Youngstown State will play Canisius for the first time since the 1989-90 season when the teams square off on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game from Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, N.Y. will be carried live on NewsRadio 570 WKBN.
    The Penguins will be looking to snap a four-game skid in the final contest of their three-game road swing. YSU arrived home from Sunday's 78-50 loss at Central Michigan just before 2 a.m. on Monday and will depart for Canisius at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
    YSU played one of its best halves of the season in the first 20 minutes against the Chippewas. The Penguins shot 46 percent in the first half and trailed CMU, which entered the game ranked seventh in the nation in scoring, 37-33 at halftime. In the second half, YSU committed 19 turnovers, shot 33.3 percent and was outscored 41-17. The Guins still outshot the Chippewas 40.4 percent to 39.5 percent but were outscored 46-26 in the paint and 32-7 off turnovers.
    It was the second straight game that YSU shot better than 40 percent from the floor. Nikita LaFleur had her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Scouting Canisius
    Canisius has won three of its last four contests after defeating Saint Louis 67-64 on Sunday afternoon. Wednesday's game will be the fourth straight home contest for the Griffs, who have not played on the road this month. They earlier won at Binghamton on Nov. 29 and against Siena on Dec. 5 in their latest run. The Griffs' only loss since Nov. 25 came to preseason MAAC favorite Marist (70-52) on Dec. 7. Canisius beat Buffalo 69-56 in the season opener and lost at UIC 63-59 on Nov. 25. All four players who have started every game are averaging more than nine points. Senior forward Marie Warner is scoring a team-best 15.1 points per game.

Shooting Picking Up in Last Two
    Youngstown State has had its top shooting performances of the season in its last two contests. The Penguins shot a season-high 49 percent in their loss to Bowling Green on Dec. 6. They shot 60 percent in the first half. YSU then made 40.4 percent overall and 46.2 percent in the first half against Central Michigan on Sunday. Prior to the game at Bowling Green, YSU had shot better than 33.3 percent only once in its first six games (Weber State - 38.3 percent).

LaFleur Notches Second Double-Double of Season
    Senior forward Nikita LaFleur continued her breakout year at Central Michigan on Sunday when she posted her second double-double of the year. LaFleur scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Chippewas, both of which were team-highs. She also had a double-double against Weber State with 24 points and 17 rebounds, both of which were career highs. LaFleur had one double-double entering this season against Division II Clarion as a sophomore.

LaFleur Showing Signs of Career Year Through First Eight Games
    Senior forward Nikita LaFleur is averaging 9.1 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds, both of which are career-highs by far. Her previous top averages were 4.4 points and 4.6 points as a sophomore.
    LaFleur has scored 73 points this season, which is already more than her 56 last year when she averaged 2.2 points and 3.3 rebounds. Her 11 steals so far this season are already higher than her yearly totals from her junior and freshman seasons.

Scott Nearing 500 Points as a Penguin
    Tiara Scott is just 12 points away from scoring her 500th point at Youngstown State. Scott, who played her first two collegiate seasons at Western Nebraska CC, has poured in 488 points in 39 games at YSU for an average of 12.5 per game. Scott scored 405 points last season as she earned second-team all-Horizon League honors. She also needs just five rebounds to reach 250 boards in her YSU career.

Scott Back to Junior-Year Form
    Tiara Scott scored in double figures for the fifth time in the last seven games with her 10 points against Central Michigan. She leads the Penguins in scoring and ranks 20th in the Horizon League with 10.4 points per game. She has scored at least eight points in each of the last seven games.
    She collected her first double-double of the season against Saint Francis with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
    Since going 0-for-5 with one point in the season opener at Kent State, Scott has scored 82 points and gone 30-for-56 (53.6 percent) in the past seven contests.
    Scott has also made her last 15 free throws dating back to Nov. 29 against Pittsburgh. The senior forward hit 25 straight last season.

Turnover Total Up and Down
    Youngstown State has been very up-and-down in terms of taking care of the basketball so far this season. The Penguins had a season-high 34 turnovers against Central Michigan on Sunday, and they had 32 earlier in the year against Buffalo. YSU committed just 10 in its win over Weber State.

Middlebrooks Starting to Find Role
    Freshman guard Kenya Middlebrooks is starting to settle in as primarily a defensive stopper for the Penguins. She had a career-high four steals against Central Michigan on Sunday and has had at least two swipes in four different games. She has also improved tremendously on the offensive end. Over the last four games she has made 4-for-12 after starting the season 1-for-20.

Nortey Improves Shooting Touch
    Freshman point guard Macey Nortey has responded from an 0-for-8 showing against Saint Francis (Pa.) by making six of her last seven attempts in the past two games. Nortey was 4-or-4 from the floor against Bowling Green on Dec. 6 and 2-for-3 against Central Michigan on Sunday. She is shooting 40.7 percent overall for the season, which is the best among YSU's guards. Nortey is also 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line.