Chicago -- After two encouraging performances
in its first two Horizon League contests, the Youngstown State
women's basketball team will travel to Chicago for contests against
UIC and Loyola. The Penguins will play at UIC on Thursday at 8 p.m.
Eastern. YSU held first-half leads against perennial league title
contenders Milwaukee and Green Bay to open the league season. UIC
is 2-0 in league play, picking up wins over Valparaiso and Butler.
Scouting UIC
UIC has won back-to-back games for the first time this season and
has opened the Horizon League season 2-0. The Flames have won three
of their last four after starting the season 2-7. UIC won 60-51 at
Valparaiso on Saturday and built a 12-point halftime cushion to
beat Butler 75-70 on Monday. Senior guard Jessie Miller leads UIC
with 13 points per game. Cassie Johnson leads the Horizon League
with 2.7 blocks per game as the Flames average 5.8 blocks.
Guins Getting Off to Good Starts
In each of its first two Horizon League contests, Youngstown State
has been ahead by at least five with five minutes remaining in the
first half. The Penguins led Milwaukee 23-18 on Saturday and Green
Bay 28-22. Against the Phoenix, YSU made 12 of its first 20 shots
and held an 11-6 edge on the glass as it built the lead. The
Penguins did not keep the lead until halftime in either contest,
though. YSU and Milwaukee were tied at 25-25, and Green Bay scored
the final 16 points of the half to go up 38-28.
Shots Were Falling Versus Green Bay
YSU had the best shooting day as a team in nearly four years
against Green Bay on Monday. The Penguins made 25 of its 50 field
goal attempts for an even 50 percent. The last time YSU made at
least half of its shots (57.1 percent) came on Feb. 16, 2006, at
Green Bay. That stretch spanned 76 games. YSU's season high for
shooting entering the contest was 37.1 percent against
Louisiana-Monroe. YSU had shot under 35 percent in six straight
contests entering the Green Bay game.
Rebounding Coming Around
After winning the "battle of the boards" just once in the first 11
games, Youngstown State has outrebounded each of its last two
opponents. YSU outrebounded Milwaukee 43-37, which included 21
offensive rebounds by the Penguins, and Green Bay 28-27. Milwaukee
came in +3.8 in rebounding margin, and Green Bay was +3.3. YSU is
-10.9 in rebounding margin.
Brown Playing Among League's Elite
Through the first 13 games of her collegiate career, freshman
Brandi Brown has shown she can compete with the best players in the
Horizon League. Brown ranks 14th in the league in scoring (11.5
points per game), and she leads the circuit in rebounding (10.3
rebounds per game). Her scoring total is the highest among Horizon
League freshmen and second to only teammate Bojana Dimitrov among
newcomers. Brown is one of only one of five league players
averaging more than 6.6 caroms, and she has led the Penguins in
rebounding 12 times in 13 games.
Manuel Developing as a Scoring Threat
Inside
Senior Rachael Manuel is developing into a solid scoring threat
from the post. She has scored at least nine points six times in the
last eight games, which she had done only once in the first 86
games of her collegiate career. She is coming a career-high 14
points against Green Bay on 7-for-8 shooting. Manuel has 101 points
this season, which is nearly double her previous career high of 53
points at Southern Miss as a freshman in 2005-06.
Nortey Ranks Among Leaders in Assists
Sophomore point guard Macey Nortey has shown a big improvement in
her scoring and ball distribution as a sophomore. Nortey now has 65
assists for an average of 5.0 per contest, which is tied for the
top mark in the Horizon League. Nortey has accounted for 65 of
YSU's 126 assists as a team. Last season, Nortey had 80 assists in
30 games for an average of 2.7.
Up Next
The Penguins will wrap up their Chicago trip when the play at
Loyola on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern.
