Staff photo / Dan Hiner Youngstown State senior guard Haley Thierry (23) celebrates after successfully stealing the ball and clinching a win over Cleveland State on Saturday at Beeghly Center in Youngstown.

YOUNGSTOWN – There were 4.4 seconds on the clock, and Cleveland State had possession. But before the Vikings could get off a game-tying shot, Haley Thierry cut across and stole the ball.

She sprinted down the right sideline to the other end of the court and waited for the buzzer to ring in Beeghly Center. When the signal finally came, she threw the ball in the air as the Youngstown State women’s basketball team’s bench flooded the court.

The Penguins battled back and held on to beat Cleveland State 73-70 to close the regular season. It was also a successful Senior Day for Jewel Walkins, Malia Magestro and Thierry.

“We’ve talked about the league standings and all that. There’s clearly a top three, and you only have so many opportunities against those top three, and this was guaranteed our last one,” YSU head coach Melissa Jackson said.

The Penguins (12-18, 7-13 Horizon League) couldn’t buy a shot to start the game. They went 2-for-17 (11.8%) shooting and 0 for 5 from beyond the arc in the first quarter.

YSU’s defense made things difficult for the Vikings (23-8, 14-6 HL) as well. But Cleveland State held a 17-10 lead by the end of the first.

Youngstown State got some shots to fall in the second quarter and began to chip away. By the media timeout, they were 4 for 9 from the floor and cut the deficit to 23-19.

Cleveland State made four of its final seven shots to close the half and take a 36-28 lead into the locker room.

“We were like, ‘We’re in this, we gotta keep our foot on the gas and have a big first few minutes of the (second half), and we did that,'” said Watkins, who scored a season-high 29 points.

A 10-0 run gave YSU its first lead of the game when Watkins sank a 3-pointer. It put the Penguins ahead 38-36 with 7:55 to play in the third.

Sophia Gregory, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, helped power the 10-point run with five points and a couple steals. Her presence in the post helped keep the offense efficient while continuing to apply pressure to the CSU defense.

“To only have five turnovers against that defense is really, really impressive,” Jackson said. “We talked at length at halftime about how much they were gonna turn it up, and we had to stay composed, we had to be strong with the ball … doing what we wanted to do offensively. But they’re really good and they take that stuff away.”

The rest of the game was back and forth, with the largest lead coming by way of the Vikings’ 66-61 advantage midway through the fourth quarter.

Cleveland State led 70-68 with a minute to play. But Watkins found Bella Samz in the left corner for a go-ahead three with 55 seconds left. It was Samz’s only 3-pointer and the sophomore’s first since Feb. 13 against Wright State.

Sara Guerreiro missed a layup on CSU’s next possession, and Watkins gave the Penguins a little breathing room on a layup with 11 seconds on the clock.

That set up Thierry’s steal to clinch the win, and it capped a solid night for Thierry, who scored nine points with a game-high 12 rebounds and three assists.

“(Thierry’s) fearless and she’s go, go, go,” Watkins said. “It doesn’t matter if you block her shot 10 times, she’s gonna keep going at you. And that’s exactly what we need, that dog, that fight on the floor. I’m so happy she brings that to this team.”

YSU will open the Horizon League tournament with a trip to Dayton to visit Wright State. The game is set for March 4. The Penguins lost both meetings with the Raiders this season, falling 77-62 in Dayton on Jan. 12 and dropping one in overtime 78-76 on Feb. 13.

But that’s for next week. The players and coaches enjoyed Saturday’s win and sent the seniors off on a high note.

“We just needed to put a little bit of pressure on them and make them feel tight,” Jackson said. “But I thought we made the winning plays tonight that were huge. And I’m just so happy for our whole team, but especially our three seniors.”