Youngstown State Advances to WBI Semifinals

The Youngstown State women's basketball team made 15 3-pointers in an impressive 67-48 win over UMBC in the quarterfinals of the WBI on Saturday at the Beeghly Center. Nikki Arbanas made six threes and finished with 18 points.

Five Penguins made a 3-pointer while Arbanas, Kelsea Newman and Indiya Benjamin combined to make 13 of them. For the game, YSU was 15-of-44 from beyond the arc and 8-of-17 from two-point range. The 15 3s tied a Beeghly Center record, and the 44 attempts from 3-point range tied for the third-most in a game in school history.

The win advances Youngstown State (21-12) to the semifinals where it will play either Louisiana or Stetson. That game is set for later on Saturday. UMBC ends the season with an 18-14 mark.

UMBC led by as much as nine in the first period and converted four Penguins turnovers into 10 points. The Retrievers scored the first five points of the game, and a three-point play by Pandora Wilson put the Retrievers up 14-5 with 3:21 left. Youngstown State scored the next five points on a Janae Jackson layup and an Arbanas triple, but UMBC answered with its own 5-0 run to go up 19-10. After the first period, YSU trailed 19-12.

YSU made five 3-pointers in the second period to outscore UMBC 19-7 and take a 31-26 lead into the break.

Arbanas made 3s on YSU's first two possessions of the second period to close the gap to one, and a 3-pointer by Newman at the 7:30 mark allowed the Penguins to tie the score at 21. A Sarah Cash free throw less than a minute later gave YSU its first lead at 22-21 and capped a 12-2 run by the Penguins over a four-minute stretch. McCarley hit a 3 for UMBC to put the Retrievers up 24-22 with 5:07 left, but YSU scored nine of the final 11 points the rest of the period to take its 31-26 halftime lead. Arbanas' third 3 of the period kickstarted the final burst, and a Benjamin triple with 1:34 remaining accounted for the final points.

In the third period, the Guins extended their lead to 39-30 when Newman hit a 3-pointer with 7:18 left, but a dry spell kept them from pulling away. YSU had five points over the next six minutes as UMBC pulled to within 44-41 on a Capree Garner basket, but Newman scored the final five points of the period to put the Penguins up 49-41 after 30 minutes. Newman hit a 3 with 51 seconds left, and she beat the buzzer on a fast-break layup on a pass from Alison Smolinski.

In the fourth, the Penguins defenese put the clamps on the Retrievers allowing just seven points and one made field goal - a 3-pointer with 5:50 with left that was their final points. UMBC was 1-of-12 in fourth period.

YSU made four 3-pointers in the period and outscored UMBC 18-7. With 6:48 left, YSU took a 56-45 lead Benjamin hit a 3 and Jackson came in to make a free throw to complete four-point play. Arbanas followed with her fifth three of the game to extend the lead to 59-45.

The 3-pointer by Laura Castaldo at 5:50 brought UMBC within 59-48, but the Guins ended the contest by scoring the final eight points. Jackson had a three-point play, Jenna Hirsch had a basket and Arbanas made her sixth three of the game with 1:50 left.

For the game, YSU shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field and was 6-of-8 from line. UMBC was 16-of-54 (29.6 percent), 7-of-22 from 3-point range (31.8 percent) and 9-of-10 (90 percent) from the free-throw line.