Chicago -- The Youngstown
State women's basketball team will play its final regular
season road contest of the season on Saturday at UIC. Tipoff at the
Flames Athletic Center is set for 3 p.m. CST.
The Penguins, who cut a 24-point deficit
to three at Loyola on Thursday, will carry some confidence from a
strong first half against the Flames when the teams met in
Youngstown last month.
YSU led 27-17 with 3:32 remaining, but UIC
scored the final nine points of the first half and the first four
of the second half en route to a 57-42 victory. The Penguins shot
just 12.9 percent in the second half. The Guins will have to do a
better job guarding Jessie Miller, who scored 26 of UIC's 57
in January.
The Penguins got off to a slow start
Thursday at Loyola, spotting the Ramblers 19 points before finally
getting on the board at the 12:37 mark. Loyola extended the
advantage to 29-5, but YSU went on a 33-9 run and got within three
at 38-35.
Camisha Alexander scored a team-high 16
points, 12 of which came in the first 10 minutes of the second
half. Kenya Middlebrooks scored a career-high eight points, and
Rachael Manuel grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
The Penguins have scored at least 50
points in three straight games for the second time this season.
They've also shot better than 35 percent for three straight
contests for the first time.
Scouting UIC
UIC, which is celebrating its
senior day on Saturday, has lost four of its last five contests.
The Flames are tied for fifth in the Horizon League standings, but
they are just a half game out of seventh. UIC won its first five,
lost four straight, then won four more in-a-row. Jessie Miller
leads three players averging double figures with 12.9 points, and
freshman Jasmine Bailey averages 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds.