Indianapolis, Ind. -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team will look to get back into the win column as it concludes its three-game road swing Monday at Butler. Tipoff at Hinkle Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live over the Internet on the Horizon League Network.
    The Penguins are coming off an 86-43 setback against Valparaiso on Saturday in which they had their coldest shooting day of the season. YSU was held to 23.7 percent from the field in the contest while Valpo shot 51.8 percent. The Penguins took much better care of the basketball in the game with 15 turnovers, which was nine below their season average coming into the contest.
    Tiara Scott scored 13 points at Valpo and has scored at least eight points in nine of the last 11 games. Her 10.2 points per game, 10 blocks and 83.3 percent free-throw percentage are all team highs.
    YSU has struggled against Butler in recent seasons, especially at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Penguins won the first four times the teams met from 2002-03, but the Bulldogs have claimed 11 of the last 12. YSU has not won at Hinkle Fieldhouse since an 80-74 triumph on Feb. 22, 2003.

Scouting Butler
    Butler has won five of its last seven contests, including a 55-46 victory over Cleveland State on Saturday. The Bulldogs started the year by losing four if their first five. They have been especially strong defensively, holding six of its 12 opponents to 56 points or fewer. Butler, like Youngstown State, has been driven by its posts on the offensive end. Senior Lade Akande is averaging 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds while junior Melanie Thornton is averaging 12.8 points and 8.6 rebounds. two other players - Brittany Bowen and Susan Lester - average more than seven points.

New Leader in Rebounding
    For the first time all season, a player other than Nikita LaFleur led the Penguins in rebounding against Valparaiso. Ashley Pendleton had top honors with seven, which was one more than LaFleur. LaFleur played just 10 minutes in the contest because of early foul trouble. The senior center has tied Tiara Scott for the top rebounding total twice, and she has been the overall leader nine times.

Guins Looking for First Road Win
    YSU is looking for its first road win of the season in seven 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 four road contests, opponents are shooting 40.9 percent and averaging 72.2 points.

Shooting Picking Up as Calendar Turns to 2009, League Play
    Despite the 23.7 percent shooting effort at Valparaiso on Saturday, the Penguins have shot at least 40 percent in four of the last six 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 final of three road games in a seven-day period against Butler. The Guins played Tuesday at Toledo and Saturday at Valpo. 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). YSU plays two games in three days next week after just two days of rest.

Penguins Showing Improvement on Both Ends of Court
    In the five games leading up to Valparaiso, Youngstown State showed a big improvement on both the offensive and defensive ends over a five-game span. The Penguins shot 42 percent in previous five games after making 32.5 percent in the first six. They were also holding opponents to 41.5 percent over the same span after allowing them to shoot 49.6 percent in the first six contests. YSU shot a season-low 23.7 percent and allowed Valpo to hit on 51.8 percent on Saturday.