The Beeghly Center is going to be a welcomed site for the YSU women's basketball team as they play it last home game for almost a month when it hosts Mid-American Conference member Buffalo, Tuesday, Nov. 21.

Tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.

The Penguins are coming off a disheartening 55-42 loss at Coppin State last Friday evening in Baltimore, Md. 

Four players - Monique Godfrey, Heather Karner, Anjalia Lyons and Ashley Pendleton - scored eight points and Lyons just missed a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Scouting the Bulls
The Buffalo Bulls are currently 2-2 and are coming off two straight victories last weekend. The Bulls defeated Manhattan, 61-45, on Friday and St. Bonaventure, 67-59, on Saturday. Leading Buffalo is junior Stephanie Bennett with 14.3 points per game while senior Belinda Gibb is posting 12 points per game and junior Heather Turner owns averages of 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

The Buffalo Series
This will be the 20th meeting between YSU and Buffalo and the 12th consecutive season the schools have squared off. The Penguins own an 11-8 advantage in the all-time series but the Bulls have won six of the last seven. Youngstown State won, 75-43, the last time these two teams played at the Beeghly Center in 2004. 

A Win Will 
• Give Head Coach Tisha Hill her 25th career victory.
• Give the YSU women's basketball program its 448th victory since the 1975-76 season.

Road Warriors
The Youngstown State women's basketball team embarks on a grueling road trip playing its next four games away from the friendly confines of the Beeghly Center. The Penguins play five of their first seven games on the road.

Last Time Out
The Penguins dropped a disheartening 55-42 decision to Coppin State last Friday in Baltimore, Md. Four players registered eight points led by freshman Anjalia Lyons, who just missed a double-double with a career-high 12 rebounds.

Home vs. Road
The evidence is quite clear. The Youngstown State women's basketball team prefers playing in the Beeghly Center. Although just two games into the season, YSU is averaging 78 points at home and 42 points on the road - a difference of 36 points per game. Also, the Penguins are shooting 49.1 percent from the field at home while just 33.3 percent on the road.

Lyons Misses Double-Double
In just her second college game, Anjalia Lyons just missed pulling off a tremendous feat. With eight points and a career-high 12 rebounds, Lyons was just two points from becoming the first freshman since Jen Perugini (2001-02) to record a double-double so early in her career. Perugini recorded five straight double-doubles to begin her college career. 

Branson Moving Up
Senior Lauren Branson continues her climb up the YSU all-time assists chart. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native currently has 214 career assists and needs 97 more to move into 10th place on the career chart. 

Up Next
The Penguins hit Tobacco Road for two games at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside Beach Blast hosted by UNC-Wilmington, Nov. 24-25. The Penguins take on UNCW on Friday at 6 p.m. and face either Duquesne or Furman on Saturday.

Quite a Debut
Junior Heather Karner turned in an impressive debut performance in a Penguin uniform against Cincinnati in the season opener. In the 85-78 loss, Karner scored a career-high 34 points on 12-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Her 34 points marks the first time a YSU player scored at least 30 points in a game since Jenny Horner posted 30 points against Cleveland State in 2002.

The last time a YSU player scored 30 or more points in consecutive games was Dorothy Bowers when she scored 36 against Tennessee Tech (2/20/88) and 32 against Middle Tennessee (2/22/88) during the 1987-88 season. Brianne Kenneally is the last YSU player to open the season with at least 30 points and to score at least 30 points in more than one game in a season. Kenneally scored 33 against Bowling Green (11/18/00), 43 against Georgia State (11/24/00) and 31 (11/29/00) against Akron during the 2000-01 season.

Vaughn Nets Career High
After posting a career scoring high of eight points against Cleveland State last season, sophomore Velissa Vaughn delivered the best offensive performance of her career with 14 points against Cincinnati on Nov. 10. Vaughn also added two rebounds and three assists. 

Branson Back At It
In her first game after reconstructive knee surgery, junior guard Lauren Branson was back to her generous ways. In just 25 minutes played, Branson dished out eight assists while scoring five points and four steals.

78 - Most Points Since 03
Youngstown State's 78 points against Cincinnati in the season opener was the highest offensive scoring output in a season-opener since YSU scored 79 points in a 79-67 win over Bowling Green in 2003.

Schloemp Streakin'
With an appearance against Buffalo on Tuesday, junior Jessica Schloemp will extend her games played streak to 47 straight games. If she starts against Buffalo, Schloemp will extend her games started streak to 31.

Fresh Faces
Along with the seven returners, the 2006-07 Youngstown State women's basketball roster is composed of six newcomers, five of which are eligible this season. Junior college transfer Heather Karner, a guard, joins the squad from Western Nebraska Community College and junior guard Kira Mowen, who sat out last season after transferring from Illinois, are expected to bolster the Penguins' backcourt and perimeter. Junior guard Kelsey Gurganus, a transfer from Southern Miss, must sit out the 2006-07 season to fulfill NCAA transfer requirements and will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2007-08.

The 2006-07 freshmen class includes forward Ta-myra Davis, a 6-foot-1 special mention All-Ohio forward from Akron, Ohio, 6-foot-4 center Anjalia Lyons from Maple Heights, Ohio, and 5-foot-8 guard Kaitlyn March, who hails from Rochester, Pa.

Penguins Picked Seventh
The Youngstown State women's basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the Horizon League's official preseason poll of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and selected media, the league announced on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

The Penguins, who ended last season with an 8-20 overall mark and a 4-12 record in the Horizon League, tallied 72 points.

UW-Green Bay, which has won or shared the league title in each of the last nine seasons, was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Horizon League, garnering 22 of 27 first-place votes and 234 points.

Defending tournament champion UW-Milwaukee was voted second with three first-place votes and 198 points while Butler was tabbed third with one first-place vote and 192 points.

Right behind the Bulldogs in fourth was UIC with 185 points and one first-place vote followed by Wright State in fifth with 132 points and Loyola in sixth with 83 points. Rounding out the poll is Detroit in eighth with 63 points and Cleveland State in ninth with 56 points.