After trailing wire-to-wire, NKU took its first lead of the night when Taysha Rushton banked in a layup to put them up 22-21, with four minutes left until halftime.
The Norse were outsourcing Youngstown State 10-5 in the second quarter, until a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions by Erica King and Casey Santoro allowed them to regain control.
Youngstown State continued to push its lead into halftime, up 36-28. NKU trailed the rest of the game and fell 75-55 in a disheartening loss at home.
NKU hosted 19-8 Youngstown State on Feb. 20, with both sides fighting for second place in the Horizon League. The Norse sat just 1.5 games behind Youngstown State, which set the stage for a high-stakes competition.
In the first quarter, Youngstown State got off to a quick 6-0 run that quickly silenced the arena. The Penguin’s stout interior defense locked down NKU, limiting them to 22% shooting from the field.
Quick buckets were the name of the game for the Penguins, scoring at will in the paint. The Norse struggled to gain momentum of their own, but salvaged the final two minutes of the quarter to limit the lead, 16-10.
In the second quarter, the focus shifted, as Youngstown State knocked down four threes, shooting 40% in the half.
The Penguins’ inability to protect the basketball opened the door for NKU. Despite shooting just 30% from the field in the second half, they only trailed by eight, 36-28, at halftime.
In the third quarter, Youngstown State turned the ball over just once, a major momentum swing in comparison to their six in the first half.
The floodgates seemingly opened, as the Penguins plowed ahead to a 57-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Missed layups and inefficiency from beyond the arc had the Norse pinned against the wall, looking for an answer.
The NKU offense relied heavily on freshman Karina Bystry and Maddie Moody, who only had 15 points combined from the rest of the team, while the Penguins had four players in double-digit figures.
Youngstown State’s Casey Santoro was disruptive to the struggling Norse offense, shooting 4-7 from three with 16 points and six rebounds in the first three quarters, adjacent to Sophia Gregory, who hauled in 12 rebounds of her own.
In the fourth quarter, NKU was unable to make a push, and was outscored in the fourth quarter, matching the previous three.
The Norse only made three shots from beyond the arc, all of which came in the fourth quarter, which was a major reason for their lackluster showing offensively.
Bystry didn’t score a bucket in the fourth quarter, but still managed to put together an impressive 18-point game, which was her 20 double-digit point performance of the season.
The Norse lost 75–55 and fell 2.5 games out of second place in the league. They finish the season at home against Wright State on Feb. 21 before closing the regular season on the road against Oakland and Detroit Mercy, with the Horizon League Tournament looming.