YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Wright State women's basketball program opened its road trip with a 76-60 loss at Youngstown State on Thursday night inside the Beeghly Center.

Wright State dropped to 2-19 overall and 1-9 against Horizon League competition, while the Penguins improved to 15-5 on the season and 9-2 in HL play to remain atop the conference standings.

Bryce Nixon scored a team-leading 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Taylor Johnson-Matthews finished with a season-high 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Emily Chapman and Cara VanKempen added seven points apiece. 

Wright State shot the ball efficiently, going 45 percent (24-of-53) from the field and 38.1% (8-of-21) on 3-pointers. Meanwhile, YSU shot 48.2% (27-of-56) overall and 42.3% (11-of-26) from deep. The Penguins added 11 free throws, while the Raiders had just five attempts at the charity stripe.

Defensively, WSU forced the Penguins to 14 turnovers, including eight by way of steal. Nixon and Johnson-Matthews recorded two steals to pace the effort. However, Youngstown State bested the Raiders in rebounding (40-20) and offensive boards (13-2). 

Wright State trailed 22-19 after one quarter of play, despite shooting 61.5% (8-of-13) from the field.

An 8-2 run pushed YSU's lead to 30-21 at the 7:11 minute mark of the second quarter. Both offenses were quiet with six points apiece in the remaining seven minutes of the first half, resulting in a 36-27 deficit for the Raiders.

Johnson-Matthews had a strong opening half with nine points, six rebounds, and two steals. Channing Chappell provided a spark from long range by netting two 3-pointers. 

Wright State cut its deficit to 44-39 with 5:31 left in the third quarter following back-to-back 3-pointers by VanKempen and Nixon. However, the Penguins built their lead back to nine points, 55-46, by the quarter's conclusion. 

YSU opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to go up 62-46 and led by double digits for the rest of the game. Nixon accounted for 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the second half for the Raiders.

Youngstown State had four of its starters score in double figures, led by Lilly Ritz with game-high marks in points (23) and rebounds (19). 

Wright State will continue its road trip against Robert Morris on Saturday, January 28.