Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball returns home after a long road stretch to play Milwaukee on Thursday in a Horizon League contest set for 5:15 p.m. The game will be carried live on NewsRadio 570 WKBN and HorizonLeagueNetwork.tv.
    YSU has played eight of its last 10 games on the road and will be playing at Beeghly Center for just the third time in 47 days.
    YSU defeated Akron in its last game at Beeghly Center to earn its first home victory of the season. The Penguins gained more confidence after mounting a furious rally at Toledo that came up just short, but YSU dropped its league openers at Valparaiso and Butler earlier this week.
    The Guins were cold from the floor in both of their league losses. YSU shot 23.7 percent at Valpo on Saturday and 30.6 percent at Butler on Monday. Entering the weekend, YSU had its best four shooting games of the year in a five-game span.
    Posts Tiara Scott and Nikita LaFleur combine to average 18.6 points per game, and LaFleur is tied for the Horizon League lead in rebounds with 8.4 per game. Jaquetta Westley is averaging 12.7 points over her last three contests.
    Youngstown State stays home for two more league contests, beginning with Green Bay on Saturday at 4:35 p.m.

Scouting Milwaukee
    Milwaukee has lost four of its last six games, including a 47-36 setback against Green Bay in its Horizon League opener on Sunday. The Panthers shot 27.9 percent and committed 29 turnovers in the loss. UWM has won three straight and lost three straight, and the Panthers have lost two games in overtime. One of those was a 71-69 loss to Wisconsin. UWM also has a two-point loss to Illinois and one-point wins over Marquette and Central Michigan. Defending Horizon League Player of the Year Traci Edwards leads UWM with 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Start to League Schedule is Tough
    The Penguins' first six Horizon League games are against the top six teams in the conference based on the preseason coaches poll. Half of the six contests are on the road. YSU hosts preseason No. 3 Milwaukee on Thursday and preseason favorite Green Bay on Saturday.

Shooting Was at High Point Prior to Road Trip
    Prior to the two games at Valparaiso and Butler, YSU was shooting its best all season. The Penguins shot better than 40 percent in four out of five games, which was something they did not do in any of their first six contests. YSU then shot a season-low 23.7 percent at Valpo and 30.6 percent, which tied for its third-lowest, at Butler. The Penguins shot 44.9 percent in their win over Akron in the last game at Beeghly Center.

Turnovers, Free-Throw Shooting Improves
    While the Penguins struggled to find their touch from the field, they took much better care of the basketball and shot better from the free-throw line at Butler and Valpo. YSU committed 15 turnovers, its second-lowest total of the season, at Valpo and 22 at Butler. The Penguins had averaged 27.8 turnovers in the previous five games, which, unfortunately, was when they were shooting 42 percent. YSU also shot 82.4 percent from the charity stripe at Valpo and 76.9 percent at Butler. The Guins had not shot better than 67 percent from the line six of their last seven games prior to Valpo.

Guins Happy to be Home
    YSU returns to Beeghly Center for its longest home-stretch of the season, beginning with Thursday's game against Milwaukee. The Penguins also play Green Bay on Jan. 10 and Cleveland State on Jan. 17.
    YSU has played at home only twice since Nov. 22 - on Dec. 3 against Saint Francis (Pa.) and Dec. 20 against Akron. Overall, eight of the Penguins' last 10 games have been on the road, and the last three came in a seven-day span. After two days of rest, YSU plays two games this week in three days. Stretching back to the Dec. 30 game at Toledo, the Penguins have five games in 12 days.

Westley Finding Touch
    Junior guard Jaquetta Westley has scored 38 points in the last three games with a career-high 20 points at Toledo and nine apiece at Valparaiso and Butler. She had 36 points combined in the seven games prior to Toledo.
    The JUCO transfer from Joliet, Ill., also notched best totals in rebounds (4), field goals (8), field goal attempts (15) and 3-pointers (3) against the Rockets.
    Westley has been a solid all-around performer for the Penguins. She is the only player to lead the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals in at least one game.

Gurganus Picking Up Scoring
    Senior guard Kelsey Gurganus has scored 62 of her 78 points in the last eight games for an average of 7.8. She has scored 12 points in each of YSU's last two home games, and she scored nine at Toledo and Butler.
    Gurganus has been a solid all-around player for the Penguins this season. She leads the team in minutes (32.5 per game) and ranks second in assists (32), fourth in scoring (6.0 per game) and fourth in rebounding (2.7 per game). The Indianapolis native just scored her 250th career point at YSU against Butler in front of about 30 of her friends and family.

LaFleur Continues Career Year
    Senior center Nikita LaFleur is averaging 8.9 points and 8.4 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 8.4 rebounds per game are tied for the most in the Horizon League.
    LaFleur has scored 116 points this season, which is already more than she's scored in any other year and double her point total last season (56). She needs just 10 more rebounds to equal the 119 she grabbed as a sophomore.
    LaFleur posted her third double-double of the season on Dec. 30 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.

Defense Was Also Picking Up Prior to Latest Setback
    In the five games leading up to the trip to Valparaiso and Butler, Youngstown State also showed a big improvement on the defensive end. They were also holding opponents to 41.5 percent over the span after allowing them to shoot 49.6 percent in the first six contests. Valpo shot 51.8 percent, and Butler shot 51.7 percent. Those were the highest totals since Bowling Green converted on 59.6 percent on Dec. 6.

Playing Better 'D' at Home
    Youngstown State has been a much better defensive team on its own court than on the road this season. The Penguins are holding opponents to an average 61 points and 43 percent from the field at Beeghly Center. No opponent has scored more than 66 points in Youngstown, and only two have scored fewer than 66 against YSU on the road. In the nine games away from Beeghly Center, YSU's opponents are scoring 80.1 points and shooting 48.2 percent.

Scott Ranks Among YSU's Best Shooters
    Senior forward Tiara Scott currently has a career shooting percentage of .531, which ranks as the second-best mark in school history. She made 54.5 percent last season, which was the seventh-best single-season effort, and she's sank 49.5 percent this year. Dorothy Bowers (1984-88) holds the school record at 54.4 percent.
    Scott's .813 free-throw percentage also ranks fourth in school history. Lauren Branson's (2004-08) mark of .825 is the standard.

Scott Consistent From Stripe
    A large part of Scott's success at the line has been from long stretches of makes. The senior has converted on 20 straight free throws dating back to Nov. 29 at Pittsburgh. She made her final five free throws against the Panthers and has not missed since. Scott also made 25 consecutive from the charity stripe last season, which was the sixth-longest streak in school history. Her streak of 20 ranks eighth.

LaFleur's FG% Notable
    Senior center Nikita LaFleur has converted on 55.6 percent (44-for-81) of her field goal attempts this season, which ranks as the sixth-best single season percentage in school history. Wanda Grant's 58.2 percentage in 1978-79 is the school record. LaFleur has made at least 50 percent of her attempts in 11 of YSU's 13 games. She made just 39 percent of her 59 attempts last season.

All-Time Against Milwaukee
    YSU and Milwaukee have played 20 times since 1991, and the Panthers have won 15 of the meetings. The teams played together in the Mid-Con in 1993-94, and UWM has won 12 of 14 in Horizon League games. YSU fell 94-87 in double overtime to the Panthers at Beeghly Center last season.