YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State women’s basketball team has made a living in the third quarter this season.
After a pair of slow starts to the second half during the Horizon League tournament two weeks ago, YSU head coach Melissa Jackson challenged her team at halftime on Tuesday night.
Despite a rusty start in the first half, the Penguins answered the call, pulling away from Maryland Eastern Shore with a dominant third quarter to beat the Hawks 61-42 in the second round of the WNIT at Zidian Family Arena.
“We weren’t happy with how we came out of half in the Horizon League tournament, so challenged them, talked to them about that and how we had to be better and how important that was,” Jackson said. “I thought our kids were really locked-in and focused. They had a little bit more of a sense of urgency.
“I thought our defense was really solid all night. I think we upped the rebounding, definitely in the second half. The ball movement in that second half — we really got back to what we do best with our transition offense, moving the ball. We were just really crisp coming out of that halftime.”
The win is YSU’s first postseason tournament victory since 2016 and it improves the Penguins to 25-9 this season. The 25 wins are the second most in a season in program history.
YSU will be back at home for the WNIT’s Super 16 on Friday, as the Penguins advance to face Marshall (24-9) at 6:30 p.m. at Zidian Family Arena.
“I can’t say enough about our administration and how supportive they are of women’s basketball, of our program, of me with all the work they do behind the scenes to get people in the stands,” Jackson said. “Then our community, they continue to show up. … They have consistently shown up for this team. So we’re excited to have another home game.”
Coming off exactly two weeks since its last game, YSU was a little rusty shooting the ball in the first half. Despite leading 24-17 at halftime, the Penguins shot 38.5% in the first half, including 2-of-9 from three.
However, UMES’ defense also had a little bit to do with YSU’s slow start. The Hawks were a long, athletic group, two necessary characteristics with how they pressured the ball both full court and halfcourt.
“I give Maryland Eastern Shore a lot of credit because they were doing some things schematically that I thought were really good. They were switching from their man to their zone, which definitely threw me off, threw us off a little bit,” Jackson said. “We knew we were going to see the press. I thought we handled that really well. They took it off much earlier than I thought they would. Maybe we didn’t come out nearly as strong as people would have thought, but I thought we were solid. It was really our defense that carried us in that first half.”
YSU held Maryland Eastern Shore to 27.3% shooting on the night, which included hitting just two of the Hawks’ 12 attempts from beyond the arc.
Paulina Hernandez made a pair of buzzer beaters during the first half, one at the end of the first quarter and then she banked in a long two just before halftime, both of which were critical in preserving YSU’s advantage at the break.
“Casey (Santoro) just gave me the ball, and she told me what to do, and I was just doing it,” Hernandez said. “The first time, she told me to drive, and I had confidence and drove. Then the second time, I didn’t really have time to think, so I just shot it. Banked it.”
Then, the Penguins exploded out of the gate in the third quarter, outscoring the Hawks 23-12 to build a double-digit lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Danielle Cameron knocked down four of YSU’s five third-quarter 3-pointers, as she bounced back from missing her first pair of shots in the first half.
“Everybody has faith in me. They always tell me all the time to keep shooting,” Cameron said. “So just knowing that everybody doesn’t really care whether I miss, as long as I take a good shot, knowing that in the back of my mind, I’ll just keep shooting. If they go in, they go in.”
Cameron finished with 12 points as one of four Penguins in double figures. Sophia Gregory led YSU with 13 points, while Sarah Baker also had 12 points and Hernandez finished with 11. Brianna Barnes led the Hawks with 14 points.
“Our fans have really shown up the whole season, but especially these last few games,” Cameron said. “Just hearing the crowd pop every time we make a shot, it obviously gives us a lot of momentum. They’re our sixth man, like coach likes to say. Hopefully we get another big crowd on Friday. I know everyone will show up, and we’re all excited.”
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