YSU back on track
Smolinski’s 30 lifts depleted Penguins
Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Cleveland State’s Khayla Livingston goes around a pick from YSU’s Mary Dunn and is pursued by the Penguins’ Indiya Benjamin during their game Monday in Youngstown. The Penguins won, 92-67.
Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Youngstown State’s Jenna Hirsch shoots a 3 over Cleveland State’s Jade Ely. The Penguins beat CSU, 92-67, Monday in Youngstown.
Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Cleveland State’s Khayla Livingston goes around a pick from YSU’s Mary Dunn and is pursued by the Penguins’ Indiya Benjamin during their game Monday in Youngstown. The Penguins won, 92-67.
Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Youngstown State’s Jenna Hirsch shoots a 3 over Cleveland State’s Jade Ely. The Penguins beat CSU, 92-67, Monday in Youngstown.
Trending
YOUNGSTOWN -- Alison Smolinski couldn't miss from 3-point range.
The 5-foot-9 Youngstown State women's basketball player dominated behind the arc as the Penguins won their third straight Monday at the Beeghly Center, 92-67.
YSU (7-10, 3-3 Horizon League) led 54-46 with 4:55 remaining in the third, but seemed as if the Vikings (9-8, 4-2) could make a run.
Smolinski, who came off the bench, put an abrupt halt to any thought of a CSU comeback.
She made four straight 3s to push the Penguins' advantage to 66-48 with 1:27 left in the third.
Smolinski finished with a game- and season-high 30 points on 8-of-12 from 3. The eight 3-pointers tied a school record matched by Kelsea Newman and Kenya Middlebrooks.
She said her teammates found were able to rotate the ball and find her open.
"I didn't think about it," she said. "I shot it and went in rhythm."
This broke a four-game losing streak to CSU, which beat YSU 71-68 on Dec. 31 in Cleveland.
"It was a tough one at their place," Smolinski said, "We weren't going to let us beat us around here at our place."
YSU coach John Barnes was pleased with the performance as YSU won its third straight and moved into a tie for sixth with Oakland (9-8, 3-3). CSU was tied for second with Wright State prior to Monday's game.
The Penguins struggled after losing three starters to season-ending knee injuries and various minor setbacks during the season.
Barnes likes the chemistry he saw Monday. YSU played as close to four solid quarters as it has all season. The Penguins shot 47.7 percent from the floor and held CSU to 40.4 after the Vikings shot 53.3 in the first quarter.
"We definitely took a step forward," he said. "Our defense could've been better in the first quarter. Second, third and fourth much more solid. Offensively, I thought we did a really nice job moving the basketball, finding the hot shooters. Obviously, Al did an outstanding job of finding the openings and being aggressive."
One thing that has been always there is YSU's assist-to- ratio. The Penguins were tied with league-leading Green Bay coming into Monday's contest. They did nothing to hurt that with 17 assists and six turnovers. YSU had one turnover at halftime.
The Penguins' starting backcourt of Indiya Benjamin and Jenna Hirsch combined for 30 points and with 13 assists and two turnovers. Benjamin had 20, while Hirsch put in 10.
"It gives us a great chance to win," Barnes said. "They both played very, very well on the perimeter. Just did a great job of attack, drawing defenders and pitching to the shooters."
YSU also had 27 points off of 16 Vikings turnovers – including 11 steals. CSU had three points off of
"We have been pressuring more as of late," Barnes said. "I wouldn't say we were full court, trapping, any of that. Just being more active, better position defensively. That's something we struggled with early on. I thought (Monday), we were way closer to where we wanted to be than what we have been. I think that helped in that situation. We had six turnovers. That is going to make that number big."
Ashanti Abshaw led the Vikings with 18 points, while Khayla Livingston had 16 and Olivia Voskuhl put in 11.
Both teams tied with 35 rebounds. CSU had 13 offensive rebounds, while YSU had 12. It was better than the Penguins last performance when YSU was outrebounded by 11 against Valparaiso.
"Rebounding has been a challenge for us," Barnes said. "It hasn't bee a strength of ours. We've been focusing on it. (Monday), we did a good job of boxing out physically to keep them off the glass. They still got 13 offensive rebounds, which is way too many. But, we came back and get 12, which shrinks that margin of advantage for them. Overall, I was happy with it."
Senior post Tamira Ford had six points and two rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
"We really needed her and she played big in the inside," Barnes said.
But Monday night belonged to Smolinski and her 3-point prowess, especially for a player who was out a week due to concussion protocol following a Jan. 7 injury at Northern Kentucky.
"Al is a special shooter," Barnes said. "She struggled a little bit early, but we kind of knew she was capable. She got some confidence. Maybe getting a little bit of rest helped her out too.
"For her to have this kind of game is awesome. She's a great kid and a hard worker. She's always in getting her shots up, working on her game. It's fun. I'm proud of her and the team."
YSU begins a two-game road trip Friday at Detroit Mercy, starting at 7 p.m.