With its first 2-0 start in 13 years, the Youngstown State women's basketball team plays its 2012-13 home opener against Bryant at Beeghly Center on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. The game will be broadast live on 1390 WNIO AM, and live video will be streamed on the Horizon League Network.
The Penguins earned road wins at Pittsburgh (64-50) and Buffalo (60-50) to open the season for their first 2-0 start since the 1999-2000 season. As evidence of the program's continual growth under third-year coach Bob Boldon, YSU lost to Pitt by 52 and to Buffalo by 54 the season prior to his arrival. YSU will be looking to win its home opener for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
After falling behind 9-3 in the early part of Tuesday's win at Buffalo, the Penguins outscored the Bulls 27-11 over the final 17 minutes of the first half to lead 30-20 at halftime. YSU eventually built a 50-32 lead and held on for a 60-50 victory. The Penguins continued to play strong defense, holding Buffalo scoreless for more than five minutes during three different stretches. YSU has held each of its first two opponents to 50 points. The last time the Penguins held opponents to 50 points or fewer in back-to-back wins was in December 2004.
Brandi Brown scored YSU's first 10 points at Buffalo and went on to finish with 24 points and 15 rebounds. She's averaged 20 points and 13 rebounds through the first two contests, and she has a chance to move into fourth place in YSU history in career rebounds and seventh in career scoring. Freshman point guard Shar'Rae Davis, the reigning Horizon League Newcomer of the Week, scored 19 points with six rebounds and four assists against Buffalo. In her first two collegiate games, she's posted career highs of 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
YSU's next contest will be at Miami (Ohio) on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m.
Game Recap vs. Buffalo
Youngstown State used strong defense and got 24 points and 15 rebounds from Brandi Brown to hold off Buffalo in a 60-50 victory on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
Brown and Shar'Rae Davis combined for 25 of YSU's 30 points in the first half as YSU led 30-20 at halftime. The Penguins eventually led 50-32 before the Bulls went on a 15-3 run to get within 53-47 with 3:10 left. YSU scored the next five points from the free-throw line to create some cushion.
Davis finished with a career-high 19 points, and Liz Hornberger matched her career high with 12 points.
Quick Notes
- YSU won in Buffalo for the first time since a 54-53 victory in the 1997 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament.
- The Penguins beat a team in the Mid-American Conference for the fourth time in the last five games.
- YSU got revenge from a 92-38 loss at Buffalo in 2009. That was Brandi Brown's freshman season.
- Brown scored the first 10 points for YSU, and Davis scored 11 of the next 13 points.
- Davis' 19 points are the most by a YSU freshman since Brown scored 19 points against Detroit on Feb. 27, 2010.
- Hornberger matched career highs with 12 points and four 3-pointers. The last time she made four 3s in a game was in the Horizon League Tournament in her freshman year. She also scored her 200th career point in the contest.
- The Penguins held Buffalo scoreless for more than five minutes on three different occasions in the contest.
- Buffalo outscored YSU 9-3 in the first three minutes but was outscored 27-11 over the next 17.
Scouting Bryant
Bryant has three returning starters from last year's team that finished 14-15 overall. Junior forward Nanna Ankoma-Mensa, who averaged 12.4 points and 9.6 rebounds last year, is the top returning player. Junior guard Courtney Schissler leads the team with 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds through the first two games. The Bulldogs were picked ninth in the preseason NEC poll. Head Coach Mary Burke has 298 career wins in 21-plus seasons. Bryant plays at Akron on Friday before coming to YSU.
Series With Bryant
This is the first meeting between Youngstown State and Bryant in women's basketball. YSU is 22-7 versus teams currently in the Northeast Conference. The Penguins' last win against an NEC team was in 2007 against Saint Francis (Pa.).
First 2-0 Start Since 1999-2000
Youngstown State is 2-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season with its season-opening wins at Pittsburgh and Buffalo. The last time YSU started a season with two wins on the road was 1996-97. The Penguins have been 2-0 nine times in their 38 seasons, with six of those nine times coming at the Division I level. YSU has gone on to win its third game each time it has started 2-0.
Davis Impressing Early
Freshman Shar'Rae Davis has had a strong start to her collegiate career. In her first two games, she's averaged 11.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists. She scored 19 points on 6-for-14 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line at Buffalo on Tuesday. Prior to that, she had nine assists, nine rebounds and four points in her debut at Pittsburgh. Brandi Brown was the last freshman to score at least 19 points on Feb. 27, 2010. The last freshman to record at least nine assists in a game was Lauren Branson had 13 at IPFW on Jan. 18, 2005.
Balanced Scoring So Far
YSU has benefitted from a balanced scoring attack through the first two games of the season. Five players have already scored in double figures in a game this season. Brandi Brown has scored at least 16 points in both contests. She was joined in double figures at Pittsburgh by Melissa Thompson (13) and Monica Touvelle (12). At Buffalo, Shar'Rae Davis (19) and Liz Hornberger (12) joined Brown in double figures. The Penguins have played their first two games without Heidi Schlegel, who averaged 9.7 points last season and reached double figures 12 times.
Davis, Brown Receive Accolades
YSU players Shar'Rae Davis and Brandi Brown were both honored for their performances against Pittsburgh. Davis was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Week, and Brown was named the Madness Horizon League Player of the Week by CollegeSportsMadness.com. Davis posted nine assists, nine rebounds and four points in her collegiate debut as the Penguins beat the Panthers 64-50. Brown led all players with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Newcomers Played Big Role at Pitt
All three of YSU's newcomers that appeared in the game against Pittsburgh had big moments. Shar'Rae Davis finished with nine assists and nine rebounds, and the freshman guard was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 1:09. Karen Flagg scored YSU's first five points and nine points overall before fouling out in 13 minutes. Amanda Barger's 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 13:18 left started an 18-4 run for the Penguins.
Growth Evidenced by Turnarounds
Youngstown State's continual growth over the last four seasons has been demonstrated so far in wins over Pittsburgh and Buffalo. YSU lost by 20 to the Panthers two years ago in head coach Bob Boldon's debut, and the Penguins lost 89-37 to Pitt in the 2009-10 season. YSU's victory 64-50 win on Nov. 9 was a 66-point turnaround from that loss in 2009-10. Further, the Penguins beat Pitt and defeated a current Big East team for the first time since 1991. YSU also earned its first win over a team currently in a BCS conference since 1997. YSU's 60-50 victory over Buffalo on Nov. 13 was a 64-point turnaround from when the Bulls beat the Penguins 92-38 in 2009-10.
Brown Corrals 900th Rebound, Nears 1,500 Points
Youngstown State senior Brandi Brown grabbed her 900th career rebound with 6:27 left in the game at Buffalo. Only four other players in school history have reached 900 career rebounds – Wanda Grant (1,178), Dorothy Bowers (1,083), Holly Seimetz (929) and Jen Perugini (905). Brown would have to average just a tick under 10 rebounds per game the rest of the season to pass Grant for the career record. Brown also has 1,457 points in her career and needs 43 to be the seventh player in school history to reach 1,500. Brown would have to average 13.4 points to pass Grant's 1,829 points for second on the career list. Bowers and Grant are the only two players to have 1,500 points and 900 rebounds in a career.
Brown Earns Preseason Honors
YSU senior Brandi Brown was voted Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League in a poll of the conference's coaches, women's basketball sports information contacts and a media member from each market. Brown ranked seventh in the league in scoring and sixth in rebounding last year with 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She was a second-team all-conference selection at the end of last season. Brown was also honored by CollegeSportsMadness.com. The website named her Preseason Fourth-Team All-American on the All-High Major Teams list as well as Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League.
Replacing Two Starters
Youngstown State will have to find two players to step into starting roles this season with the departure of Kenya Middlebrooks and Macey Nortey. Middlebrooks made a Horizon League-best 2.5 3-pointers per game last season and ranked second for YSU in scoring. Nortey started 101 games in her career and led the Horizon League in assist-to-turnover ratio last year. No current player on YSU's team had started a game at point guard in college coming into this season.
Looking at the Big Picture
It's hard to ignore the improvements that the program has made in just two years under head coach Bob Boldon. Right before Boldon's arrival, YSU went 0-30 in 2009-10 and lost games on average by 25.8 points. Only two Horizon League games that season had a final margin fewer than 10 points. In 2011-12, YSU's scoring margin was minus-2.9, a 22.9-point improvement from two years ago. That was the best improvement in the country. The Guins won 10 games last year – more than the previous three years combined. The Penguins are off to their first 2-0 start in 13 years this season.
Competitiveness Shows Growth
Although YSU finished 4-14 in Horizon League play, it had a one-possession game with under a minute left in regulation against each team it lost to. Seven of the Penguins' final 10 losses were by five points or fewer. Two were in overtime to Wright State, the third-place team in the conference, and league champion Green Bay. The Phoenix was ranked 11th in the nation when YSU lost to it in overtime. Another tough loss came on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to fifth-place Butler. YSU also lost an overtime game to UIC, which finished fourth in the conference standings.
YSU Sixth in Academic Top 25
YSU boasted the sixth-highest team grade-point average in the country during the 2011-12 academic year to earn a spot on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. The Penguins posted a team GPA of 3.550 during the 2011-12 academic year. YSU was 17th in 2010-11.
Lots of 3-Pointers
Youngstown State ranked fifth in the country last season with 9.2 3-pointers per game. YSU set school and Horizon League records for 3-pointers made in a season last year with 275. The Penguins also attempted a school and conference-record 828 treys last season. YSU was 12-for-33 from beyond the 3-point arc against Pitt. Eight of its makes came in the second half. The Penguins have made at least 10 3-pointers in eight of their last 10 games.
YSU Had Top Scoring Bench
Youngstown State possessed the top scoring bench in the Horizon League last season. The Penguins' reserves averaged 19.5 points per game, which was 3.2 points more than second-place Butler. YSU outscored its opponent's bench 14 times in 18 conference games and 22 times in 30 overall contests.
YSU Picked Eighth in League Poll
YSU was tabbed to finish eighth in the preseason Horizon League poll of coaches, SIDs and media. Green Bay was picked first with 241 total points. YSU was 13 points behind sixth-place UIC in the poll.
