Published: Sunday, December 17, 2006
Akron hands Penguins fifth loss in row, 66-58
The Zips outscored YSU in the final
8:00 by 18-9 to win at Beeghly Center.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State women's basketball coach Tisha Hill is certain of two things so far this season: Heather Karner can score outside and Anjalia Lyons can score inside.
But until someone else on the team can develop into a consistent scoring threat, the Penguins will continue to have problems winning games.
Lyons poured in a career-high 20 points, as YSU rallied from a 10-point deficit, but Akron outscored the Penguins 18-9 in the final eight minutes of the contest to seize a 66-58 victory Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
The loss was the fifth straight for Youngstown State (1-7), who was playing for the first time in 10 days. The game was the first of five consecutive home games.
"A.L. [Anjalia Lyons] has been playing well for us and she stepped up again today," said Hill. "Karner had a tough night and we knew Akron would play her hard all game. You have to give their defense credit. They just weren't leaving her tonight.
"We'll continue to go to the well inside when things are going so well. We just needed Monique [Godfrey], Velissa [Vaughn] and some others to step up where we were lacking. We had some open looks, but just didn't put the ball in the hole."
YSU bounces back
Akron led by as much as 10 points (26-16) in the first half. But the Penguins engineered a quick 10-2 run in the final 2:32 to cut the deficit to 28-26 at the intermission.
Karner scored six of her eight points in the first eight minutes of the second half, to give Youngstown State a short-lived lead. Her 3-point play with 8:07 left in the game put the Penguins ahead 40-38.
The Zips responded with solid defense and 10-3 offensive spurt over the next six minutes to take the momentum.
After a basket by Lyons gave YSU a 51-50 advantage at the 6:44 mark, Youngstown State went the rest of the game without a field goal. All seven of the Penguins final points her scored at the free throw line.
"We got ourselves back in the game, so that's a bright spot," said Hill. "But turnovers were huge again for us tonight. We have to solve that problem before we get into league play. We had some scoring opportunities, but we didn't convert and then we missed some key box outs."
YSU shoots poorly
The Penguins turned the ball over 24 times — about their average so far this season. Youngstown State shot just 36 percent from the field, compared to 52 percent for Akron. The Zips outscored YSU 12-0 in fast break points.
Youngstown State held a 34-30 edge on the boards and outscored the Zips 19-13 at the free throw line.
It was the fifth game this season that Lyons has led the Penguins in scoring. She added five rebounds to her 20 points. Karner was held to just 3-of-10 shooting and finished with 8 points. Nikita LaFleur and Vaughn each added eight markers.
Niki McCoy paced Akron with 20 points and nine rebounds. Leetonia High graduate Jessica Deville logged 10 minutes in the contest with two rebounds and one block.
The Penguins will look to break its losing skid Monday night when they play host to Robert Morris at Beeghly Center in a 7:05 tip-off.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
The Zips outscored YSU in the final
8:00 by 18-9 to win at Beeghly Center.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State women's basketball coach Tisha Hill is certain of two things so far this season: Heather Karner can score outside and Anjalia Lyons can score inside.
But until someone else on the team can develop into a consistent scoring threat, the Penguins will continue to have problems winning games.
Lyons poured in a career-high 20 points, as YSU rallied from a 10-point deficit, but Akron outscored the Penguins 18-9 in the final eight minutes of the contest to seize a 66-58 victory Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
The loss was the fifth straight for Youngstown State (1-7), who was playing for the first time in 10 days. The game was the first of five consecutive home games.
"A.L. [Anjalia Lyons] has been playing well for us and she stepped up again today," said Hill. "Karner had a tough night and we knew Akron would play her hard all game. You have to give their defense credit. They just weren't leaving her tonight.
"We'll continue to go to the well inside when things are going so well. We just needed Monique [Godfrey], Velissa [Vaughn] and some others to step up where we were lacking. We had some open looks, but just didn't put the ball in the hole."
YSU bounces back
Akron led by as much as 10 points (26-16) in the first half. But the Penguins engineered a quick 10-2 run in the final 2:32 to cut the deficit to 28-26 at the intermission.
Karner scored six of her eight points in the first eight minutes of the second half, to give Youngstown State a short-lived lead. Her 3-point play with 8:07 left in the game put the Penguins ahead 40-38.
The Zips responded with solid defense and 10-3 offensive spurt over the next six minutes to take the momentum.
After a basket by Lyons gave YSU a 51-50 advantage at the 6:44 mark, Youngstown State went the rest of the game without a field goal. All seven of the Penguins final points her scored at the free throw line.
"We got ourselves back in the game, so that's a bright spot," said Hill. "But turnovers were huge again for us tonight. We have to solve that problem before we get into league play. We had some scoring opportunities, but we didn't convert and then we missed some key box outs."
YSU shoots poorly
The Penguins turned the ball over 24 times — about their average so far this season. Youngstown State shot just 36 percent from the field, compared to 52 percent for Akron. The Zips outscored YSU 12-0 in fast break points.
Youngstown State held a 34-30 edge on the boards and outscored the Zips 19-13 at the free throw line.
It was the fifth game this season that Lyons has led the Penguins in scoring. She added five rebounds to her 20 points. Karner was held to just 3-of-10 shooting and finished with 8 points. Nikita LaFleur and Vaughn each added eight markers.
Niki McCoy paced Akron with 20 points and nine rebounds. Leetonia High graduate Jessica Deville logged 10 minutes in the contest with two rebounds and one block.
The Penguins will look to break its losing skid Monday night when they play host to Robert Morris at Beeghly Center in a 7:05 tip-off.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Youngstown State women's basketball coach Tisha Hill is certain of two things so far this season: Heather Karner can...
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