Shooting woes sink YSU in 56-52 loss
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YOUNGSTOWN -- It came down to an inability to finish.
Youngstown State built a 10-point lead in the third quarter only to watch it evaporate in the fourth in a tough 56-52 Horizon League loss to Oakland in front of 2,001 fans at the Beeghly Center on Sunday afternoon.
That missed opportunity was a microcosm of how the day had gone overall for YSU, as the Penguins frequently missed open chances at the rim and from 3-point range. Youngstown State shot 18-of-50 from the field (36 percent) and an icy 5-of-29 (17.2 percent) from deep.
"I thought Oakland did a great job defensively. They're quick, they can pressure," YSU coach John Barnes said. "And we missed a ton of open shots. I felt like it just wasn't our day. We had open threes all day, (but) we went 5-for-29. We had open layups all day, missed a bunch of them. You can't do that against a good team, and (Oakland is) good."
YSU (17-3, 12-2) got off to a slow start, falling behind 11-2 out of the gates before Paige Shy hit back-to-back treys to bring the Penguins back into the mix. She was a bright spot for the YSU offense, connecting on 5 of 10 field goals for 13 points and grabbing six rebounds.
From there, neither team could create much separation as YSU took a 27-26 lead into halftime. Then, the Penguins used a quick 7-0 spurt late in the third to take a 42-32 lead with 1:55 left in the period. Shy began the run with another triple, and then Lilly Ritz added a pair of shots underneath. Ritz finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
However, Oakland responded with its own 9-0 run, and from there the tug of war began. In all, the game featured six lead changes and four ties.
YSU's final lead came with 1:45 to go, as Shy hit a layup off an assist from Chelsea Olson, who scored 14 points and had five assists, to give the Penguins a 49-48 advantage. After that, though, the Golden Grizzlies outpaced YSU 8-3, courtesy of clutch free throws from Kahlaijah Dean and a Brianna Breedy jumper.
Breedy paced Oakland with 14 points, while Breanne Beatty added 11 and Dean had 10. In all, YSU was outscored by its visitors 20-10 in the fourth.
"I feel like they outworked us and wanted it a little bit more," Shy said. "I think that's something we hang our hat on -- on defense. So I feel like now, we just have to learn from it and move on, because we have another (two) games coming this week."
YSU had a chance to knot the game up or take a lead on its final possession, trailing 54-52. Inbounding from in front of the YSU bench, Olson fired a pass over the top to Ritz underneath the basket, but it went long and out of bounds, resulting in a turnover.
"She was wide open. It's a tough play to make, but she was wide open and we've run it a million times in practice," Barnes said. "(We) just didn't convert like we had hoped."
Now, the race for No. 1 in the Horizon League gets that much tighter, too. IUPUI, which defeated YSU 76-68 in overtime Jan. 16, now sits one game back of the Penguins at 14-5 overall and 11-3 in league play. The teams will meet in Indianapolis on Feb. 24, YSU's penultimate game of the regular season.
Between now and then, though, the schedule stays tough. The Penguins will play six of their final eight games away from the Beeghly Center, beginning this week with a trip to Wisconsin to face Green Bay on Thursday and Milwaukee on Saturday.
"(The key is) just kind of getting our focus back and staying mentally tough, because great teams and championship teams learn from losses," Shy said. "So that's what we have to do."
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com