Youngstown State suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday.

The Penguins struggled from the floor in a 51-36 road defeat at Bucknell. YSU shot 15%, making only nine of its 60 field-goal attempts.

Jewel Watkins and Malia Magestro paced the scoring for the Penguins with Watkins leading the way with 9 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the free-throw line. Magestro hit YSU’s only two 3-point shots of the game and finished with 8 points.

Abby Liber had her third double-figure rebounding performance in five games for YSU (4-1), pulling down 10 boards against Bucknell (2-4).

The Penguins trailed by eight points at the end of the first quarter. Even though they were down 25-11 at halftime, YSU was able to keep the Bison within reach with its defense.

Bucknell’s length and size bothered the Penguins. The Bison’s 6-foot-3 forward Ashley Sofilkanich had nearly a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocks.

YSU started to find some success in the second half with its press, but the Penguins’ shooting struggles on the offensive end still proved to be too much to overcome. YSU outscored Bucknell 16-13 in the fourth quarter to close the deficit.

The Penguins continued their road trip with a visit to in-state foe Xavier on Tuesday at 7 p.m.