Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team opens its eighth season of Horizon League play on Saturday at Valparaiso. Tipoff at the Athletics-Recreation Center is set for 2:35 EST.
    The Penguins are 2-5 all-time in Horizon League openers and have gone 0-3 when opening league play on the road since joining the conference in 2001-02. YSU will also be looking for its first road win of the season.
    YSU is coming off a 69-61 loss at Toledo on Tuesday in which it trimmed a 22-point deficit to six with just under a minute to play. The Penguins trailed 61-39 with less than five minutes remaining before going on a 20-4 run over the next four minutes. YSU shot better than 40 percent (42.6) for the fourth time in five games, which is something it failed to do in its first six contests.
    Jaquetta Westley scored a career and game-high 20 points in the loss and Nikita LaFleur recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
    Tiara Scott, who was held to four points at Toledo after getting in early foul trouble, leads YSU in scoring at 9.9 points per game. A preseason second-team all-Horizon League selection, she averaged 15 points in league games last year.
    YSU stays on the road for its third game in seven days when it plays at Butler on Monday at 7 p.m. EST.

Scouting Valpo
    Valpo is 5-5 after snapping a three-game losing streak on Tuesday against North Florida, 58-49. The Crusaders have defeated Bowling Green, Florida State and #23/21 Purdue so far this season, and they have also played #8/8 Notre Dame and #22 South Dakota State. Senior guard Agnieszka Kulaga is averaging 15.6 points per game as one of four players averaging double figures. Lauren Kenney is averaging 12.8 points and 8.4 rebounds. Valpo plays host to Cleveland State on Monday.

Shooting Picking Up as Calendar Turns to 2009, League Play
    The Penguins have shot at least 40 percent in four of the last five games after shooting under 40 percent in each of its first six games. In fact, the Guins shot better than 33.3 percent only once in their first six games - 38.3 percent in a win against Weber State on Nov. 28. YSU shot 44.9 percent in its last win against Akron on Dec. 20, which was its second-best performance of the season. All four 40-percent efforts, which also include a season-high 49 percent at Bowling Green, 40.4 percent at Central Michigan and 42.6 percent at Toledo - have come against MAC teams.

Playing in a Busy and Prolonged Road Stretch
    YSU is playing its second of three games in a seven-day period against Valparaiso. The Guins played Tuesday at Toledo, and they will play at Butler on Monday. The busy stretch came after YSU did not play from Dec. 20 to Dec. 30 because of the holidays. The Guins also played three games in a seven-day span prior to the layoff.
    Dating back to the two games at Pittsburgh, YSU is in the middle of playing eight out of 10 games on the road. The Penguins are also in a stretch where they play at Beeghly Center only twice in a 46-day span (Nov. 23 - Jan. 7).

Turnovers Have Been Costly
    Even though YSU is shooting 10 percent better and holding opponents to 8 percent less in the last five games, the Penguins continue to be hurt by turnovers. The Guins are averaging 27.8 turnovers over the last five games compared to 22 in the first six. As a result, they are taking 8.4 fewer shots per game and 2.6 fewer free throws in the past five games. The increased turnovers have limited YSU to just a 1.3 increase in scoring average in the past five games compared to the first six despite the better shooting.

Penguins Showing Improvement on Both Ends of Court
    Youngstown State has shown a big improvement on both the offensive and defensive ends over the past five games. The Penguins are shooting 42 percent in the past five games after making 32.5 percent in the first six. They are also holding opponents to 41.5 percent over the same span after allowing them to shoot 49.6 percent in the first six contests.

Westley Has Career Night at Toledo
    Junior guard Jaquetta Westley established or tied career highs in five categories against Toledo on Tuesday. The JUCO transfer from Joliet, Ill., notched best totals in points (20), rebounds (4), field goals (8), field goal attempts (15) and 3-pointers (3) against the rockets. Her previous career-best point total was 12 against Niagara on Nov. 22. She nearly matched that in a 5 1/2-minute span Tuesday when she scored 10-straight points for the Penguins in the first half. Westley is averaging seven points, which ranks seventh on the team.

LaFleur Continues Career Year With Third Double-Double
    Senior forward Nikita LaFleur posted her third double-double of the season on Tuesday at Toledo by scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She had just one double-double entering the season against Division II Clarion as a sophomore.
    LaFleur is averaging 8.9 points and 9.0 rebounds, both of which are career-highs by far. Her previous top averages were 4.4 points and 4.6 points as a sophomore. Her 9.0 rebounds per game lead the Horizon League.
    LaFleur has scored 98 points this season, which is already more than her 56 last year when she averaged 2.2 points and 3.3 rebounds.

Guins Looking for First Road Win
    YSU is still looking for its first road win of the season in six previous tries. The Penguins have played much better defensively in their last three road contests. In their first three true road games, which excludes YSU's 67-60 win against Weber State at Pittsburgh, the Penguins allowed their opponents to shoot a combined 60.3 percent and average 96 points. In the last three road contests, opponents are shooting 38.6 percent and averaging 67.7 points.

Penguins Showing Ability to Rally
    YSU trimmed a 22-point second-half deficit down to six in the final minute at Toledo on Tuesday before falling 69-61. The Guins trailed 61-39 with just under five minutes remaining but outscored the Rockets 20-4 in the next four minutes.
    The Penguins have shown the ability to rally from large margins throughout the season. They have cut double-digit deficits by 10 six times so far this season. YSU has only been able to take the lead twice, though. The Guins rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Weber State 67-60 on Nov. 28. YSU also trailed by nine in the second half against Saint Francis on Dec. 3 before rallying and eventually taking a five-point lead. The Guins lost that game in overtime.
    YSU also cut a 16-point deficit to three against Niagara, an 18-point margin to seven against Buffalo and an 18-point difference to eight at Canisius.

Guins in Horizon League Openers
    Youngstown State opens its eighth season in the Horizon League at Valparaiso on Saturday. The Penguins are 2-5 in their previous Horizon League openers, which includes a 73-62 victory in the 2007-08 league opener against UIC. YSU also defeated Cleveland State 74-52 to open the league slate in 2004-05. YSU has not won a Horizon League opener on the road in three tries. If YSU wins at Valpo, Cindy Martin will be the second coach to win his or her first conference contest.

All-Time Against Valpo
    The Penguins own a 13-10 advantage in the all-time series with Valparaiso. The teams competed together in the Mid-Continent Conference (now the Summit League) from 1992-2001. YSU twice defeated the Crusaders in the Mid-Con Tournament Championship - 1997-98 and 1999-2000. The teams had not played since the 2001-02 season before splitting two games in 2007-08.

Last Time vs. Valpo: Second-Half Drought Costly on Senior Night
    Heather Karner scored a game-high 21 points, and Jessica Schloemp posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds as YSU fell to Valpo 70-59 on Senior Day last season on March 1, 2008.
    YSU had a 37-34 halftime lead but shot 29.9 percent in the second half. YSU shot 50 percent and made five treys before the break. Valpo held the Penguins to seven points in the final 10 minutes.
    Valpo led 25-16 with seven minutes remaining in the first half before YSU went on a 13-4 run to tie the score.

Last Time at Valpo: Three-Point Barrage Lifts Guins to 92-79 Win
    YSU made 14 3-pointers and erased a nine-point, second-half deficit to earn a 92-79 victory at Valparaiso on Jan. 31, 2008.
    Heather Karner led four Penguins in double figures with 21 points, and Tiara Scott poured in 20 points. The 14 3-pointers tied for the second-most in school history.
    YSU trailed 60-51 with 16 minutes remaining in the game before going on a 15-1 run. Valpo later scored seven straight to cut a 10-point deficit to three, but YSU scored the next five points and never allowed the Crusaders within eight.

Meredith Baugher Back at Valpo
    YSU first-year assistant coach Meredith Baugher is certainly familiar with Valparaiso. Baugher spent seven seasons with the Crusaders as a player and assistant coach from 2001-02 through 2007-08. She helped Valpo to two NCAA Tournament appearances and a WNIT berth as a player from 2001-05. Baugher joined the Penguins' staff in August to replace Jen Duhnke, who left the staff because of family health concerns.
    Although head coach Cindy Martin had never coached in Ohio or the Horizon League, she assembled a coaching staff that was very familiar with both. Shannon Sword played at Cleveland State from 2000-04 and coached two seasons as a graduate assistant at Division II Ashland in Ohio. Bernard Scott coached in Ohio for six years at Dayton and Toledo before spending last year at Arizona.

Scott Scores 500th Point in Solid Outing Against Akron
    Senior forward Tiara Scott scored her 500th point on Dec. 20 as part of an all-around solid performance. She scored a game-high 16 points behind 7-of-9 shooting from the floor in a season-high 36 minutes. She was also 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to extend her consecutive makes streak to 17 free throws dating back to Nov. 29 at Pittsburgh. The senior forward hit 25 straight last season.
    Scott, who played her first two collegiate seasons at Western Nebraska CC, has poured in 514 points in 42 games for YSU for an average of 12.2 per game. She scored 405 points last season as she earned second-team all-Horizon League honors. Scott also just eclipsed 250 rebounds at Canisius.

Guins Embrace Giving Season with Basketball Generosity
    The Penguins had a season-high 17 assists on 22 baskets on Dec. 20 against Akron. Their previous high was 14, which they posted against Weber State and Saint Francis (Pa.). Freshman point guard Macey Nortey matched her career-high with six assists, and senior Kelsey Gurganus added four. YSU also trimmed its turnovers by 12 from Canisius (33) to Akron (21). YSU had 11 assists at Toledo, but seven of them came in the second half.

Last Game: Late Flurry Comes Up Short at Toledo, 69-61
    Youngstown State scored 22 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes to cut a 22 point deficit to six, but the Penguins came up just short in falling 69-61 at Toledo on Tuesday.
    The Penguins trailed 61-39 with 4:55 remaining before out-scoring the Rockets 22-8 the rest of the way.
    Jaquetta Westley scored a career-high and game-high 20 points while Nikita LaFleur notched her third double-double of the year with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
    YSU trailed 31-23 at halftime but scored the first five of the second half to get within 31-28. YSU trailed just 37-33 before Toledo's 24-6 run gave the Rockets their 61-39 lead.
    The Penguins went on to hit six straight from the field and eight of their final 13. YSU shot 58.3 percent in the second half and out-rebounded Toledo 37-32.

Defensive-Minded Middlebrooks Starting To Settle
    Freshman guard and defensive stopper Kenya Middlebrooks has been playing a bigger role as the season goes on. She has had at least two steals in seven different games and in four straight contests. Middlebrooks made her first career start at Canisius and played a career-high 35 minutes. She has also improved tremendously on the offensive end. Over the last five games, Middlebrooks has made 9-for-27 from the field after starting the season 1-for-20.

Vaughn's Scoring in League Play Will Be Missed
    Senior guard Velissa Vaughn is out indefinitely as she recovers from severe shin splints. Vaughn, who started 36 games in her first three seasons, was particularly helpful in Horizon League contests over the past two seasons. She averaged 11.4 points against league opponents last year and scored in double figures 10 times against the circuit. She also averaged 8.3 in league games as a sophomore.

Stealing The Spotlight
    The Penguins have picked up their thefts in the past four games with 35 steals over the span. YSU had 13 at Toledo on Tuesday, matching the season-high total it had against Kent State and Buffalo in the first two games of the year. YSU had eight apiece against Central Michigan and Akron and six against Canisius. The Guins had 19 over the previous four games before the latest stretch.
    YSU had at least 10 steals in each of its first three games, which is more double-digit steal games than it had all of last season. The Penguins had 13 in the opener against Kent State, 13 against Buffalo and 10 against Niagara. The last time the Penguins had at least 10 steals in three straight games was the first three contests of the 2004-05 season.

New Faces Seeing Plenty of Time
    Of the 12 players who have seen action so far this season, six are in their first season suiting up for the Penguins. Macey Nortey and Jaquetta Westley have started 18 games combined. They, along with fellow newcomers Kenya Middlebrooks and Camisha Alexander, are playing more than 14.5 minutes per game.

Guins Back on the Block
    Prior to the game at Toledo, Youngstown State had at least two blocks in each of the past five contests after having just one multi-block game in the first five. Overall, YSU has 17 blocks in the past six games after having five in the first five games. Last season YSU ranked second in the Horizon League with 109 blocks.

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 have had turnovers totaling in the 10s and 30s three times apiece and five games in the 20s. They had 34 and 33 in their two previous games prior to committing 21 against Akron and 28 against Toledo. YSU turned the ball over a season-low 10 times in its win over Weber State on Nov. 28.

Highs and Lows from the Line
    The Penguins have been very "hit-or-miss" from the free-throw line in their first 11 games. They have converted on 80 percent from the free-throw line in three games but just 67.7 percent or worse in the eight others. YSU shot 85 percent (17-for-20) in its win over Weber State, 83.3 percent (10-for-12) against Central Michigan on Dec. 14 and 80 percent (12-for-15) against Buffalo on Nov. 19.

Up Next: Guins Stay in Indiana to Play Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse
    YSU will look for its first win at Butler since the 2002-03 season when it plays the Bulldogs on Monday. The Penguins are 5-11 in the all-time series, which began when YSU joined the Horizon League in 2001-02. YSU won the first four games in the series but has lost 11 of the last 12.