Penguins bounce back

Lilly Ritz scores a game-high 31 points as YSU throttles Oakland to snap two-game skid

YOUNGSTOWN -- It was just the sort of bounceback Youngstown State needed.

Following its worst performance of the season in a loss to Cleveland State, Youngstown State rebounded for an 85-62 victory over visiting Oakland on Thursday night at the Beeghly Center.

The victory snaps a two-game losing skid and completes a season sweep of the Golden Grizzlies, the first since the 2018-19 season.

YSU (17-7, 11-4 Horizon League) didn't trail at any point in the win. Oakland (11-3, 6-9 Horizon League) has lost five of its last six games.

"We needed to (bounce back)," said YSU coach John Barnes. "We did not play well last week, Thursday or Saturday, and we needed to have a good bounce back. I think Oakland is good, and I think they have good players. I think they're well coached. But I just think the team was ready."

That came courtesy of a couple things. Barnes noted the Penguins practiced "a lot harder and longer than we have in a while," and forward Lilly Ritz said the Penguins had a team meeting Monday in which the team "just kind of laid it all out on the table."

"(We) just figured we have six games left, put it all out on the table, and that's what we did (against Oakland)," she said.

Barnes added, "We talk a lot about that if we're really intense and locked in and compete in practice all week, we usually play well. I thought our (intensity) level picked up a lot this week. ... So the players responded really well, and I was happy to see a lot of them have good games."

Nobody had a better game than Ritz. The senior poured in a game-high 31 points and added nine rebounds and five steals. It marked Ritz's highest-scoring game since joining the Division I ranks, and was the most by any Penguin since 2015. The last 30-point effort was Mary Dunn's 30 against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 16, 2019.

That keyed a huge night down low for YSU, which outscored its visitors 40-16 in the paint.

Meanwhile, YSU's guards got off to a quick start. After shooting a miserable 4-for-32 from 3-point range at Cleveland State last Saturday, the Penguins went 5-for-7 from deep in the first quarter alone en route to an 11-for-21 night.

Shay-Lee Kirby, who went 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from deep, led the effort with 13 points, while Megan Callahan and Malia Magestro each had 12 points. Point guard Dena Jarrells only scored four, but dished 10 assists to facilitate the offense.

As a whole, YSU racked up 24 assists on 33 field goals.

"Lilly was obviously having a great game, and we wanted to go to her a lot. I thought the players did a good job of executing what we were trying to do and getting the ball to her, and she obviously did a great job of finishing," Barnes said.

Youngstown State's defense also was improved Thursday. The Golden Grizzlies didn't shoot poorly by any means -- 20-for-52 overall and 8-for-22 from 3-point range -- but the Penguins forced 15 turnovers and kept OU's star freshman guard, Brooke Quarles-Daniels, to five points on a tough 2-for-10 night from the field. The 15 takeaways yielded 24 points at the other end for YSU.

Kennedie Montue led OU with 14 points, while Breanne Beatty and Aaliyah McQueen each had 11 points.

"(Quarles-Daniels) is a really good player, and she's quick. We just tried to surround her the best we could and make every shot as tough as we could. Fortunately, it worked today. I thought the players were really locked in on the defensive end and executing on that side," Barnes said.

YSU hosts Detroit Mercy on Saturday.

jwhetzel@tribtoday.com