The Youngstown State women's basketball team will remain home to play Bowling Green on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. The contest will be the first half of a doubleheader with the YSU men's team. The game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO, and live video will be streamed on the Horizon League Network. The Guins are coming off an 80-55 win over Western Michigan on Wednesday. Bowling Green has won four straight, including beating Butler 71-61 on Saturday.
Top Storylines
- Youngstown State won at least four games in November for just the third time in school history. The last time was 1999-2000, and the other time was 1997-98.
- The Penguins' 25-point win over Western Michigan on Wednesday was their first win by at least 20 since Nov. 21, 2006. YSU endured 46 losses by at least 20 points during that span, including 38 since 2008-09.
- Dating back to last season, YSU has won seven of its last 14 games and six of its last nine. Prior to 14 games ago, YSU had won just seven of previous its previous 85 games.
- Brandi Brown is the 17th player in YSU women's basketball history to record 1,000 career points. She scored her milestone point against LMU on Nov. 25. She currently ranks 16th in school history with 1,055 points.
- YSU has shot at least 40 percent in four of its first seven games. The Guins shot at least 40 percent 10 times in 30 games last year and just four times in all of 2009-10.
- YSU's scoring margin is minus-0.9 this year. That's improved from minus-10.6 last year and minus-25.8 two years ago.
Series with Bowling Green
Bowling Green has won four straight meetings to take a 14-10 lead in the all-time series with YSU. The Guins dominated the early contests, going 7-1 from 1978 to 1991. YSU's last win against Bowling Green was a 79-67 victory on Nov. 22, 2003 at Beeghly Center. That was Tisha Hill's first game as YSU's head coach. Over the past three seasons, Bowling Green has beaten YSU by an average of 35.6 points.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green has won four straight games after starting the season 0-2. The Falcons have beaten two Horizon League teams – Detroit 57-49 on Nov. 22 and Butler 71-61 on Saturday. Junior Chrissy Steffen averages 16.2 points, and she is the lone returning starter from last year's team that won the MAC title and finished 28-5. Bowling Green was picked to win the MAC East Division.
Last Year vs. Bowling Green
Bowling Green went on big runs to start both halves and got 25 points in 23 minutes from Lauren Prochaska in an 86-40 win over YSU on Nov. 17, 2010, at Anderson Arena.
Bowling Green outshot YSU 42.4 percent to 25 percent and held advantages of 20-4 off turnovers and 25-3 on second-chance points.
Bowling Green opened the second half on an 11-2 run and took a 59-23 lead on a Prochaska triple with 16:14 remaining. The Falcons went on an early 8-1 run to go up 10-3 with 15:39 remaining in the first half. Bowling Green then went on a 13-2 run and led 23-9 with 11:42 left.
Last Game: W, 80-55 vs. WMU
YSU used a strong second-half effort to pull away for an 80-55 victory over Western Michigan on Wednesday at Beeghly Center.
YSU outscored the Broncos 50-33 in the second half, and, after connecting on 12 of its first 16 shots in the stanza, it never looked back.
Heidi Schlegel led four players scoring in double figures, and two more Guins had nine.
YSU led 35-27 just under two minutes into the second half before scoring nine of the next 11 points to go ahead 44-29. The Penguins then broke open the contest with a 14-1 run from the 14:27 mark to the 9:04 mark.
- YSU set or tied season highs with 10 3-pointers, 43 rebounds, 19 assists and three blocks.
- The Penguins had four players score in double figures for the first time this season.
- Kelsea Fickiesen scored a career-high 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
- Liz Hornberger scored a season-high nine points after being shut out in each of the previous two contests.
- Brandi Brown earned her second double-double in three games. She finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
- Heidi Schlegel led YSU with 15 points, becoming the first player other than Brown to lead the team in scoring.
Guins Close Out Strong November vs. Western Michigan
Youngstown State punctuated a strong November with a 80-55 win against Western Michigan on Wednesday. The win was YSU's first by at least 20 points since beating Buffalo at home on Nov. 21, 2006. The Penguins had been beaten by at least 20 46 times between the 20-point victories. Seniors Kenya Middlebrooks and Macey had endured 38 such losses in their careers before their first 20-point win.
The Penguins won at least four games in November for the third time in school history. The other two seasons were 1997-98 (five) and 1999-2000 (four). YSU went on to win 28 games in 1997-98 and 22 in 1999-2000. In full disclosure, YSU played a school-record-high seven games in November.
Guins Have Come Far in 14 Games
Dating back to last season, YSU has won seven of its last 14 games. Prior to that point, YSU had just six wins in its previous 83 games – the start of the 2008-09 season. The Penguins have shot at least 40 percent in nine of those 14 games after shooting at least 40 percent nine times in the last 54 contests.
Brown Scores 1,000 in Homecoming
Junior forward Brandi Brown became the 17th player in Youngstown State women's basketball history to score 1,000 points on Friday at LMU. Brown, a California native, scored her 1,000th point on a free throw with 15:06 remaining in the first half. She did it in front of about 20 friends and family members.
Brown is the third-fastest player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. She did it in her 65th career game, the fifth of her junior campaign.
1,000-Point Scorers Close to Home
Of the 17 players in Youngstown State history who scored at least 1,000 points in their careers, 15 attended high school within 90 minutes of campus. Only Brandi Brown (California) and Jen Perugini (Ontario) are from outside of the 90-minute radius. Dorothy Bowers (1st), Wanda Grant (2nd), Danielle Carson (3rd), Margaret Somple (5th), Liz Hauger (8th), Dianne Rappach (12th), Vicki Lawrence (15th) all hailed from either Mahoning or Trumbull County.
Better in "Specialty" Stats
Youngstown State has been much improved in winning the "specialty" stats battles this year. The Penguins have outscored all seven of their 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 Penguins won that battle just eight times last year.
About Four Wins...
Youngstown State has started the season with a 4-3 record, which is its best start since the 2007-08 season. In fact, it took 24 games to get four wins last year, and the Penguins won just three games combined in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
The Penguins have been particularly successful on the road with three straight wins (UNI was at a neutral site). The last time YSU won three straight road games was in 1999-2000 season. YSU freshmen Kelsea Fickiesen and Ashley Lawson were first graders that season. The Penguins last won three straight non-conference road games in 1997-98.
Middlebrooks is Two from Top 10
Youngstown State senior guard Kenya Middlebrooks is two 3-pointers away from reaching the top 10 in school history for career 3-pointers. Middlebrooks has 99 treys in her 97 career games, including 13 in seven games this year. Her 13 3-pointers are tied for the second-most in the Horizon League this season. She had just 28 triples in the first 66 games of her career, but she has 71 over her last 31 games – an average of nearly 2.3 per contest. Middlebrooks has attempted the ninth-most 3-pointers in school history with 341.
Brown's Success at Stripe
A big part of Brandi Brown's increase in scoring over her career has been because of improvement at the free-throw line. As of Jan. 15 last season, Brown was a career 56.6 percent free-throw shooter, making 137 of her 242 attempts through 47 games. Since that time, Brown has made 102 of her last 117 attempts for 87.2 percent in 20 games. Brown closed out last season by making 35 of her final 36 attempts, and she's made 37 of 44 attempts this year.
Brown's Double Figures Streak
Youngstown State junior Brandi Brown has provided plenty of "wow" moments in her career, but her consistency is perhaps what's most impressive. Brown has scored at least 10 points in 28 consecutive games dating back to Dec. 20, 2010. The junior has scored at least 20 points 16 times during that stretch. The last time she was held to single digits was when she scored eight points against Akron on Dec. 16, 2010.
Schlegel Providing a Lift
Redshirt freshman forward Heidi Schlegel has been a valuable part of YSU's rotation in the early part of the season. Schlegel has started six times and ranks second on the team in scoring with 11.7 points per game. Her 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game rank second. Schlegel has scored in double figures four times, including three straight contests.
Schlegel was limited to seven games last year after an ankle injury in December. She averaged 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds last season.
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 .403 against them. Last year, teams averaged 69 points and shot .446. The biggest improvement has been defense on the perimeter. Opponents are shooting .310 from 3-point range this year, down from .342 in 2010-11.
Up Next
YSU will head back on the road for three straight games, starting with a game at Ohio on Friday. Tipoff against the Bobcats is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN.
