The Youngstown State women's basketball team (4-6) concludes its three-game road swing and the non-league portion of its schedule when it visits in-state rival Akron (5-5) Friday, Dec. 21, at 5:30 p.m. at the James A. Rhodes Arena.
The contest is the first part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's basketball team, which takes on the Zips at 8 p.m.
Both games are broadcast live on 570 WKBN-AM and Time Warner Cable.
    The Penguins are coming off their third straight loss after an 84-50 defeat at the hands of No. 18 Ohio State on Wednesday evening.
    Senior Jessica Schloemp led the Penguins with 11 points while senior Heather Karner and junior Kelsey Gurganus each added 10 points.

The Series
This is the 46th meeting between Youngstown State and Akron. The Penguins own a 34-11 advantage in the all-time series, including winning two of the last three games. Last season, the Zips defeated the Penguins, 66-58, at the Beeghly Center. In the last contest at the JAR Arena in 2005, the Guins came away victorious, 58-50.

Scouting The Zips
Akron is currently 5-5 and is coming off a 81-76 win over Houston on Dec. 16. Keyla Snowden came off the bench to lead the Zips with 22 points while Kara Murphy poured in 20 points. Sarah Tokodi leads the Zips with 15.6 points per game while Murphy averages 13.1 points per game and Snowden averages 12.7 points per game.

A Win Will
• Mark YSU's fifth victory of the season.
• Give Head Coach Tisha Hill her 36th career victory.
• Mark YSU's 35th win over Akron.
• Mark the 459th win in program history.

Invitation to a Block Party
The Youngstown State women's basketball team is making it difficult for teams to come inside. The Penguins lead the Horizon League with 4.1 blocks per game as a team. Junior Ashley Pendleton has become one of the top shot blockers in the Horizon League. The 6-foot forward tied a career high with four blocks against Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 8. Pendleton also ranks second in the Horizon League with 1.7 blocks per game. Junior Nikita LaFleur ranks sixth with 1.00 blocks per game and senior Jessica Schloemp is ninth with 0.6 blocks per game.

Schloemp Streak at 83
Senior Jessica Schloemp owns a games played streak of 82 straight. Schloemp has also played in 92 of 93 career games.

Branson Takes Care of the Rock
Senior Lauren Branson continues to prove her value as a point guard. This season, the 5-foot-6 guard has tallied 40 assists to just 17 turnovers in 33.1 minutes per game. She is second in the Horizon League with 4.2 assists per game and second with a 1.91 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Scott Hot to Trot
Junior Tiara Scott has been pretty hard to stop over the last five contests. The Denver, Colo., native is averaging 10.6 points and six rebounds per game and is shooting at a .541 clip from the field. She posted a career-high 15 points against St. Francis (Dec. 1) and had back-to-back 12 point outings against Miami (Ohio) (Dec. 8) and Cincinnati (Dec. 15).

Gurganus Fillin' It Up
Junior Kelsey Gurganus is been quite efficient from the field as of late. Over the last three games, Gurganus is averaging 10.7 points per game and is shooting 55.2 percent from the floor. She is also averaging 3.3 assists per game during that span.

Branson Continues Climb
Senior Lauren Branson continues her ascent up the YSU all-time assists chart. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native currently has 368 career assists and ranks seventh on the YSU all-time career assists list. She also needs nine more assists to move into sixth place and 32 more to become the sixth player in school history to post 400 career assists.

Gurganus Hits Career High
Junior Kelsey Gurganus turned in a career-best scoring performance against Cincinnati on Dec. 15. The 5-foot-10 guard scored a career-high 14 points on a career-best 7-of-12 shooting from the field.

Branson Sets Career Highs
Senior Lauren Branson set two new career highs in leading the Guins to a 66-58 win over Central Michigan on Dec. 5. Branson scored a career-high 20 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Branson, who also dished out six assists, made a career-best three 3-pointers against the Chippewas.

Gurganus Misses Double-Double
Junior Kelsey Gurganus was one basket and one rebound from recording her first career double-double in the loss to Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 8. Gurganus scored eight points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against the RedHawks.

Scott Records Career High
Junior forward Tiara Scott played a major role in the Penguins' 58-57 win over St. Francis (Pa.). Scott led the Penguins with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.

Pendleton Nets First Double-Double, All-Tourney Honors
Junior Ashley Pendleton turned in two solid performances at the LIU Turkey Classic. The 6-foot forward averaged 15.5 points and seven rebounds per game in two games at the LIU Turkey Classic to nab all-tournament honors. Pendleton scored a career-high 18 points in a 68-54 loss to Long Island and posted her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Albany.

Schloemp Double Dips
Senior Jessica Schloemp posted the fifth double-double of her career with 15 points and 14 rebounds against Buffalo on Nov. 11. Schloemp connected on 6-of-14 from the floor and 10 of her 14 boards came on the defensive glass.

Seniors Tabbed Team Captains
Guards Lauren Branson, Heather Karner and Kira Mowen and senior forward Jessica Schloemp have been named team captains for the 2007-08 basketball season.

Penguins Picked Sixth
    Youngstown State was predicted to finish sixth in the Horizon League standings with 118 points in a poll of the League's head coaches, sports information directors and select media, the Horizon League announced.
    Milwaukee was picked to win the league with 253 points and 13 first-place votes while Green Bay was second with 244 points and nine first-place votes.
    Butler ranked third while UIC and Valparaiso placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Wright State was picked seventh and Cleveland State, Detroit and Loyola placed eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

Karner Nabs Preseason Laurels
Senior Heather Karner was named to the Horizon League Preseason All-League Second-Team in a vote of the circuit's head coaches, sports information directors and select media. Karner led the Penguins with 10.9 points per game and was named to the all-newcomer team last season.

Up Next
The Guins are off for the holiday season and won't return to action until Jan. 3, 2008, when they open Horizon League action against UIC. Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m. at the Beeghly Center and is part of a women's and men's basketball doubleheader.