Wright State University
10-13, 7-5HL
Youngstown State
12-12, 7-6HL
Women Drop Decision to Youngstown State
2/16/2008 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wright State shot 46 percent for the game, but could not overcome nine three-pointers and 17 of 19 foul shooting by Youngstown State as the Penguins defeated the Raiders 66-58 in Horizon League action at the Nutter Center Saturday afternoon.
Shey Peddy opened the scoring with a three from the right corner and WSU went up 7-6 on a fast-break layup from the freshman guard, but turned out to be the final lead of the day for the Raiders as the Penguins scored 13 of the game's next 14 points, five coming from Heather Karner, to take a 19-8 advantage with 11:52 remaining in the first half.
Wright State cut the deficit to five twice over the remainder of the period, but YSU still held a 36-27 halftime advantage following two Lauren Branson foul shots with one second left.
The Raiders shot 48 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but the Penguins were even hotter as they hit for 52 percent, including five of six from three-point range, and made seven of eight from the foul line.
Back-to-back LaShawna Thomas baskets drew Wright State to within seven at 46-39 with 14:30 left, but Youngstown State answered with consecutive threes from Branson to push the lead back into double figures.
A Karner triple gave the Penguins their largest lead at 59-42 with 6:36 to play, but Wright State followed with 10 straight points over a three-minute span, six by Thomas.
The Raiders then came as close as six on two different occasions, but could get no closer as Branson hit seven of eight foul shots to account for all of Youngstown State's scoring the final 6:36.
WSU shot 46 percent overall compared to 43 percent for the Penguins, but the Raiders were just four of 13 from behind the arc to Youngstown State's nine of 18. YSU was also an impressive 17 of 19 at the stripe, 10 of 11 in the second half, while Wright State was only six of 14 for the game.
Peddy led the Raiders with 17 points and added five assists and five steals, while Thomas had 14, all but two in the second half. Whitney Lewis posted a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Four starters scored in double figures for Youngstown State (12-12, 7-6 Horizon), paced by Karner's 19 to go with five assists. Branson had 17, including an 11 of 12 performance from the foul line, while Tiara Scott had 12 and Jessica Schloemp 10.
Wright State, now 10-13 overall and 7-5 in the Horizon League, heads to Indiana next weekend for matchups against Butler on Thursday, February 21, at 7:00 and Valparaiso on Saturday, February 23, starting at 2:30 Dayton time.
