INDIANAPOLIS — In Monday’s Horizon League semifinal against Cleveland State, a big fourth quarter propelled the Youngstown State women’s basketball team to victory. However, the Penguins couldn’t replicate that feat in Tuesday’s championship game against Green Bay.

After trailing at halftime, the Phoenix flipped the script on the Penguins and controlled the second half to pull away late, handing YSU a devastating 57-49 defeat and capturing their third straight Horizon League tournament championship, as well as the league’s NCAA tournament autobid at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.

“Tough one for us. I want to congratulate Green Bay, unbelievable team, unbelievable program,” YSU coach Melissa Jackson said. “I thought our kids really fought today, obviously first time being in the championship game, first time being in Indy. We really wanted this one today, but Green Bay made a little more plays down the stretch.

“Obviously, they came out in that fourth quarter very aggressive. Credit to our team. Very proud of them, we continued to fight, but at the end of the day, we didn’t get the W that we wanted. But we’ve had an unbelievable year.”

Green Bay improved to 53-6 all-time against the Penguins and extended its win streak to nine against YSU. Youngstown State was trying for its first NCAA tournament bid since 2000.

Tuesday’s title fight proved to be the defensive battle that most expected.

As the league’s top-two defensive teams, points were hard to come by for most of the day and neither team could create much separation.

YSU led 28-25 at halftime, but Green Bay took control during the second half. The Phoenix scored the first five points of the third quarter and outscored the Penguins 32-21 after the intermission.

After shooting 52% in the first half, YSU regressed to 38.5% for the game after being limited to 8-of-29 from the floor in the second half.

The Penguins briefly retook a slight lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Phoenix went on a 9-0 run to push their lead to eight with under three minutes left.

“They were aggressive, much more aggressive than they were in the first half,” Jackson said. “They went inside, they went to their post-up game. They posted up their guards, they took three threes in that second half, a lot less than they did in the first. They recognized some of the mismatches. We didn’t fight nearly as much as we needed to. The help was a little late, but that’s Green Bay — they’re constantly cutting and moving. They’re really difficult to defend.”

YSU finished with 16 turnovers, which Green Bay converted into 14 points. Paulina Hernandez and West Branch High School graduate Sophia Gregory also led the Penguins in scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

“For us to have 16 turnovers, that’s a lot for us,” Jackson said. “At this point in the season, we’ve been unbelievable at keeping and taking care of the ball and being a high-assist team. That was, I think, the difference today.”

Green Bay’s Jenna Guyer was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after finishing with 21 points, while Maddy Skorupski also earned a spot on the Horizon League’s All-Tournament Team.

Rounding out the all-tournament team was Gregory, Casey Santoro and Cleveland State’s Izabella Zingaro.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Despite the loss, YSU’s season may not be over just yet.

Even with the NCAA tournament now out of reach, the Penguins feel like they’re in a position for a postseason bid to either the WBIT or WNIT.

With Selection Sunday this weekend, both tournaments are expected to unveil their fields after the conclusion of the NCAA tournament’s Selection Show that evening.

“I think our resume speaks for itself. We put together a really good nonconference schedule and had some big wins there,” Jackson said. “I think the biggest thing about our group is we’re playing really good basketball. You look at the last month-and-a-half, and this team has continued to get better on both sides of the ball. They’re playing at a really high level.

“We absolutely deserve to be in the postseason. This group, as young as they are, needs to feel that. They need to taste postseason and what that feels like. I know it’s not the postseason they all wanted, but we will regroup, get back to work and we will continue to get better and experience that postseason.”