The Horizon League Women’s Basketball Tournament has officially begun.
In the earliest match of the first round, #9 Youngstown State visited the Nutter Center, home to #8 Wright State, both looking to punch their ticket to the second round to visit one of the higher seeds and continue the path to Indianapolis.
For Youngstown State’s coach Melissa Jackson, this would mean coming into the Nutter Center and defeating the Raiders for the first time this season. Youngstown is coming off a close win against Cleveland State where they were able to contain Mickayla Perdue, the Horizon League Player of the Year, to just 1-7 shooting and 11 PTs while being lead by monstrous efforts from Jewel Watkins and Sophia Gregory, who scored 29 and 20 PTs respectively.
Wright State, after tallying together three straight wins for the first time this season, were unable to get key wins against Cleveland State and Robert Morris to help boost their seeding. All-Defensive Team selection Amaya Staton helped lead the Raiders in those games, continuing her double-double streak to 8 consecutive in the final match. While WSU was able to claim the two matches against Youngstown State this season, the last match saw Youngstown fight back from behind to force overtime and lose in the last minute to free throws.
Starting off the tournament, Wright State got off the ground immediately in the first quarter, putting together an early 10-2 run to get some distance from the Penguins. Youngstown fought to get within a point of of that lead and kept it close throughout the quarter until Wright State was able to put some breathing room on a last second jumper from Lauren Scott to end the quarter 17-13. During that stretch of time, Amaya Staton quietly pulled in 11 RBs in route to something special.
To start the second quarter, Wright State tapped into their three point shooting to put together an 11 PT run in just under three minutes of play. Youngstown pushed back shortly after to break out of the double digit deficit by throwing down jumpers on the interior, with Jewel Watkins and Haley Thierry showing their skill on the floor. Following that burst, the Penguins were stalled out as they missed some key free throws and the Raiders brought the lead back to 16, punctuated again by a last second Scott bucket to end the half 44-28.
In contrast to the Raiders 3PT scoring, the Penguins only attempted 3 shots behind the arc in the first half. After a slow beginning, Youngstown began start shooting behind the arc again and roll back on the Raider lead thanks in large part to Sophia Gregory turning on the heat, blocking down low as the Raiders tried to drive.
“Sophia’s the best freshman in the league, she was Freshman of the Year and a starter for us… you saw today her range from outside,” Jackson commented about Sophia Gregory. “She’s a big piece of our future going forward… and we’re excited to build around her and the other kids.”
After a 7 PT run to end the quarter and another 5 PTs following the break, Youngstown was poised to take the contest to the wire. The Penguins would get no closer however as the Raiders let Amaya Staton and take away rebound chances. Wright State kept the Penguins at bay for the remainder of the period and punched their ticket to the second round with a score of 73-58.
“I thought [Wright State] played really really well, our game plan was to be in zone… they definitely shot us out of the zone,” Jackson recapped. “I really love that locker room, I love our kids, they fight… they could’ve gave up coming out of the half, [but] we cut it to single digits and I think that’s a testament to our program and a testament to our ladies.”
Watkins (14 PTs on 5-17), Thierry (14 PTs on 5-9, 7 RBs), and Gregory (13 PTs on 6-17, 9 RBs, 4 steals, 2 blocks) all led the way for the Penguins in the match. For the Raiders, Makiya Miller (9 PTs, 2-5 3FG), Lauren Scott (12 PTs, 2-6 3FG), Rylee Sagester (8 PTs, 2-3 3FG), and Macie Taylor (8 PTs, 2-2 3FG) all landed multiple attempts from three to bring the Raiders one of their better shooting efforts from the arc this season. Amaya Staton led the squad with 17 PTs overall, including 3 blocks and 2 steals, but that wasn’t the only notable stat that she added.
Amaya Staton’s 27 rebounds (9 ORB, 18 DRB) is not just a career high for the graduate student, it is the most rebounds in a single game by any individual in Division I this season, beating out Oregon’s Phillipina Kyei who previously stood alone with 25. It is a Wright State program record, shattering the previous record of 25 set in 1975 by Margie Coate when WSU was still in Division II and shared a conference with Cedarville. It surpasses the Horizon League tournament record and ties the Horizon League single-game record set by Detroit’s Cheryl Day in 1990.
“Oh wow, that’s real crazy!” Staton exclaimed during the postgame interview after being briefed of her accomplishment. “It just sounds surreal like I didn’t even know how many I had, I just knew I had to go get the rebounds and make the plays.”
Youngstown State ends the season with a 12-19 overall record in Melissa Jackson’s first year at the helm. Throughout the journey, the Penguins were faced with numerous injuries that left them struggling to find players to fit the post, allowing Sophia Gregory to make herself known and become the All-Horizon Freshman of the Year in the process.
With injuries to Ashlynn Van Tassell, Sarah Baker and more, Gregory’s breakout season and composure on the court helped Youngstown stay afloat through the adversity. The Penguins say goodbye to Horizon League Second Team selection Jewel Watkins, second all-time 3PT scorer Malia Magestro, and leading scorer in the game Haley Thierry in the offseason and will look to build upon this season going forward.
“I was excited when I took the job, I took the job for a reason because I knew we could build something really special… I’m really happy with what we were able to accomplish with all the adversity and injuries we had,” Jackson replied when asked about her impressions of her first year as coach. “I thought we laid a great foundation in our first year, we built our culture and now we just gotta continue to build it and get better and get back to where we need to be.”
As part of the reseeding process due to #10 Oakland’s win against #7 IU Indy, #8 Wright State will travel to face #2 Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, March 6th. Their game will be played at 7 pm
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