
YSU still has a shot at a first-round home game in the Horizon league tournament, but need help and then a victory in Saturday’s regular-season finale against Valparaiso. The Penguins and Crusaders meet at 2 p.m. at Beeghly Center.