The Youngstown State women's basketball team will look to open
the second half of Horizon League play with a victory over
Valparaiso on Thursday. Tipoff against the Crusaders at Beeghly
Center is set for 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on 1390
WNIO and YSUsports.com. The Penguins are coming off of a 71-66
overtime loss to Wright State on Saturday while Valparaiso lost
65-37 to Green Bay. YSU has beaten Valparaiso in three straight
meetings.
Top Storylines
- YSU finished the first half of league play with three wins, one
shy of its total from last season. Two of those losses came in
overtime to second-place Wright State and third-place UIC.
- Last week, YSU tied a school record with 15 3-pointers made
against Detroit. It then attempted 47 treys – one shy of the
school record and matching the Horizon League record – versus
Wright State.
- With their 9-11 start, the Penguins have matched their win
total from the previous three years combined. YSU was 3-57 combined
in the two years prior to coach Bob Boldon's arrival.
- YSU ranks fifth in the country with 8.9 3-pointers per
game.
- The Penguins average 9.9 more points and shoot 11.6 percent
higher in the second half than in the first half. YSU is 6-0 when
leading at halftime.
- Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year Brandi Brown is
averaging 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds in league play.
- Kenya Middlebrooks leads the Horizon League with 2.7 3-pointers
per game. She set a school record with eight against Detroit on
Jan. 26.
Series With Valparaiso
Youngstown State owns a 17-13 lead in the all-time series
against Valparaiso. The Penguins have won three straight games
against the Crusaders and four of the last six meetings. The teams
competed against each other in the Mid-Continent Conference from
1992-93 to 2000-01, and the rivalry was renewed in the Horizon
League in 2007-08. YSU beat Valpo twice in the Mid-Con Tournament
title game – 1997-98 and 1999-2000. The Guins won 79-76
versus Valpo last year at Beeghly Center.
Scouting Valparaiso
Valparaiso is 5-15 overall and 1-8 in Horizon League play with a
win over Butler. The Crusaders have routinely dressed eight players
or fewer, but they've been competitive because of strong defense.
The Crusaders rank third in the league in fewest points allowed
with 58 per game. However, they are last in scoring offense with 52
points per contest. Sophomore Tabitha Gerardot leads Valpo with 12
points per game, and senior Ashley Varner averages 10.1 points and
9.2 rebounds. Keith Freeman is in his 18th year as the Crusaders'
head coach.
Last Game: L, 71-66 vs. Wright State
Macey Nortey scored five points in the final 46 seconds to force
overtime, but YSU lost 71-66 to Wright State on Saturday at Beeghly
Center.
YSU trailed by as many as 15 in the second half and by 10 with
four minutes left. The Raiders led 59-54 with 46 seconds left when
Nortey hit a trey and added a tying lay-up with 0.2 seconds
remaining.
Kim Demmings scored Wright State's first 10 points of overtime,
including a three-point play with 50 seconds left with the score
tied at 66. She finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine
assists.
Brandi Brown led YSU with 11 points but was just 3-for-16 from
the field. Seven of YSU's 10 players scored at least eight
points.
- Wright State outrebounded YSU 53-37 and grabbed 17 offensive
rebounds. The Raiders turned that into a 24-7 edge in second-chance
points. Eleven of their final 14 points in regulation and five of
their first seven in overtime came after offensive rebounds.
- Melissa Thompson made her second consecutive start and scored
eight of YSU's first 11 points. She finished with eight points,
four rebounds and a career-high three assists.
- Macey Nortey finished with eight points, five assists and two
steals in 27 minutes off the bench. In the five games she's come
off the bench, she's averaged six points, 4.4 assists and 2.6
turnovers while shooting 42.9 percent.
- YSU attempted 47 3-pointers, which was one behind the school
record of 48 set at Pittsburgh in the 2010-11 season opener.
- Heidi Schlegel had her first double-digit scoring effort since
Jan. 5 at Butler, finishing with 10 points. She scored five
straight points during YSU's 12-2 run at the end of
regulation.
- YSU made at least 10 3-pointers for the seventh time and for
the fifth straight home game.
Last Time vs. Valparaiso • W, 55-48
Kenya Middlebrooks scored 13 second-half points as YSU battled
for a 55-48 victory at Valparaiso on Jan. 7 at the ARC.
YSU scored just 17 points in the first half but trailed by just
three. The Crusaders led by eight (38-30) with less than 10 minutes
left when Middlebrooks scored 11 points in a 17-3 run for YSU that
gave the Guins a 47-41 lead.
YSU led just 47-45 when Brandi Brown hit a bucket in traffic
with 1:38 remaining and the shot clock winding down. Valpo hit a
free throw on its possession, and YSU went 6-for-6 from the
free-throw line in the final 1:09 to pull away.
Middlebrooks scored 18 points, and Brown had nine points and 12
rebounds. YSU made eight 3-pointers while Valpo was 0-for-13.
Recapping the First Half
Saturday marked the end of the first half of Horizon League
play, and YSU finished with a 3-6 record. The Penguins currently
sit seventh in the standings and are just a game out of fifth.
Among YSU's losses were overtime setbacks to second-place Wright
State and third-place UIC and a five-point loss to fifth-place
Loyola. YSU plays the first, sixth, ninth and 10th-place teams at
home in the second half of conference play.
Guins Don't Go Down Easy
Saturday's game against Wright State was the latest contest
where the Penguins were down by double digits and came back. YSU
rallied to force overtime despite trailing the Raiders by 10 with
fewer than four minutes left. On six occasions this year, the Guins
have trailed by double digits in the second half and have taken the
lead or got within one possession of tying the score.
Guins Equal W's in Last Three Years
YSU's 80-67 victory over Detroit on Jan. 26 gave it nine wins
this season. That matches the win total of the previous three
seasons combined. The Penguins were 6-24 last year in coach Bob
Boldon's first year, 0-30 in 2009-10 and 3-27 in 2008-09. YSU's
highest win total since 2000 is 14 in 2007-08. The Guins had five
straight 20-win seasons and went to three NCAA Tournaments from
1995-96 to 1999-2000.
Draining 3s in Home League Games
In its five Horizon League home games, YSU has made 63
3-pointers – an average of 12.6 per contest. Those 63 triples
are more than half of the season total for all but one other league
team. YSU made 15 treys against Detroit, 14 versus UIC, 12 against
Cleveland State and Wright State and 10 versus Loyola. The Penguins
are shooting 36.6 percent from distance in home league
contests.
Playing Good "D" Is The Key
Five of YSU's nine Horizon League opponents have shot at least
48 percent, and YSU is 0-5 in those contests. The other four
opponents shot 30, 34, 39.1 and 42.9 percent, and YSU went 3-1 in
those games. In contrast, only two of YSU's 11 non-conference foes
shot at least 42 percent. YSU is 6-3 when holding opponents to
under 40 percent shooting.
3-Point Barrage vs. Detroit
YSU tied a school record with 15 3-pointers against Detroit on
Jan. 26. The only other two times the Guins hit 15 treys were at
IPFW on Jan. 18, 2005, and against Clemson on Dec. 19, 2003. YSU
was 15-for-23 against IPFW, slightly better than its 15-for-25
effort versus Detroit. Only 16 teams in the country have made at
least 15 3-pointers in a game this season.
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 8.9 3-pointers made and 27.6 attempts. On
average, they made 6.8 per game and attempted 24.8 last year. YSU's
178 treys in 2011-12 are already the seventh-most for a season in
school history, and its 552 attempts are tied for the fourth-most.
Nearly 49 percent of YSU's field-goal attempts are from beyond the
3-point arc. YSU's shooting percentage from distance is .322 this
season, up from .276 last season.
Guins Among NCAA's Best at 3s
Through games completed on Jan. 29, YSU ranks fifth in the
country with 8.9 3-pointers made per game. Florida Gulf Coast, led
by YSU head coach Bob Boldon's mentor Karl Smesko, leads the nation
with 11.5 treys per game.
YSU is the country's only Division I school whose men's and
women's basketball teams rank in the top 10 nationally in
3-pointers per game. YSU's men's team ranks eighth in the country
with 9.0 treys per game.
Needing First Half Offense
YSU has trailed at halftime in nine of its last 11 contests and
has lost in seven of those nine games. For the year, the Penguins
are 6-0 when leading at halftime and 3-11 when trailing. YSU is
shooting 11.5 percent better and averaging 10.1 more points in the
second half. Brandi Brown averages 11.5 points in the second half
and 5.1 in the first half.
Road Success Has Been Key
YSU has been particularly successful on the road with six wins
in 11 tries this season. With at least five road games left, YSU
has already matched its highest number of road wins in the last 12
seasons. The Penguins were 6-11 on the road in 2007-08, and they
have not had more than six road wins since going 9-7 in 1999-2000.
The Penguins had one road win combined over the past three
seasons.
Brown Off to Solid Start in HL Play
Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year Brandi Brown has
gotten off to a very solid start in conference play. Brown is
averaging 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds in nine conference games.
She has scored at least 20 points on five occasions and registered
three double-doubles. In league games, she ranks second in the
circuit in scoring and tied-for-seventh in rebounding.
Middlebrooks is Money from 3
Senior Kenya Middlebrooks ranks sixth in school history with 140
career 3-pointers in 110 games. She has 54 in 20 games this year
and leads the Horizon League with 2.7 3-pointers per game.
Middlebrooks was just 28-for-139 in the first 66 games of her
career – 0.4 per game and 20.1 percent shooting. She has 112
makes in 304 attempts over her last 44 games – an average of
2.5 per game and 36.8 percent.
Middlebrooks made eight 3-pointers against Detroit on Jan. 26 to
set a new school record. Previously, she was one of two YSU players
to make seven 3-pointers twice.
Thompson Makes Most of Minutes
Melissa Thompson has been in the starting lineup the past two
games for the first two starts of her career. She has averaged 11
points in those games. In the three career games she's played at
least 20 minutes, she's averaged 11.3 points.
Fickiesen's Strong Start to Career
Freshman Kelsea Fickiesen has had a very solid start to her
promising career. She has started five of the past seven games and
averages 19.6 minutes. Fickiesen leads YSU in field-goal percentage
(.444) and ranks second in assists (35) and blocks (5) and third in
steals (27).
Nortey Efficient at Point
Senior guard Macey Nortey is having, by far, the most efficient
season of her career. Nortey has 75 assists and just 51 turnovers
this year for a career-best 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. Her
previous best was 1.1 last year. Her 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio
in Horizon League games (43:23) leads the conference.
Brown A Regular in Double Figures
Brandi Brown has provided plenty of "wow" moments in her career,
but her consistency is perhaps what's most impressive. Brown has
scored in double figures in 46 of the last 50 games dating back to
the star of last year. She's scored at least 20 points in 24 of
those 50 games.
Nortey, Middlebrooks Experienced
Seniors Macey Nortey and Kenya Middlebrooks are two of the most
experienced players in the Horizon League. Middlebrooks has played
the fourth-most career minutes in the league, and Nortey is sixth
on the list. Middlebrooks has played 3,254 minutes in her career,
which is the third-most in school history. Nortey's 3,119 minutes
rank seventh in school history.
Up Next
YSU will host Butler on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.
