Sunday, December 31, 2017
By Dan Hiner
youngstown
Forward Mary Dunn’s trips to the free-throw line summed up Saturday’s Youngstown State women’s basketball team’s loss to Oakland pretty well.
Dunn went 1 for 4 from the line — two of those misses were air balls and one ricocheted off the rim and into the cheerleaders behind the backboard.
The Penguins (5-8, 1-1 Horizon League) lost to Golden Grizzlies 58-48 at the Beeghly Center.
YSU was held to 19 of 52 shooting (36.5 percent) and 2 of 22 from behind the 3-point line.
Oakland (8-5, 1-1) outrebounded the Penguins 45 to 30. More importantly, the Golden Grizzlies grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and converted them into 16 second-chance points.
“That was one of our top keys to take care of in this game,” YSU guard Indiya Benjamin said. “Transition D, which we did pretty good on, but winning the rebound battle.
“They were really aggressive and once they smelled blood in the water, they just went after it and we didn’t get the job done.”
Benjamin said the team didn’t come out with the same intensity it had during its 76-59 win over Detroit Mercy on Thursday night.
For YSU head coach John Barnes, the performance was disappointing. Oakland was held to 22 of 62 from the field and 3 of 21 from behind the arc, but the Penguins still lost.
“I thought we had some good looks, some wide open looks — a bunch that we didn’t make,” Barnes said. “We had some contested ones too.
“They used their length to get out on the three point shooters at times. But the difference was offensive rebounding ... them using their strength and length to hit the boards.
“They didn’t shoot. They shot terribly too. They just went and got ‘em. Sixty-two to 52, they had 10 more shot opportunities than we did. That was basically the difference in the game.”
The Golden Grizzlies led YSU 23-13 with 5:39 to play in the second quarter. The Penguins went on a 11-2 run in the final four minutes to close the first half and cut the lead to 25-24.
YSU forward Sarah Cash led the Penguins with seven points in the first half, but was held to three points in the second.
Benjamin had a team-high 11 points and six rebounds. Cash finished with 10 points and one rebound. Dunn had seven points and four rebounds.
The Penguins couldn’t stop the combination of Oakland’s Taylor Gleason and Leah Somerfield.
Gleason led all scorers with 14 points while Somerfield had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
YSU guard Alison Smolinski didn’t play and sat on the bench in a walking boot. Barnes said Smolinski is out “indefinitely right know” and will focus on his active players.
“You go 2 for 22 and [Smolinski’s] arguably our best 3-point shooter,” Barnes said. “But I’m done talking about injuries and people who are out. Last year was enough for me on that. We gotta get it done with the players we have.
“I thought if we were a little more tougher and a little more physical then it’s a game we probably could have won ... probably should have won.
“But they went and got it and we didn’t. And we’ll have to live with it, bounce back and try to find a way to win against UIC.”