The Youngstown State women's basketball team shook off an early injury scare to their leading scorer to pick up an impressive 84-65 victory over Loyola on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center.
Just 43 seconds into the game, sophomore Brandi Brown took an elbow to the nose and lay on the court for a few minutes. The Penguins (6-23 overall and 4-14 in the Horizon League) played inspired basketball for the next seven minutes without Brown and once she returned, YSU was able to run away with its second straight victory.
YSU had five players score in double figures for the first time since January 2004 against the Ramblers. Brown finished with 27, Liz Hornberger had 12, Monica Touvelle had 12, Kenya Middlebrooks finished with 12 and Tieara Jones added 11. For the Ramblers, Monica Albano had a game-high 34 points.
The Guins knocked down a season-best 13 3-pointers and the 82 points was a season high.
YSU built a 14-point halftime lead and maintained a double-figure advantage until the 10:02 mark when Albano connected on a 3-pointer. Just over two minutes later, a free throw by Albano cut the deficit to 60-53 with 7:49 left. That was the closest the Ramblers could get in the second half.
The Guins countered with a 16-5 run to put the game out of reach over the next 4:16 to seize control of the contest.
For the game, YSU shot 46.6 percent making 27-of-58 attempts, including 13-of-30 from behind the 3-point arc. Loyola connected on 49 percent (24-of-49). The Guins had 21 assists on 27 baskets and was 17-of-19 from the free-throw line (89.5 percent), making 17 of their last 18 from the charity stripe.
The Penguins overcame some adversity in the first half when Brown was injured at the 19:17 mark and midway through the first half, Boki Dimitrov exited with a sprained ankle.
YSU was hot from behind the 3-point arc to build a 40-23 advantage, which Loyola (11-18 and 5-13) cut to 14 before the half on a final-second triple by Albano.
Youngstown State drained nine 3-pointers while converting just two from inside the arc. For the half, YSU shot 13-of-34 (38.2 percent) while the Ramblers connected on 40 percent (10-of-25). The big difference was turnovers. The Guins did not turn the ball over in the first 20 minutes while the Ramblers had seven giveaways, five of which came on steals.
Brown took an elbow to the nose and after a some patchwork by trainer Jeff Wills returned to the lineup with 12:16 left in the half. Brown scored 12 points after coming back into the ballgame.
Without the league's leading scorer, YSU led 14-12 in the first seven-and-a-half minutes as Touvelle made two three's, Middlebrooks and Hornberger each connected from behind the arc and Jones scored on a nice fastbreak layup off an assist from Nortey. YSU had trailed 12-11 before Hornberger's three keyed a 10-1 run.
Upon Brown's return the Guins went on a 16-4 to pull ahead 30-16 on a three by Middlebrooks at the 6:19 mark. In the final 2:20 of the half, Brown had all seven of the Guins' points putting them on top 40-23 with 17 seconds left.
The Penguins are on the road for their first round Horizon League Tournament on Monday evening. YSU will either rematch the Ramblers or visit Detroit. The contest will be live on 570 WKBN in Youngstown and on the Horizon League Network.
FINAL 1 2 T
Loyola (Ill.) (11-18, 5-16 HL) 26 39 65
Youngstown St. (6-23, 4-14 HL) 40 44 84
Youngstown, Ohio (Beeghly Center)
Loyola (Ill.) Youngstown St.
Pts: ALBANO, Monica - 34 Pts: Brandi Brown - 27
Reb: 2 Players (#41, #55 -
Reb: Tieara Jones - 11
Ast: BOEKE, Brittany - 5 Ast: Tieara Jones - 7
Team Statistics Loyola (Ill.) Youngstown St.
Field Goal % 49.0% (24-49 ) 46.6% (27-58 )
Rebounds 26 31
Assists 19 21
Turnovers 14 8
Pts off Turnovers 11 15
2nd Chance Pts 6 6
Pts in the Paint 22 26
Fastbreak Pts 2 6
Bench Pts 9 30
