The Youngstown State women’s basketball team couldn’t work past the Floria International defense, falling to the Panthers 78-61 on Friday in the opening game of the FIU Holiday Classic.

FIU forced the Penguins into 11 turnovers in the first 13 minutes to build a 30-15 lead.

Erica King made two free throws at the 6:54 mark for YSU’s first points of the quarter, and FIU upped its lead to 18 points three times before Sophia Gregory and King scored on back-to-back possessions to make the score 40-26 at halftime.

The Penguins cut the deficit to 11 with 4:22 left in the third quarter after Gregory and Paulina Hernandez had back-to-back three-point plays. YSU found chances after breaking the FIU pressure defense, but was unable to convert those to shrink the Panthers’ lead.

FIU led 58-45 at the end of the third, and YSU was down 64-52 with 5:59 left after a Sarah Baker bucket. FIU outscored the Penguins 12-4 over the next four minutes to extend its lead to 76-56.

King led YSU (7-4) with 15 points, and five of her teammates scored either eight or nine points. Rhema Collins had game highs of 28 points, 12 rebounds and four steals to lead FIU (6-3), which won its fifth straight game.

The Penguins are back in action today against UMass for the second day of the holiday event. The opening tip is set for 1:30 p.m. and will be available to stream on ESPN+ and listeners can find it on the radio at 1390 WNIO.