The Youngstown State women's basketball team will begin its
final home week of the regular season on Thursday with a contest
against Milwaukee. Tipoff against the Panthers is set for 7:05 p.m.
Eastern. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and the
Horizon League Network. YSU will also be raising funds and
awareness for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund as part of the WBCA's Play
4Kay initiative, and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the
game.
Top Storylines
- Seniors Tieara Jones, Kenya Middlebrooks and Macey Nortey will
be playing the final regular-season home games of their careers
this week.
- YSU is currently tied for seventh in the Horizon League
standings, and a finish in seventh or eighth in the final standings
would result in a first-round home tournament game.
- YSU has matched its Horizon League win total from last season
at four. Two of YSU's league losses have come in overtime, and
another was by a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left. YSU was
tied with Loyola with a minute left in Saturday's loss.
- YSU is averaging 10.8 3-pointers in Horizon League play and 9.3
per game overall. The Penguins rank fifth in the nation in
3-pointers per game and have already broken the school record for
3-pointers in a season, which was set last year. The Guins made a
school-record 16 3-pointers at Loyola on Saturday.
- With their 10-14 start, the Penguins have surpassed 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 has lost 14 straight games to Milwaukee and is 2-20 against
the Panthers since joining the Horizon League.
Series With Milwaukee
Milwaukee has won 14 straight meetings against YSU and leads the
all-time series 23-5. The Panthers are 20-2 against the Penguins
since YSU joined the Horizon League prior to the 2001-02 season.
YSU won the first three meetings between the schools in 1991 and
1992, and the Penguins swept the series in 2004-05. The Panthers
won 65-57 the last time the teams met in Beeghly Center on Jan. 8,
2011.
Scouting Milwaukee
Milwaukee has lost five straight games to drop to 6-17 overall
and 2-10 in Horizon League play. The Panthers' two conference wins
came back-to-back against YSU and Valparaiso on Jan. 21 and 26.
Milwaukee's top two scorers are forwards. Courtney Lindfors
averages 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds, and Sami Tucker averages
10.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. The Panthers rank last in the Horizon
League in scoring defense and shooting defense, and they are also
second-to-last in scoring offense. Sandy Botham is in her 15th year
as UWM's head coach.
Last Game: L, 78-73 at Loyola
YSU made a school-record 16 3-pointers, but Loyola went 6-for-6
from the free-throw line in the final minute to hold on for a 78-73
win over the Penguins on Saturday at the Gentile Arena.
Liz Hornberger made YSU's record-breaking 3-pointer at the 1:22
mark, knotting the score at 72 for the ninth tie of the game.
Loyola got an offensive rebound and made two free throws on its
next possession to start the final stretch. Kenya Middlebrooks was
blocked on a go-ahead 3-point attempt with under 40 seconds
left.
Loyola outshot YSU 50.9 percent to 35.3 percent, but YSU made 10
more 3-pointers. The game featured 12 lead changes, and Loyola's
16-8 lead was the largest by either team.
YSU went on two 11-0 runs in the game, and Loyola also had an
11-0 run.
- Even with the record-breaking 16 3-pointers, YSU's top two
3-point shooters (Kenya Middlebrooks and Monica Touvelle) went a
combined 4-for-17 from the arc.
- Brandi Brown made a career-high five 3-pointers in nine
attempts. Middlebrooks added four treys, and Kelsea Fickiesen
drained a career-best three.
- YSU was 6-for-22 from 3-point range in the first half and
10-for-22 in the second half. The Guins were just 3-for-11 from two
in the second half.
- Macey Nortey posted her fourth seven-assist game of the season.
She had just one turnover in 22 minutes.
- In addition to her 16 points, Middlebrooks grabbed a
season-best seven rebounds. She's averaged five rebounds in the
last six games.
- Liz Hornberger matched her career high with four assists and
did not commit a turnover.
- Loyola's Troy Hambric was 8-for-10 from the field for 20
points.
- The Ramblers shot 50.9 percent overall and was 16-of-17 from
the free-throw line.
- Loyola held advantages of 34-16 in the paint and 23-10 in
fast-break points.
Last Time vs. Milwaukee: L, 76-68
Milwaukee built a big first-half lead and shot 56 percent to
hold off Youngstown State 76-68 on Saturday afternoon at the
Klotsche Center.
UWM led by as many as 16 points in the first half and was able
to withstand YSU's rally, which cut the margin to three with 10
minutes left.
YSU's Kenya Middlebrooks led all scorers with 19 points, 15 of
which came on five 3-pointers. Brandi Brown had 14 points and eight
rebounds in just 24 minutes because of foul trouble, and Macey
Nortey scored a season-best 12 points to go along with seven
assists.
YSU made just three of its first 20 attempts, but it made 21 of
their final 41 shots, including 7-of-10 to close out the first
half. UWM, though, led 9-1 through the first four minutes and 25-9
with 7:38 remaining.
All 16 of Milwaukee's points in the final nine minutes came in
the paint or at the free-throw line. UWM's starting posts combined
for 31 points and 17 rebounds in 47 minutes.
So Close, But...
YSU had another gut-wrenching defeat on Saturday at Loyola. The
Penguins rallied to tied the score with a minute left before Loyola
went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to pull out a 78-73 win. Five
of YSU's nine Horizon League losses have YSU have come in overtime
or by five points or fewer. YSU lost overtime games to third-ranked
Wright State and fourth-ranked UIC, and it also suffered a 65-63
defeat against Butler by a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds
left.
YSU has demonstrated that it is not going to go down without a
fight. 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 Surpass W's of Last 3 Years
YSU's 64-58 win over Valparaiso on Feb. 2 gave it 10 wins this
season, which is one more than 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 (6-81 total).
The 10-win increase from two seasons ago is not a substantial
enough indicator of how big YSU's improvement has been. The
Penguins lost games by an average of 25.8 points in 2009-10. Their
scoring margin this season is minus-1.6.
Playing Good "D" Is The Key
Eight of YSU's 13 Horizon League opponents have shot at least 43
percent, and YSU is 0-8 in those contests. The other four opponents
shot 30, 34, 39.1, 39.2 and 42.9 percent, and YSU is 4-1 in those
games. YSU allowed only one non-conference opponent to shoot at
least 44 percent. YSU is 7-3 this season when holding opponents to
under 40 percent shooting and 9-1 when shooting better than its
opponent.
Seniors' Careers Closing
This is the last regular-season home stand for seniors Tieara
Jones, Kenya Middlebrooks and Macey Nortey. Jones joined the
program in 2009-10 and made her debut in 2010-11, and Middlebrooks
and Nortey have been mainstays the last four seasons. Both players
have appeared in all 114 of YSU's games during their careers.
Middlebrooks and Nortey have combined for the most career minutes
by a pair of seniors in school history.
Draining 3s in League Games
In its 13 Horizon League games, YSU has made 140 3-pointers
– an average of 10.8 per game. That is already a league
record total and 3.5 more per game than any other team is averaging
in league play. Only three other league teams have made at least
140 3s the entire season. YSU has made at least 10 3-pointers in
each of their seven league home games and have sank at least eight
five times in six road games. YSU is shooting 35.2 percent from
distance in league play, up from 29.7 percent in non-conference
games.
Guins Set 3's Record at Loyola
YSU set a new school record by making 16 3s at Loyola on Feb.
11, breaking the old mark of 15 (which was matched earlier this
season). YSU has made at least 12 3-pointers six times this year.
The Guins made 12-plus triples just eight times in the first 36
years of the program.
Guins Break 3s Season Record
With at least six games remaining on its schedule, YSU has
already broken the school record for 3-pointers made in a season.
The Guins have 224 this season, topping last season's record of
205. YSU is 63 3-pointers shy of last year's record for attempts.
More than 49 percent of YSU's field-goal attempts are from beyond
the 3-point arc.
Guins Among NCAA's Best at 3s
Through Feb. 12, YSU ranks fifth in the country with 9.3
3-pointers made per game. Florida Gulf Coast, led by YSU head coach
Bob Boldon's mentor Karl Smesko, leads the nation with 10.9 per
game. YSU is averaging 10.8 3-pointers in Horizon League play. Only
nine teams in the country have made at least 16 3s in a game this
season.
Middlebrooks is Money from 3
Senior Kenya Middlebrooks ranks fourth in school history with
149 career 3-pointers in 114 games. She has 63 in 24 games this
year and leads the Horizon League with 2.6 3-pointers per game. Her
63 treys ranks tied-for-sixth on YSU's single season list.
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 121
makes in 331 attempts over her last 48 games – an average of
2.5 per game and 36.6 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.
Offense More Prevalent in 2nd Half
YSU has scored more points in the second half than in the first
23 times in 24 games. For the year, YSU averages 10.8 more points
and shoots 12 percent higher in the second half than in the first.
Opponents average 6.2 more points and shoot 7.9 percent in the
second half.
Five times, YSU has scored 20 more points in the second half
than in the first. YSU is 7-0 when ahead at halftime and 3-14 when
trailing.
Brown is Ninth on Scoring List
Junior forward Brandi Brown has moved into ninth place on YSU's
all-time scorers list. Brown has scored 1,337 points in her 84
career games for an average of 15.9 per game, which is the
fifth-best in YSU history. She has scored at least 20 points in
eight of YSU's 13 league games, and she's been in double figures 49
times in the last 54 games. Brown also ranks sixth in school
history in career rebounds with 810.
Nortey Efficient at Point
Senior guard Macey Nortey is having, by far, the most efficient
season of her career. Nortey has 91 assists and just 57 turnovers
this year for a career-best and Horizon League-leading 1.6
assist-to-turnover ratio. Her previous best was 1.1 last year. Her
assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0 (59:29) in Horizon League games
also leads the conference.
Fickiesen's Strong Start to Career
Freshman Kelsea Fickiesen has gotten off to a solid start in her
promising career. She has scored at least eight points in eight of
her last 10 games, and she scored a career-high 13 points at
Loyola. Last week in Chicago she averaged 11 points, five rebounds,
3.5 assists, two steals and a block in two games. Fickiesen leads
YSU in field-goal percentage (.445) and ranks second in assists
(43) and blocks (7) and third in steals (32). No freshman guard has
ever led YSU in shooting percentage for a season.
Touvelle Improving in Year Two
Monica Touvelle has shown a big improvement in her sophomore
year. She has more than doubled her scoring output (3.0 points to
6.5), and she's upped her shooting percentage from 28.7 percent to
40.7 percent. Touvelle is 43-for-113 from 3-point range, which
gives her the fourth most makes ever by a YSU sophomore.
Up Next
YSU will host No. 12/11 Green Bay on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.
Seniors Tieara Jones, Kenya Middlebrooks and Macey Nortey will be
recognized prior to the game, which will be their final
regular-season contest at Beeghly Center.
