Penguins pull away
Big 4th quarter gives YSU first conference victory
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YOUNGSTOWN -- It was the game John Barnes wanted.
He saw this young team struggle all season, trying recover from a litany of injuries.
YSU started the game with a six-point lead, lost its edge but regained it by dominating the fourth quarter and beating UIC, 70-54, Thursday at the Beeghly Center for the Penguins first Horizon League victory this season.
YSU (5-10, 1-3 Horizon League) had four players in double figures, with Morgan Brunner pouring in a game-high 20, Jenna Hirsch adding 16, Indiya Benjamin scoring 13 and Mary Dunn putting in 10.
YSU shot 66.7 percent in the fourth quarter as the Penguins outscored the Flames 25-14.
"It feels good to get any win," Barnes said. "This was a special one because we were obviously struggling and had some adversity. To see this team come up today and get the win was pretty special all the way around."
The victory broke a three-game losing streak for YSU, which lost six of seven before defeating UIC (3-13, 0-5).
"It's all we've been talking about all week, especially being our first home conference game," Brunner said. "It's nice to do it for our fans."
Brunner's 3 with 3:25 left in the third gave YSU its first lead since early in the second quarter at 41-39.
The Penguins finished the third quarter with a 9-1 run in the final 8:11. Terri Bender made 1-of-2 free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining for the only UIC points in that spurt. Bender led UIC with 13 points.
The Flames held the lead prior to the YSU run.
UIC's surge began in the second quarter as the Penguins were limited most of the 10-minute period until Hirsch hit a 3 with more than 2 minutes remaining as YSU trailed 31-30. Hirsch ended the half with 10 points to lead the Penguins.
The Penguins were up, 27-19, early in the second quarter until the Flames went on a 12-0 run to take a 31-27 lead.
Mailee Jones' four-foot jumper with 30 seconds left before intermission tied the game at 35.
It was a bit different for YSU in the second half after the Flames shot 42 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. YSU outscored UIC 35-19 in the second half.
"In the second half I thought we were very sharp mentally," Barnes said. "We made very few mistakes on the defensive side. That's been our biggest struggle is to stop people. To put together a half like that was exciting. I'm proud of the team for getting it done."
Saturday, YSU hosts Valparaiso at 4:30 p.m, where Brunner hopes that second-half play continues.
"Going forward we need to remember how we feel after this win and just keep doing it," Brunner said.