Dec. 9, 2011
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
ATHENS, Ohio - Playing in the 1,000th game in program history, Ohio Women's Basketball dropped a 55-47 decision to the visiting Youngstown State Penguins on Friday night. The loss was Ohio's fourth in a row following an early-season three-game winning streak, putting them at 3-5 through the first eight games of the season.
Penguin forward Heidi Schlegel led the way for the visitors, scoring a career-high 21 points. Ohio's Tenishia Benson (Akron, Ohio) and Porsha Harris (Chicago, Ill.) had big days as well, scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively. Harris contributed a double-double to the Green and White's cause, collecting 10 rebounds.
Ohio shot at a 31.1 percent clip throughout the contest while Youngstown State connected on 43.5 percent of its field goals. The Bobcats did have an edge in rebounding, collecting 37 boards to Youngstown State's 35.
The Bobcats got off to a solid start, earning a 10-8 lead after the opening seven minutes. YSU turned up the tempo over the next few minutes, going on a 13-4 run over the next 8:13 to take a 21-14 advantage. Integral in this stretch was Schlegel, who scored seven of the 13 points. To close out the half, Ohio went on an 8-3 run to pull within striking range at 24-22.
Following an early jumper by Benson which leveled the scores at 24 apiece, Youngstown State opened the second half on a 20-5 run during which Schlegel and starting forward Brandi Brown combined to score 18 of the 20 points.
Facing a 44-29 deficit, Ohio was able to claw its way back into the game thanks to a few big three-pointers by Ashley Fowler (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Symone Lyles (Silver Spring, Md.) which keyed a 15-4 run. Trailing 48-44, Ohio would get no closer as the Penguins scored seven of the game's final ten points.
The Bobcats will next be in action on Dec. 11 when they host the San Francisco Dons. Tip time is set for 2 p.m. from the Convocation Center.
