Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU's Erica King drives toward the lane prior to netting a bucket during her 11-point outing on Wednesday night against Purdue Fort Wayne.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State needed a lot of things to go right on Wednesday night against the top team in the Horizon League.

But instead, a slow start left YSU digging itself out of a hole early on. The Penguins were unable to overcome the early deficit, as Purdue Fort Wayne won its 14th straight game and remained unbeaten in conference play with a 79-56 victory at Zidian Family Arena.

“First and foremost, Purdue Fort Wayne’s really good. They’re No. 1 in our league for a reason, and I think they showed that tonight,” YSU head coach Melissa Jackson said. “They have a starter down, and they have unbelievable kids that stepped up, and experience in an unbelievable system that they’ve been running for a long time. Great players too (that are) very well coached. They hit us early both offensively and defensively.”

In that opening quarter, the Penguins scored just five points on 2-for-14 shooting, while turning the ball over seven times.

After made baskets, the Mastodons pressed and traped, then dropped into a 3-2 zone in the half court. YSU struggled against the zone, especially early on.

“We did some things differently today that got away from some of our normal principles, and that’s on me,” Jackson said. “I don’t know if it was the right call, and I’ll be honest about that. But they hit us early.

“Transition defense, we knew that was going to be huge, especially with (Renna Schwieterman) in the starting lineup. That’s five shooters on the floor. So I think that was a challenge for us early on, as well as their split-screen action. It’s tough to defend, and then they mix up their defenses. We prepped for that, but until you see it live, it’s a different animal.”

Jackson said YSU went back to its normal style of play in the second half, which got the Penguins back on track.

“I thought we got much more comfortable as the game went on,” Jackson said.

After falling into the early double-digit deficit, YSU got PFW’s lead down to eight during the second quarter. But the Mastodons ended the half with back-to-back baskets to push their lead back to 13 at halftime.

Even without starting forward Jazzlyn Linbo, who was out against the Penguins with a leg injury, Purdue Fort Wayne dominated YSU in the post.

The Mastodons outscored the Penguins 42-26 in the paint, as guards Sydney Freeman, Lauren Ross and Jordan Reid drove and attacked the basket. It didn’t help that YSU forward Sophia Gregory had to sit most of the first half in foul trouble after picking up two early fouls.

“I thought they got downhill on us,” Jackson said. “We were switching, but it wasn’t enough. They continued to back us down and get into their post ups. They got really good players that know how to make plays and they play well together. But they’re tough to defend. The points in the paint was definitely a big factor tonight.”

This season, the Mastodons have been the best 3-point shooting team in the conference and one of the best in the country.

For three quarters, YSU kept PFW’s hot shooting in check, holding the Mastodons to 2-for-13 from deep. But they started to catch fire in the fourth quarter, as they finished the game by shooting 5-for-6 from beyond the arc to pull away from the Penguins late.

“We were aware that they could all shoot the three,” Jewel Watkins said. “They kind of broke us down. They started off making layups, and then they started hitting kick outs.”

In the first meeting on Jan. 1, Watkins succeeded in limiting Ross — who averages 17.1 points per game — by holding her to two points on 1-for-6 shooting.

This time around, however, Ross found her scoring touch. She was quiet to start, but then she came alive in the second quarter and ended up finishing with 16 points. In the second half, YSU put Watkins back on Ross, largely keeping her in check the rest of the night.

“They didn’t do anything different, we did something different. We were switching a lot of their actions, which allowed them not to have Jewel on her,” Jackson said. “At halftime, we made the adjustment, kept Jewel on her. I thought it was effective in the second half.”

Ross was one of four Mastodons to score in double figures, including Reid (16), Schwieterman (12) and Freeman, who had a game-high 22 points.

Watkins led the Penguins with 16 points, while Gregory had 12 and Erica King added 11.

The Penguins now have a week until their next game, when they make their annual Wisconsin road swing against Green Bay on Feb. 6 and Milwaukee on Feb. 8.