Following an eight-day break for the holidays, the Youngstown
State women's basketball team will look for its third straight
victory at Stony Brook on Tuesday. Tipoff at Pritchard Gymnasium is
set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and
goseawolves.com. YSU is coming off a 78-72 victory over Akron on
Dec. 18, and Stony Brook snapped a seven-game losing streak on
Wednesday with a 65-48 win over Morgan State.
Top Storylines
- The Penguins have already matched their win total from all of
last season with their 6-4 start. YSU picked up its sixth win in
the 29th game last year. The Penguins were 3-57 combined in the two
years prior to coach Bob Boldon's arrival. YSU last started a
season 6-4 in the 2004-05 season.
- YSU has won five straight road games for the first time since
the 1997-98 season. The Penguins have won five consecutive
non-conference road games for the first time in school history.
Prior to its current five-game road winning streak, YSU had won
four of its previous 51 road contests. The Penguins had just one
road win combined in the last three seasons.
- Dating back to last season, YSU has won nine of its last 17
games and eight of its last 13. Prior to 17 games ago, YSU had won
just seven of previous its previous 85 games.
- YSU has shot at least 40 percent in each of its last six games.
That's the longest stretch of 40-percent shooting since the
Penguins shot 40 percent in seven straight games in 2000-01.
- YSU's scoring margin is minus-0.4 this year. That's improved
from minus-10.6 last year and minus-25.8 two years ago.
- Stony Brook head coach Beth O'Boyle and YSU assistant coach Jen
Theissen were at Canisius together for two seasons.
Scouting Stony Brook
Stony Brook picked up its second win of the season on Wednesday
with a 65-48 triumph over Morgan State. The Seawolves had lost
seven straight games since defeating Robert Morris 42-40 on Nov.
23. The 65 points against Morgan State represented a season-high in
scoring. The Seawolves average 43.7 points per contest, and senior
guard Whitney Davis is the top scorer at 8.0 points per game. The
Seawolves, with first-year coach Beth O'Boyle, were picked to
finish eighth in the American East.
Series With Stony Brook
Youngstown State and Stony Brook have never met in women's
basketball. In fact, YSU has only played two games against teams
currently in the America East Conference. The Penguins beat Albany
54-52 on Nov. 24, 2007. They lost 74-62 to Boston on Dec. 28,
1986.
Last Game: W, 78-72 at Akron
Kenya Middlebrooks scored a career-high 27 points as YSU rallied
from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Akron 78-72 on Dec.
18.
Middlebrooks scored 13 of her points in the final four minutes,
and YSU scored 51 points and shot 60 percent after halftime.
The Guins trailed 60-47 with nine minutes remaining and by eight
with five minutes left. YSU closed the game by outscoring the Zips
13-1 Middlebrooks' 3-pointer with 1:45 left gave YSU its first lead
of the second half.
Brandi Brown finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, including
10 of each in the second half. Melissa Thompson added a career-high
12 points after having 11 points total in the first nine games.
- YSU made a season-high 13 3-pointers and a season-best 44.8
percent of its attempts. The school-record for triples in a game is
15.
- YSU scored 51 points in the second half. That was the highest
total for a half since the Guins scored 56 points in the second
half at Green Bay on Jan. 12, 2008.
- Monica Touvelle ended two long field-goal droughts with
3-pointers. Her trey with 7:38 left in the first stopped a drought
of 9-½ minutes. She then hit one with 8:35 remaining in the
second to end a 3-½ minute drought.
- Kelsea Fickiesen posted a career-best five assists and was
2-for-4 from the field.
- Brandi Brown had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the second
half.
- YSU tied its season high with 19 assists.
Guins Reach 2010-11 Win Total
Youngstown State has already reached its win total from the
2010-11 season with its 6-4 start. The Penguins were 6-24 last year
and went a combined 3-57 the previous two seasons. YSU last started
6-4 in 2004-05.
Benefit of Balanced Scoring
For the first time in nine seasons, Youngstown State has at
least three players averaging double figures in points. Brandi
Brown leads the Penguins with 15.4 points per game, and she's
gotten help in the scoring column from Heidi Schlegel's 11.4 points
and Kenya Middlebrooks' 10.9 points. Brown was the only player that
averaged more than 10 points last year with 19.9 per game.
On 40 Percent Shooting Streak
Youngstown State has shot at least 40 percent in each of its
last six games. That is the best streak by a Penguins team since
2000-01 when the Penguins did it seven straight contests.
Guins Go 3-1 in MAC Tour
With its 78-72 win over Akron on Dec. 18, YSU finished its
four-game stretch against teams from the Mid-American Conference
with a 3-1 record. The Guins beat Akron, Ohio and Western Michigan
while losing to preseason East Division favorite Bowling Green. The
Horizon League went 19-9 against the MAC.
Light December Schedule
After playing a school-record seven games during November in a
20-day span, Youngstown State will play just five games in 31 days
in December. YSU's game against Stony Brook will be just its third
game since Dec. 9.
Guins Have Come Far in 17 Games
Dating back to last season, YSU has won nine of its last 17
games. Prior to that point, YSU had just six wins in its previous
83 games – the start of the 2008-09 season. Over the last 17
games, YSU has scored 64.7 points, which is 13.5 points higher than
the previous 83. It is also holding opponents to 63.9 points, a
decrease of 7.9 points. The average difference in scoring margin is
21.4 points. The Penguins have shot at least 40 percent in 12 of
those 17 games after shooting at least 40 percent just 16 times in
the previous 83 contests.
Road Success Has Been Key
The Penguins have been particularly successful on the road with
five straight wins (UNI was at a neutral site). The last time YSU
won five straight road games was in 1997-98. YSU freshmen Kelsea
Fickiesen and Ashley Lawson were a year from starting kindergarten.
The Penguins last won four straight non-conference road games in
1997-98.
Minutes More Balanced
A deeper and more talented bench has allowed Youngstown State to
share minutes more evenly in 2011-12 than last season. All four
returning starters from last year have seen their minutes drop, and
three of the four are averaging more than four minutes fewer per
contest.
New starters Liz Hornberger and Heidi Schlegel have seen their
minutes rise by 6.7 and 5.5 per game, respectively. Reserves Monica
Touvelle and Melissa Thompson have also seen an increase in playing
time, and newcomers Kelsea Fickiesen and Devan Matkin are averaging
a combined 33.8 minutes.
Better in "Specialty" Stats
YSU has been much improved in winning the "specialty" stats
battles this year. The Penguins have outscored eight of their 10
opponents off turnovers, which is something they did 15 times in 30
games last year. They've also held the edge in fast-break points
six times, which is already half as many times as last season. The
biggest improvement has been in the paint where YSU has outscored
six opponents. The Guins won that battle just eight times last
year.
Defense is Improved
Youngstown State's defense has shown improvement in the early
part of the 2011-12 season. The Penguins are allowing 64.1 points
per game, and opponents are shooting .388 against them. Last year,
teams averaged 69 points and shot .446. The biggest improvement has
been defense on the perimeter. Opponents are shooting .274 from
3-point range this year, down from .342 in 2010-11.
Shooting/Making 3s at Record Pace
YSU set school records for 3-pointers made and attempted last
year, and it is on pace to break those records in 2011-12. This
year, YSU is averaging 7.8 3-pointers made and 25.6 attempts. On
average, they made 6.8 per game and attempted 24.8 last year. The
Penguins' 744 attempts last year set the school record by more than
180. Their shooting percentage is .305 this season, up from .276
last season.
Over the last six games, YSU has made an average of 9.2
3-pointers per game. It is shooting .382 from beyond the arc over
that span.
Middlebrooks Named Horizon League Player of the
Week
With her clutch performance in leading YSU to a comeback win at
Akron, Kenya Middlebrooks was named the Horizon League Player of
the Week on Dec. 19. It was her first career Player-of-the-Week nod
and YSU's first of the year.
Middlebrooks scored 13 of her career-high 27 points in the final
four minutes as YSU rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit.
Middlebrooks was 8-for-12 shooting, including 6-for-9 from beyond
the arc.
Thompson's Career Game at Akron
Sophomore Melissa Thompson had, by far, the best offensive game
of her career against Akron on Dec. 18. Thompson scored a
career-high 12 points in a career-best 26 minutes. She was 5-for-7
from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range. Her second
triple came with 4:35 left and started YSU's 19-5 run that ended
the game. Thompson had scored 11 points combined in the first nine
games of the season. Her previous career high in scoring was five
points.
Jones Earns Degree
Senior Tieara Jones missed the game at Akron on Dec. 18 to
attend YSU's Commencement ceremonies on campus. Jones, a Youngstown
native, earned her Bachelor's degree in criminal justice. She was
one of more than 600 students to graduate. Jones previously
attended the University at Buffalo and Foothill College
(Calif.)
Guins Among NCAA's Best at 3s
Through games completed on Dec. 18, Youngstown State ranked 14th
in the country with 7.8 3-pointers made per game. YSU has made 78
triples in 10 games, including 55 in its last six games. Florida
Gulf Coast, led by YSU head coach Bob Boldon's mentor Karl Smesko,
leads the nation with 13 treys per game.
YSU is one of only two Division I schools in the country whose
men's and women's basketball teams rank in the top 15 nationally in
3-pointers per game. YSU's men's team ranks eighth in the country
with 9.6 treys per game. Santa Clara (men fourth, women ninth) is
the only other school.
Brown Recognized Nationally
YSU junior Brandi Brown has been featured on
collegechalktalk.com's Worthy 20, which is a columnist's list of
who should be included if the Wooden Award Watch List was 50
players – like the men's list – instead of 30.
Up Next
Youngstown State will begin its 11th season of Horizon League
play on Dec. 31 against Cleveland State. Tipoff at Beeghly Center
against the Vikings is set for 2:05 p.m.
