The Youngstown State women's basketball team (1-5) closes out nearly a month-long span playing away from the Beeghly Center when it visits Missouri Valley Conference member Indiana State, Wednesday, Dec. 6.

Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

The Penguins enter the contest the losers of three straight games, including a 69-51 loss at Miami (Ohio) last Thursday.

Heather Karner led the Penguins in scoring for the fourth time in six outings with 15 points, including four 3-pointers.

Sophomore Ashley Pendleton posted a career-high nine points and four blocks while classmate Nikita LaFleur added a career-high 10 rebounds against the RedHawks.

Scouting the Sycamores
Indiana State enters the contest with a 4-2 overall record and have won its last two contests. The Sycamores are coming off an 83-71 win over Valparaiso last Saturday. Leading ISU is Angela Phillips with 13.5 points per game while Laura Rudolphi (12.8 ppg), Leah Phillips (12.5 ppg), Kelsey Luna (12.2 ppg) and Rachel Maenpaa (12.0 ppg) are all averaging in double figures.

The Indiana State Series
This will be just the fourth meeting in the all-time series between YSU and ISU. The Sycamores own a 2-1 advantage, including a 96-57 win at Beeghly Center last season.

A Win Will
• Snap a three-game losing streak.
• Mark YSU's first victory over a school from the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Give Head Coach Tisha Hill her 26th career victory.
• Give the YSU women's basketball program its 449th victory since the 1975-76 season.

Last Time Out
The Penguins dropped their third straight game after a 69-51 loss at Miami (Ohio) last Thursday evening. Junior Heather Karner led the Penguins in scoring for the fourth time in six games with 15 points. Sophomore Nikita LaFleur posted a career-high 10 rebounds.

Home vs. Road
The evidence is quite clear. The Youngstown State women's basketball team prefers playing in the Beeghly Center. YSU is averaging 78 points at home and 48.5 points on the road - a difference of 29.5 points per game. Also, the Penguins are shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 44.7 percent from the 3-point line at home while just 31.8 percent on the road.

Karner Among League Leaders
Junior Heather Karner has been racking up some pretty impressive numbers after six games. The 5-foot-10 guard ranks third in the league with 17 points per game and leads the circuit with 2.83 3-pointers made per game. She also ranks eighth in the Horizon League with a .750 free-throw percentage and ninth with a .386 3-point percentage.

Pendleton Hits Scoring High
Sophomore forward Ashley Pendleton turned in a solid performance at Miami (Ohio) scoring a career-high nine points and blocking four shots. Pendleton also grabbed five rebounds in 21 minutes of action.

Davis Hits Career Highs
Freshman Ta-myra Davis turned in the best performance of her young career against Duquesne on Nov. 25. The 6-foot-1 forward grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and scored five points against the Dukes.

Karner Nabs All-Tournament Laurels
Junior Heather Karner picked up some hardware at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside Classic even though the Penguins went 0-2 at the tournament. Karner was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 14.5 points per game while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from the 3-point arc. She also posted a game-high 23 points against UNC-Wilmington on 7-of-11 shooting with five 3-pointers.

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 against Coppin State, 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 229 career assists and needs 82 more to move into 10th place on the career chart.

Up Next
The Penguins finally return to host Akron, Dec. 16, at 2:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.

Karner Likin' Beeghly
Junior Heather Karner has shown she enjoys playing in the Beeghly Center. The 5-foot-10 guard is averaging 25 points per game while shooting 60.7 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range. She poured in 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting against Cincinnati on 11/10 and 16 points against Buffalo on 11/21.

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 Again
After posting a then-career scoring high of 14 points in the season opener against Cincinnati, sophomore Velissa Vaughn posted career highs with 17 points and seven assists in YSU's 78-44 win over Buffalo on Nov. 21.

Dime Dropper
Junior point guard Lauren Branson continues to prove her worth to the women's basketball team. In three games this season, Branson has dished out 24 assists for an average of 4.0 assists per game. She is also averaging just 24.2 minutes per game.

Back-to-Back 78's - Most Points Since 1999-2000
Youngstown State's 78 points in back-to-back home games (156 points) is the highest two-game total to open the season since 1999-2000 when the Penguins scored 168 points in their first two home games against Bowling Green (W, 83-68) on Nov. 20 and Kent State (W, 85-74) on Nov. 23.

Schloemp Streak Reaches 50
With an appearance against Indiana State on Wednesday, junior Jessica Schloemp will extend her games played streak to 51 straight games. If she starts against Indiana State, Schloemp will extend her games started streak to 35.