The Youngstown State women's basketball team will wrap up its regular season and home schedule with two games this week, beginning with Thursday evening's contest against Butler. Tipoff against the Bulldogs is set for 7:05 p.m. The game will be carried live on NewsRadio 570 WKBN with senior Velissa Vaughn joining Jim Campbell on the broadcast.
    The Penguins continued improving their offense in two games last week. They have scored at least 50 points in four straight games for the first time this season. They have also shot better than 35 percent from the field in four straight contests for the first time this year. Two of YSU's highest scoring totals of the season - 62 vs. Detroit and 64 at UIC - have come in the span.
    The Guins are coming off their closest and arguably most complete Horizon League game of the year against UIC on Saturday. They were tied at halftime, led by as many as seven in the second half and were within two points inside of 20 seconds in the 68-64 loss. YSU cut a 24-point deficit to three at Loyola last Thursday in a 70-52 loss.
    Camisha Alexander scored 34 points in two games last week and is averaging a team-high 9.2 points over the last 12 games.
    YSU, despite playing well over the past two weeks, has locked itself in as the No. 10 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. They will play their opening-round game on Monday at the No. 7 seed, which is currently Milwaukee.

Scouting Butler
    Butler is currently tied for second in the Horizon League standings with Cleveland State at 12-4. The Bulldogs have lost two of their last three, including a five-point setback Saturday against Green Bay. Brittany Bowen leads four players averaging between 10.6 and 10.0 points per game.

Guins' Offense Showing Improvement Over Last Two Weeks
    Youngstown State has put together its best four-game offensive stretch of the season over the past two weeks. The Penguins have scored at least 50 points in four straight games for the first time this season. They have also shot better than 35 percent in four consecutive games for the first time.
    Prior to the four-game stretch, YSU was in three-week shooting funk. Dating back to the Feb. 14 game at Cleveland State, YSU shot less than 29 percent in four out of five games.
    The Penguins are averaging 57.2 points and shooting 38.9 percent over the past four games. In the five games prior, YSU averaged 42.4 points and shot 28.2 percent.

Guards Pacing Scoring
    A very post-heavy scoring team at the beginning of the season, YSU is now being carried offensively by its guards as the year winds down. Over the last 12 games dating back to Jan. 17, a guard has led YSU in scoring nine times and tied for the team lead another time. Since Jan. 17, four of YSU's top five scorers are guards. Freshman Camisha Alexander is averaging 9.2 points, Kelsey Gurganus is scoring 8.8 points and Jaquetta Westley is averaging 6.3 points as the top three scorers.

Having Trouble Keeping Top Scorers in Check
    A big reason why the Penguins went 0-2 on their Chicago trip last week was a failure to clamp down on their opponents' top scorer. Forward Elyse VanBogaert scored 23 points on 11-for-13 shooting to lead Loyola to a 70-52 win. All 13 of her first-half points came in the first 12 minutes as Loyola built a 29-5 lead at the 8:16 mark. UIC Guard Jessie Miller scored 24 points, 16 of which came in the second half. She hit a 3-pointer that gave UIC the lead after trailing by seven in the second half, and she scored five points in a row for the Flames after YSU came within six later in the period.
    The Penguins have allowed a player on the opposing team to score at least 15 points in six straight contests. Green Bay was the last opponent to not have a 15-point scorer, but five players finished with between 10 and 14 points.

Penguins Battle UIC to Buzzer
    Youngstown State held a seven-point lead in the second half and was within one possession of tying the game until there were 13.4 seconds remaining on Saturday. The four-point loss to the Flames was YSU's closest margin of defeat this season.
    The Penguins' seven-point lead with 16:52 to go was its largest second-half lead since their win over Akron on Dec. 20. It was also their largest lead since being up by 10 in the first half against UIC in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 29.
    YSU has been in battles for its last four contests. The game has been within three points in the second half for four straight contests dating back to the Detroit game on Feb. 19.

YSU Ties Best Scoring Half at UIC
    YSU tied its previous best point total of the season by posting 38 points on Saturday at UIC. The Penguins also scored 38 at Toledo on Dec. 30.
    The Penguins have been a much better scoring team in the final 20 minutes of games this season. All seven of their top scoring halves have been in the second period. The third-best point total for a half was 36 at Butler on Jan. 5.

Alexander Ties Freshman 3-pointers Record
    Youngstown State freshman Camisha Alexander tied YSU's freshman record for 3-pointers by hitting her 37th of the season at UIC. Alexander hit five 3-pointers against the Flames on Saturday and three at Loyola last Thursday. She has sank 22 of her 37 in her last nine games. Alexander is one of just four freshmen in school history to have at least 25 3-pointers. Dianne Rappach also hit 37 in the 1988-89 season.

LaFleur Returns to Lineup at UIC
    Senior forward Nikita LaFleur played in her first game in nearly a month on Saturday at UIC. LaFleur came in at the 12:44 mark of the first half and exited 2:12 later. She ended up grabbing one rebound in nine minutes of action. Her last game was Jan. 31 against Loyola prior to Saturday. She missed six games with her injury.
    LaFleur was having a career year before going down. She is averaging 8.7 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.

Alexander Becoming Consistent Scoring Threat
    Freshman Camisha Alexander continued her recent scoring tear by averaging 17 points in the two games in Chicago last week. She scored 16 at Loyola last Thursday, and she poured in a career-high 18 at UIC on Saturday. Her 34 points in a two-game span is the second-most by a Guin this season behind only Nikita LaFleur's 40 against Milwaukee and Green Bay on Jan. 8 and Jan. 10.
    Alexander led the team in scoring last week despite playing the sixth-most minutes. She is averaging a team-high 9.2 points since Jan. 17 (12 games). She has scored in double figures six times this season, which is tied for the team lead among guards with Kelsey Gurganus.

Fast-Break Game Improving
    YSU scored a season-high 18 fast-break points against Loyola last Thursday. Fourteen of those came in the second half. YSU won the battle of the fast break for the first time all season against Detroit on Feb 19 (13-10). The 13 points against the Titans were a season-high prior to Thursday's 18 points. Neither YSU nor UIC were credited with any fast break points on Saturday.

Opponents Shooting Even Better
    Although the Penguins have picked up their shooting, they have not been able to keep their opponents from a high percentage. Six of YSU's opponents this month - all but UIC - have shot at least 45 percent against YSU. Opponents have been shooting especially well in the second half. In 10 of YSU's 16 Horizon League games, opponents have shot 50 percent or higher in the second half. Five of those have been in the last six contests.

Getting off to Better Starts at Beeghly
    Youngstown State has been playing a solid first half at its home games over the past three months. The Penguins have been within six points or leading in eight of the last nine home games, including five out of six conference games. In the last four home games, YSU has been down one at halftime to Wright State, tied with Detroit, down two to Loyola and ahead by one against UIC.
    In contrast, YSU has gotten off to very slow starts on the road. The Penguins were tied at 26 with UIC on Saturday, marking the first time since Dec. 30 at Toledo that the halftime score was within 10 points. Right after the Toledo game, YSU was outscored 43-20 in the first 20 minutes at Valparaiso and 42-14 at Butler.