Youngstown State's women's basketball team got off to a tough start offensively and was unable to catch IU Indy in a 65-50 loss to the Jaguars at The Jungle on Saturday.

The Penguins shot 22.2% from the field and had 14 turnovers in the first half as IU Indy built a 28-19 lead. YSU increased its point total in each quarter, but the Jaguars scored 22 points in the third period to maintain the lead.

Erica King scored all 13 of her points in the second half for Youngstown State, and Malia Magestro scored nine of her 13 in the first half. Magestro made three of the seven combined 3-pointers in the game as IU Indy scored 42 points in the paint and made 15 free throws.

Faith Stinson had a career afternoon for the Jaguars with 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

Youngstown State is now 7-7 overall and 2-2 in Horizon League play, while IU Indy is 2-11 and 1-3.

YSU's Sophia Gregory blocked Stinson on IU Indy's opening possession, and the Penguin freshman scored nine seconds later at the 9:21 mark to make the score 2-0. Stinson had just two more misses the rest of the game, and the Penguins had just one more field goal the rest of the quarter.

Stinson's 3 with 5:13 on the first-quarter clock put the Jaguars ahead 11-4, and Magestro hit a 3-pointer in transition a minute later to get the Penguins to within four at the media timeout. That was the final field goal for either team in the period, and IU Indy added four free throws to own a 15-7 advantage after 10 minutes.

Magestro then made two 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second period, cutting the margin to seven each time. Her second bucket made the score 20-13, but IU Indy held the Penguins to two field goals the rest of the half.

YSU stayed within striking distance at the half with a manageable nine-point, 28-19 deficit, but the Jaguars scored the first six points of the second half and led by double digits the rest of the way.

The Penguins' offense started to improve by scoring 12 points over the final six-and-a-half minutes of the period, but they couldn't get enough stops on the defensive end to take a big chunk out of the deficit. They got within 10 three times in the third before IU Indy closed the quarter on a 12-5 run to extend its lead to 50-33.

Behind nine points from King in the fourth quarter, the Penguins got within a dozen three times. The final time came when King's driving layup with 3:45 on the clock made the score 58-46, but YSU had one field goal the rest of the game.

Youngstown State shot 29.8% overall while going 5-for-22 from 3-point range, and it settled in to commit just two turnovers in the second half. IU Indy shot 44.4% overall despite going 2-for-16 from beyond the arc, and the Jaguars held a 42-14 scoring edge in the paint.

Source: Youngstown State University