Hot-shooting Youngstown State rolls past Slippery Rock, 78-32
The Youngstown State women’s basketball team had its best shooting half in more than four years and defeated Slippery Rock 78-32 on Saturday evening at Beeghly Center.
YSU shot 71.4% in the first half and made 13 of its final 15 attempts to pull away early from the nearby Division II opponent.
Youngstown State is now 2-0 this season, following up Wednesday’s victory over Xavier with another impressive performance on its home floor. Slippery Rock was playing its season opener.
Size advantage key for Youngstown State
The Penguins used their size advantage in the post early and often as Emily Saunders and Lindsey Linard combined for 31 points on 13-of-16 from the field. Saunders scored 22 points, topping her career high of 20 in Wednesday’s opener, and Linard added nine.
Saunders also grabbed nine rebounds, helping the Penguins hold a 39-21 rebounding advantage. Her only miss from the field came in the third period, and she rebounded her miss and converted the second-chance opportunity.
Haley Thierry was the top-scoring guard in the contest with a career-best 12 points off the bench. Dena Jarrells had 11 points and a game-high five assists, and YSU finished with 20 assists on 26 field goals.
In total, 10 of the 11 Penguins who dressed scored, and six (Saunders, Linard, Thierry, Abbie Davidson, Bella Samz and Mackenzie Hurd) set new career highs in scoring.
Youngstown State shot 57.8% from the field, which included going 6-for-17 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Penguins outscored The Rock 20-11 at the free-throw line.
Kaylin Venice led Slippery Rock with nine points. The Rock went 3-for-27 from the 3-point line, and it shot just 18.8% from the field for the game.
How the strong first half helped Youngstown State
Endgame Robinson’s 3-pointer for Slippery Rock just under three minutes into the first quarter gave The Rock its lone lead of the game at 5-4. YSU made 13 of its final 15 field-goal attempts of the first half, and it outscored its Division II opponent 39-9 to take a 43-14 lead at the intermission.
Jarrells, Thierry and Magestro each hit a 3-pointer in the final 2:30 of the opening quarter to spark the offense, and YSU made eight of its nine attempts from the floor in the second period.
The Penguins added two points to their lead in the third quarter, and YSU outscored The Rock 18-3 in the fourth for the final margin.
Youngstown State will host Western Michigan on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Beeghly Center as it looks to move to 3-0 this season.
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