Penguins dominate
Sharp-shooting YSU women clobber winless Fort Wayne
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Youngstown State senior Mary Dunn (15) snags a defensive rebound during the second half of the Penguins’ 102-60 rout of Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. Dunn tallied a game-high 23 points.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU sophomore Maddie Schires reacts after she netted a three during the second half of the Penguins’ win over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU senior McKenah Peters (34) shoots a three during the first half, and ended with 15 points.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Youngstown State senior Mary Dunn (15) snags a defensive rebound during the second half of the Penguins’ 102-60 rout of Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. Dunn tallied a game-high 23 points.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU sophomore Maddie Schires reacts after she netted a three during the second half of the Penguins’ win over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU senior McKenah Peters (34) shoots a three during the first half, and ended with 15 points.
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YOUNGSTOWN -- It's frigid outside, but the Youngstown State Penguins women's basketball team was on fire Friday afternoon inside the Beeghly Center.
Facing off against winless Purdue Fort Wayne, YSU shot a blazing 60 percent from the field, and 50 percent from 3-point land to rout the Horizon League newcomer, 102-60.
After leading big early, coach John Barnes found an opportunity to save the starters some minutes, and allow the reserves to have valuable playing time -- something lost when the non-conference slate was nixed.
"It was huge," Barnes said. "Today especially, on the front end of a back-to-back weekend, to be able to rest our top seven or eight players was crucial. They'll be really ready to go full legs tomorrow and hopefully, we can play really well."
Senior Chelsea Olson started the scoring early with a right-handed floater in the key, with freshman Nneka Obiazor netting a layup seconds later. A Mary Dunn layup, then a 3-pointer by Obiazor made it 9-0 only 2 1/2 minutes into the game at the first media timeout.
A 16-0 run was capped off when freshman Malia Magestro drove for a layup with 4:19 still to go in the first. The Mastodons found the scoreboard with 3:55 left following a second-chance make by Aubrey Stupp.
YSU kept its hot hand throughout the half, as Dunn and Obiazor imposed their will within the paint. They had 13 points each at halftime with the Penguins leading 46-30.
Senior McKenah Peters nailed a 3 from the right side after Dunn passed out of a double-team to start the second half. Having good looks beyond the arc was a theme all day for a YSU team that shot 13-for-26 from 3-point range.
"When the first few shots go in, it gives everybody confidence and they feed off one another," Barnes said. "I thought Nneka and Mary, being able to score inside and finish, gave our outside players some more confidence.
"And also, them being able to finish in there just draws all their defenders in, so the perimeter players can kind of stand out there and catch and shoot."
As the second half progressed, reserves began coming in to help rest the front end of the Penguins rotation and pick up meaningful minutes.
Redshirt senior Emma VanZanten scored on back-to-back possessions, to push the lead to 40 with 8:19 to go in the fourth. The Penguins' biggest lead was 46, 99-53, when freshman Emma Randall netted her first career 3-pointer.
The mark of 102 points is a record for YSU against a Horizon League opponent, beating their previous best of 94 in a home win over Cleveland State on March 8, 2014. It's also the first time the Penguins have hit triple figures since beating Sacramento State 102-94 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Hawaii on Nov. 20, 2016.
Dunn led the charge with 23 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 at the line. Peters followed with 15, and Obiazor ended with 13 points and eight rebounds. Redshirt freshman Lexi Wagner and Magestro chipped in with 10 points each, and Olson recorded seven points and 11 assists.
"The confidence is up, everybody played, almost everyone scored, we took care of the ball, we only had eight turnovers which is crucial for us." Barnes said. "Did a good job on the boards, so overall it's just a good game and gives us confidence to try and finish it off tomorrow."
YSU (7-4, 7-4) has won seven out of its last eight, including four straight wins inside the Beeghly Center. They'll look to finish a weekend sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne (0-17, 0-15) this afternoon with a tip-off time of 1 p.m.