DETROIT — Detroit Mercy tried playing man, it tried pressing and it even tried zone. No matter what the Titans did defensively on Thursday night, it had no answer for the Youngstown State women’s basketball team’s first-half shooting clinic.
The Penguins shot 64% overall in the first half and built a sizable lead, which helped them run away with a 69-53 victory over the Titans at historic Calihan Hall.
“We tried to be in attack mode,” head coach Melissa Jackson said. “That was really the key for us. We talked about not taking anybody lightly, learning from some past games that maybe we have not done that. So we knew they were going to muck it up and play different defenses and look to press. As long as we could be one-and-done on the glass, get rebounds and go, we were going to try to be aggressive early on, and I thought we did that.
“It was a mixture of getting the ball inside, kicking it out and having all five of them in attack mode.”
YSU regressed to the mean a little bit in the second half but still finished shooting 50% overall for the night, its second-best shooting performance in Horizon League play.
By the end of the first quarter, the Penguins had already built a 15-point lead. By halftime, they had extended that to 19 and led by as many as 26 in the second half.
“I thought our ball movement was really crisp,” Jackson said. “We knew that they would possibly dig and double. So we were prepared for that, and I thought our shooters were ready. … But I really credit our ball movement. I thought our players were communicating on offense, and it was really crisp, probably the best it’s been for that first half.”
Even when the Titans (4-17, 2-10 Horizon) looked poised to make a run during the second quarter, YSU (15-7, 8-4 Horizon) ended the half strong thanks to a shooting barrage from Danielle Cameron and Erica King, as the duo combined to knock down eight 3-pointers for the Penguins in the first half.
Cameron finished with a game-high 19 points to continue her recent run of form, and it was the third time in the last four games that she’s hit five 3-pointers.
“I think she’s really confident,” Jackson said. “You can do a lot with confidence. Confident shooters are an unbelievable thing. I think our offense, through the passing — you have to credit the passers for those passes to be in the shooter’s pocket. We spend a lot of time on that because it really helps the shooter’s rhythm and keeps them in rhythm.”
For King, it was a get-right game of sorts.
The Penguins’ third-leading scorer had not scored in double figures since YSU’s loss to Northern Kentucky on Jan. 8. During that five-game stretch, she never scored more than five points, which dipped her season scoring average to 9.3 points per game.
However, she was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor against the Titans, knocking down all four of her 3-point attempts to finish with 14 points.
“It felt really good. Being able to be consistent for my team, it’s just a blessing,” King said. “I love that I’m able to do that again, and hopefully I can continue doing this for my team.”
Opposing teams have keyed on King defensively, which has also contributed to her recent performances. She’s had to adjust, and that’s been a “learning process.”
“Just figuring out what else I can do, because there’s more things than scoring,” King said. “Out of everybody on the team, I’m the one who drives most, and I feel like it’s easier to collapse on me. But it’s also easier for me to kick it out. I think that’s just where my mentality has been, driving and kicking. I also think teams collapsing on me has also helped me open my eyes and see the floor more and also get to different positions.”
Despite the scoring slump, King’s minutes never dipped, having played the second-most minutes on the team this season.
And even when her shots hadn’t been falling, she’s still found other ways to make an impact. Against Detroit Mercy, King drew the assignment of Titans leading scorer Makayla Jackson, and she held Jackson to 3-of-17 shooting and just eight points.
“We have stayed confident with her,” Melissa Jackson said. “She’s put in the work, and she’s been in the gym. What I love about her is she continues to play defense. She had Makayla Jackson, who I think is a really good guard in this league, and held her to 3-of-17. So she’s not just a scorer for us. She impacts the game in so many ways. But it’s so good to see that ball come off her hand as clean as it did tonight. Hopefully, this gives her a lot of confidence.”
In addition to Cameron and King, Sarah Baker and Sophia Gregory each also finished in double figures, scoring 11 and 13 points, respectively. Kailee Davis led Detroit Mercy with 15 points.
YSU now heads across the Detroit metro area to Oakland on Saturday at 2 p.m. to wrap up its annual Michigan swing.
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