The Youngstown State women's basketball resumes its long road stretch six hours from home against Central Michigan on Sunday. Tipoff in Mount Pleasant, Mich. is set for 5 p.m. The Penguins, coming off an eight-day layoff for finals, will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Sunday's game will be the first of three in an eight-day stretch for the Penguins.
    Youngstown State enters Sunday's contest after a seven-day layoff for finals and on a three-game slide. The Penguins last played on Dec. 6 at Bowling Green, losing 94-61 to the 2008 WNIT participants. Both teams shot 60 percent in the first half, but the Falcons converted YSU's 14 turnovers in the period into 27 points and led 54-26 at the break. The Penguins were outscored by just five, 40-35, in the second half as they went on to post a season-best 49 percent shooting effort.
    Tiara Scott scored a team-high 12 points while Jaquetta Westley and Kelsey Gurganus had nine and Macey Nortey and Ashley Pendleton scored eight apiece.
    YSU plays at Canisius on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and hosts Akron on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.

Scouting Central Michigan
    Central Michigan has nearly matched its win total from last season after improving to 5-2 with a 96-72 victory over UAB on Saturday. CMU has defeated Valparaiso, Indiana State, Howard and Boston. Junior forward Britni Houghton is averaging a team-high 20.3 points to lead four players averaging double figures. YSU defeated Central Michigan 66-58 on Dec. 5 last season in Youngstown as the Chippewas went on to finish 6-23. Two players that are averaging nearly 12 points did not play last season. Brandie Baker is a freshman (11.7 ppg) and Kaihla Szunko (11.6 ppg) missed all of last season with an injury. CMU's 82.4 points per game rank seventh nationally.

Going on a Mid-American Tour
    Four of Youngstown State's six games in December are against opponents from the Mid-American Conference. Three of the contests are on the road. YSU played at Bowling Green on Dec. 6, and the Guins will play at Central Michigan on Sunday. YSU plays host to Akron on Dec. 20 then travels to Toledo on Dec. 30. Last season the Penguins went 3-2 against MAC opponents.

Road Warriors on Offense
    The Penguins have been a much better offensive team away from Beeghly Center through the season's first month. In the four games away from Youngstown, the Penguins are averaging 57 points and shooting 37.7 percent. At home, YSU is scoring 49 points per contest and shooting 30.7 percent.

Season-High in Shooting at BGSU
    YSU shot a season-high 49 percent in its loss to Bowling Green, making 60 percent in the first half. That came after the Penguins shot just 29.6 percent against Saint Francis (Pa.). YSU's previous season-high in shooting was 38.3 percent in the win over Weber State.
    Seven different players shot at least 50 percent against the Falcons. Macey Nortey (4-4), Camisha Alexander (1-1) and Kaitlyn March (1-1) shot 1.000, Tiara Scott (5-6) shot .833, Ashley Pendleton (3-4) shot .750, and Nikita LaFleur (2-4) and Kenya Middlebrooks (1-2) shot .500.

Gurganus Stepping Up in Offense
    Senior guard Kelsey Gurganus has scored 21 points in the past two games after having just 16 in the first five combined. She has gone 8-for-25 from the floor in the past two contests after going 6-for-27 to start the season. Gurganus also has 14 assists over the past four games and ranks second on the squad with 20 for the season. Gurganus averaged 6.1 points last season.

Pendleton Has Best Game vs. BGSU
    Senior Ashley Pendleton had her best game this season by far against Bowling Green last Saturday. She scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots in 15 minutes. All of those totals were season highs. Coming into the game she had just six points and eight rebounds for the year. Pendleton averaged 6.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 18.5 minutes as a junior.

Godfrey Returns to Lineup
    Senior guard Monique Godfrey played in her first game in more than a year against Bowling Green. Godfrey missed all but the first two games of last season and the first six of this year because of knee surgery. She played four minutes against the Falcons and was 0-for-2 from the floor. Godfrey averaged a team-high 10.8 points as a sophomore.

Overtime A New Experience
    Youngstown State dropped to 6-8 all-time in overtime games with its loss on Dec. 3 to Saint Francis (Pa.). The last single overtime game for YSU was a 58-56 loss to Wright State on March 2, 2004, in the Horizon League Tournament. YSU lost a double-overtime contest with Milwaukee 94-87 on Feb. 9 of last season. Only four of YSU's 12 active players - Kelsey Gurganus, Nikita LaFleur, Ashley Pendleton and Tiara Scott - had ever played in an overtime game before Dec. 3. The Penguins' last win in a game that extended beyond regulation was Feb. 22, 2003, at Butler (80-74).

LaFleur Showing Signs of Career Year Through First Seven Games
    Senior center Nikita LaFleur is 8.3 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds, both of which are career-highs. She has scored 58 points this season, which is already more than her 56 last year when she averaged 2.2 points and 3.3 rebounds. Her 10 steals so far this season are already higher than her yearly totals from her junior and freshman seasons.
    LaFleur had the best game of her career against Weber State on Nov. 28. She posted career-high totals in points (24), rebounds (17), field goals (8), free throws (8) and minutes (35). It was also LaFleur's second career double-double and her first since having 10 points and 10 rebounds against Clarion as a sophomore. The senior from Scarborough, Ontario, was named to the Pittsburgh all-tournament team for her efforts.

Scott Back to Junior-Year Form
    Senior forward Tiara Scott collected her first double-double of the season against Saint Francis and has averaged 12 points over the past six games. She registered season-highs with 16 points and 10 rebounds against the Red Flash, then scored 12 points against Bowling Green last Saturday.
    Since going 0-for-5 with one point in the season opener at Kent State, Scott has shown glimpses of the play that earned her second-team all-Horizon League honors as a junior. She has scored 72 points and gone 26-for-48 in the past six contests.
    Last season, Scott was named Second-Team All-Horizon League after averaging 13.1 points. She has scored in double figures 24 times at YSU, and she's eclipsed the 20-point mark five times.