Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team returns to the road and to the Windy City to look for its first Horizon League win of the season when it visits Loyola, Thursday, Jan. 4.

Tipoff is slated for 5:45 p.m. (EDT) at the James J. Gentile Center in Chicago, Ill.

The Penguins are coming off a disappointing 80-56 home loss to Butler last Saturday afternoon.

Junior Heather Karner led the Penguins with 16 points while sophomores Monique Godfrey and Velissa Vaughn each chipped in with 11 points against the Bulldogs.

Scouting the Ramblers
Loyola enters Thursday's match up with a 1-11 overall record and is also searching for its first Horizon League victory of the season. The Ramblers dropped their first two league contests last week with a last-second loss to UW-Milwaukee, 73-72, and a hard-fought defeat to UW-Green Bay, 87-71. Senior Marquise Hanser leads the Ramblers with 16.4 points per game while senior Jenna Real is also posting double figures with 12.3 points per game.

The Loyola Series
In 11 meetings previously, Loyola has dominated the series winning nine contests and own a 9-2 record against YSU. The Penguins won the last meeting in the Beeghly Center, 60-54. The Penguins have never won at the Gentile Center. Loyola has won by an average of 11.1 points per game at the Gentile Center.

Penguin Block Party
Youngstown State is currently second in the Horizon League in blocked shots per game with 3.50. Sophomore Nikita LaFleur is sixth in the league with 0.92, sophomore Ashley Pendleton is eighth with 0.82 blocks per game and junior Jessica Schloemp and freshman Anjalia Lyons are tied for 12th with 0.50 blocks per game.

Assist Me Please
Junior Lauren Branson continues her climb up the YSU all-time assists chart. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native currently has 244 career assists and needs 67 more to move into 10th place on the career chart. Branson also ranks fifth in the Horizon League with 3.25 assists per game.

Schloemp Streak at 56
With an appearance against Butler on Saturday afternoon, junior Jessica Schloemp extended her games played streak to 56 straight. Schloemp's consecutive games started streak ended at 34 after she did not start against Indiana State on Dec. 6.

Take Care of the Rock
Although the Penguins average 21.8 turnovers per game, junior guard Lauren Branson has been doing her job at the point guard position. Branson has ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a 1.30 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Up Next
The Penguins will remain in Chicago to take on UIC, Saturday, at 4 p.m. (EDT) at the UIC Pavilion.

A Win Will
• Give YSU a 1-2 start in the Horizon League.
• Snap an eight-game losing streak to Division I opponents.
• Mark YSU's third victory of the season.
• Give Head Coach Tisha Hill her 27th career victory.
• Give the YSU women's basketball program its 450th victory since the 1975-76 season.

Last Time Out
The Penguins dropped its second straight Horizon League game with an 80-56 loss at home to Butler last Saturday. Junior Heather Karner led the Penguins with 16 points while sophomores Monique Godfrey and Velissa Vaughn each chipped in with 11 points.

Karner Leads League
Junior Heather Karner has Youngstown State's most consistent offensive threat, especially from behind the 3-point arc. As a matter of fact, Karner has been one of the Horizon League's top 3-point threats. Karner is tied for the league lead with 2.42 3-pointers made per game. She is tied with Loyola's Marquise Hanser, who Karner will face on Thursday evening.

LaFleur Steps Up
Sophomore center Nikita LaFleur turned in a then-career-best scoring high in the 66-58 loss to Akron on Dec. 16. LaFleur scored eight points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line.

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. She posted a career-best seven points against Clarion on Dec. 21.

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 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.

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.

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.