The Youngstown State women's basketball team will try to rebound from its loss at Wright State when it travels to Detroit on Saturday. Tipoff at Calihan Hall is set for 5 p.m., and the game will be carried live on NewsRadio 570 WKBN and HorizonLeagueNetwork.tv.
     The Penguins, looking for their first Horizon League victory of the season, have defeated the Titans in all five meetings in the last two seasons.
     YSU is coming off a 72-41 setback at Wright State on Saturday in which the Penguins' posts were rarely outplayed. The Raiders held a 40-21 advantage in rebounding and outscored the Penguins 38-14 in the paint.
     The 41 points were the second-fewest scored by the Guins this season, and their 42 field goal attempts were a season-low. YSU, however, shot 38.1 percent, which was its seventh-best of the year.
     Kelsey Gurganus led the Guins in scoring for the second straight game with nine points. Nikita LaFleur came in averaging 10.2 points and 9.0 rebounds but was held to two of each.
     YSU plays host to UIC and Loyola next week in a pair of doubleheaders at Beeghly Center.
 
 Scouting Detroit
     Detroit has lost six straight contests since defeating Loyola 71-64 in its Horizon League opener. The Titans, who are also led by a first-year head coach in Autumn Rademacher, earned their first win against No. 23 Georgia on Nov. 22 with a 70-66 victory. Detroit has lost 72-42 at Bowling Green and 80-59 at Canisius. Senior forward Sandi Brown leads the Titans in scoring and rebounding with 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Junior guard Brigid Mulroy is scoring 10.8 points per game. YSU leads the all-time series 12-10 but are 3-8 in Detroit.
 
 Gurganus Goes for Team High in Second Straight Game
     Senior Kelsey Gurganus led Youngstown State in scoring for the second straight game on Thursday with nine points against Wright State. She scored a season-high 13 points against Cleveland State last Saturday. She had not been the team leader in points in any game all year prior to last Saturday.
     All three of Gurganus' double-digit scoring games have come at Beeghly Center. She's scored nine three times on the road, including the last two road contests. Gurganus had seven double-digit scoring games last year as a junior.
 
 Alexander Makes Welcome Contribution in Scoring Column
     Freshman guard Camisha Alexander has come off the bench to score 15 points in the last two games. She poured in nine points in 17 minutes for the Guins against Cleveland State last Saturday. It was her highest point total since scoring 11 at Canisius on Dec. 17. Alexander was 4-for-7 from the field and 1-for-3 from 3-point range. Alexander was 2-for-5 for six points in 15 minutes against Wright State. She had scored 11 points in the last six games combined prior to last Saturday.
 
 Manuel Plays Best Game at Wright State
     Junior forward Rachael Manuel played a career-high 27 minutes Thursday and Wright State in what was arguably her best game in a Penguins uniform. Manuel was scored a season-high five points on 2-for-3 shooting, hit her first 3-pointer and grabbed three rebounds. She had played 27 minutes combined in the previous four games prior to Thursday. Manuel, who played her first two collegiate seasons at Southern Miss, scored a career-high nine points against Houston her freshman year.
 
 Raiders Hold Posts in Check
     Wright State was able to hold Tiara Scott and Nikita LaFleur to a combined four points and six rebounds on Thursday in its 72-41 victory. The pair came into the game averaging 19.8 points and 13.8 rebounds. LaFleur was held to two of each, both of which were season lows. She had grabbed at least 10 boards in YSU's three games leading up to Wright State. Scott ran into early foul trouble and was held to two points and four rebounds in 15 minutes.
 
 Starting Lineup Changes at WSU
     Looking for a way to kickstart the team, head coach Cindy Martin made a change to the Penguins' starting lineup at Wright State on Thursday. Guard Kaitlyn March made her third start and first since Nov. 28, and forward Ashley Pendleton started for the first time all season. The same five - Macey Nortey, Kelsey Gurganus, Jaquetta Westley, Tiara Scott and Nikita LaFleur - had started the last seven games and 12 of the 17 overall. Nortey, Gurganus and Scott have been in the starting lineup every game.
 
 Two First-Year Head Coaches to Square Off
     Youngstown State and Detroit are both under the direction of first-year head coaches. Cindy Martin is 2-15 in her first season at YSU, and Autumn Rademacher is 5-13 at the helm of the Titans. Martin, formerly of Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania was hired 2-1/2 weeks after Rademacher on April 11, 2008. Rademacher played at Detroit from 1993-97 and remains the Titans' third all-time leading scorer. She had spent the previous four seasons on the coaching staff at Green Bay.
 
 Guins' Bench Scoring Better
     With 23 bench points on Thursday, Youngstown State has put together solid back-to-back games in terms of bench output. The Penguins outscored Cleveland State 18-16 off the bench last Saturday, which was their highest scoring total since Dec. 17 at Canisius. YSU had scored 21 points off the bench in the last four games combined prior to last Saturday. The Penguins had a season-high 36 bench points at Kent State and 32 against Weber State.