The Youngstown State women's basketball team will wrap up the
regular season on Saturday at Cleveland State in a game that will
hold major seeding implications for the Horizon League Tournament.
Tipoff at the Wolstein Center is set for 2 p.m., and the game will
be broadcast live on 570 WKBN. The Penguins, who are a game behind
the Vikings in the standings, need to win for a chance to earn a
home tournament game. YSU can be seeded anywhere from eighth to
10th depending on this week's results. The Guins are coming off a
67-64 loss at Detroit, and the Vikings lost their last game 100-73
at Wright State.
Top Storylines
- A YSU win, coupled with a loss by either Milwaukee or
Valparaiso, will give the Penguins a home tournament game on
Monday. YSU would finish as the 10th seed with a loss.
- Although YSU is 4-13 in Horizon League play, it has either won
or had a one-possession game with under a minute left against every
team in the league.
- Six of YSU's last eight losses have been by five points or
fewer. Two were in overtime to third-place Wright State and No.
11/12 Green Bay, and another was by a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.3
seconds left to Butler. That loss near the buzzer to Butler started
YSU's current seven-game losing streak.
- YSU is averaging 10.9 3-pointers in Horizon League play and 9.6
per game overall. The Penguins rank fourth in the nation in
3-pointers per game and have already broken the school record for
3-pointers in a season by 64.
- The Penguins have set new Horizon League records with 269
3-pointers made for the year (by 12) and 185 made during conference
play (by 55).
Series With Cleveland State
YSU leads the all-time series with Cleveland State, which dates
back to 1976, 31-25. The Penguins' 70-48 win on Dec. 31 snapped a
nine-game losing streak to the Vikings. The Penguins won nine of
the first 10 meetings and 11 straight from 1985 to 1993. YSU has
played Cleveland State more than any other team.
Scouting Cleveland State
Cleveland State has lost nine of its last 11 games to drop to
10-18 overall and 5-12 in league games. The Vikings lost 100-73 at
Wright State on Saturday and have given up at least 65 points in
eight straight games. CSU allows 68.6 points per game, which is the
highest in the league. The Vikings average 59.4 points on offense,
which ranks seventh in the conference. Junior post Shalonda Winton
averages 18.2 points overall and a league-best 22.2 points in
conference play.
Last Game: L, 67-64 at Detroit
Kenya
Middlebrooks had a game-tying 3-point attempt sail wide at the
buzzer, and YSU saw its rally attempt come up short at Detroit on
Saturday, losing 67-64.
The Penguins trailed by 16 in the first half and by 11 with
six-and-a-half minutes left. YSU cut the lead to 63-60 with 3:34
left but didn't score again until there was a minute remaining.
YSU outscored Detroit 15-4 over the final 5:50 of the first
half.
Heidi
Schlegel scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for YSU,
which shot 34.5 percent. Kelsea Fickiesen
had 13 points, and Monica Touvelle
scored all 12 of her points in the second half. Senee Shearer
scored 20 points and made six of Detroit's eight 3-pointers.
- Schlegel's 18 points and eight rebounds were the second-highest
totals in her career. She was 4-for-6 from the field in the first
half but 1-for-7 in the second half.
- Fickiesen was 3-for-5 shooting and scored nine points in the
second half.
- Touvelle was 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the second
half.
- Aside from Fickiesen and Touvelle, the other six Guins who
attempted at least one shot were a combined 4-for-21 in the second
half.
- Brandi
Brown attempted just one shot and played just 10 minutes in the
second half. She was 0-for-8 from the field for the game but
grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
- YSU trailed 5-3 through four minutes, but Detroit went on a
16-5 run to go up 21-8. An 8-0 run later in the first half gave it
a 31-15 advantage.
- The Titans had one field goal over the final 4:19 of the first
half.
- Detroit outscored YSU 30-12 in the paint.
- Kenya Middlebrooks had six assists and just one turnover.
Last Time vs. CSU: W, 70-48
Behind 23 points from Brandi Brown, YSU opened Horizon League
play with a convincing 70-48 win over Cleveland State on Dec.
31.
The Penguins scored 12 straight points early to take a 14-2
lead, and they led by double digits for the final 30:35 of the
game.
Brown's 23 points came on an efficient shooting day in which she
was 7-for-11 from the field. She also finished with 12 rebounds and
made two free throws with 4:43 left that sparked a 12-0 run,
turning a 12-point margin into a 24-point cushion.
YSU held Cleveland State to a field-goal drought of 7:19 in the
first half and one for 7:39 in the second half. YSU outscored the
Vikings 28-3 during those stretches.
Last Time at CSU: L, 76-71
Cleveland State rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second
half and went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final 40
seconds to beat YSU 76-71 on Feb. 26, 2011, at the Wolstein
Center.
YSU scored 16 straight points to go up 52-43. Bojana Dimitrov's
basket then gave the Guins their largest lead at 63-51 with 7:04
remaining, but Cleveland State went on a 15-1 run.
So Close, But...
Saturday's 67-64 loss at Detroit is just the latest in a rough
stretch of setbacks for YSU. Eight of YSU's 13 Horizon League
losses, including six of the last eight, have come in overtime or
by five points or fewer. YSU has lost overtime games to first-place
Green Bay, third-place Wright State and fourth-place UIC, and it
also suffered a 65-63 defeat against fifth-place Butler by a
go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left.
YSU has showed that it is not going to go down without a fight.
On seven 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.
Although YSU is 4-13 in Horizon League play, it has either won
or had a one-possession game with under a minute left against every
team in the league.
Looking at the Big Picture
Although YSU has hit a slide lately, it's hard to ignore the
improvements that the program has made under second-year 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. This season, YSU's scoring margin is minus-2.6, a
23.2-point improvement from two years ago. The Guins have won 10
games – more than the previous three years combined. They've
lost two league games by more than 10 points – 16 fewer than
two years ago.
Offensive High Marks in 2011-12
- YSU's 38.7 percent field-goal shooting is its best since
2005-06.
- YSU has already shattered the old school record for 3-pointers
in a season by 64.
- YSU's .340 3-point percentage is its highest since .363 in
2004-05.
- YSU is averaging 64.8 points, which is its best since averaging
66.0 points in 2001-02.
Bench Scoring
YSU has the most productive bench in the Horizon League,
averaging 19.5 points. Butler is second at 15.9 points per game.
The Penguins' substitutes have outscored their opponents' 13 times
in 17 conference games. For the year, YSU has held the edge in
bench scoring 20 times in 28 games. The biggest difference was
against UIC on Jan. 14 when YSU outscored the Flames' bench
31-5.
Draining 3s in League Games
In its 17 Horizon League games, YSU has made a conference record
185 3-pointers – an average of 10.9 per game. The previous
record was 130. Wright State ranks second in the league with 7.4
3-pointers per game during conference play, 3.5 fewer than YSU. The
Raiders are the only other league team to make at least 185 3s the
entire season. YSU is shooting 36.3 percent from distance in league
play, up from 29.7 percent in non-conference games.
Guins Among NCAA's Best at 3s
Through Feb. 26, YSU ranks fourth in the country with 9.6
3-pointers made per game. Fresno State is third with 9.8, and UT
Martin is second with 10.3 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 10.9 3-pointers in Horizon League
play. YSU is one of nine teams in the country that has made at
least 16 3s in a game this season.
New 3s Game 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 eight 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
YSU has broken the school record for 3-pointers made in a
season. The Guins have 269 this season, topping last season's
record of 205. They broke the attempts record last week at Wright
State and have 792 for the season. 49.8 percent of YSU's field-goal
attempts are from beyond the 3-point arc.
Middlebrooks is Money from 3
Senior Kenya Middlebrooks ranks third in school history with 161
career 3-pointers in 118 games. She has 75 in 28 games this year
and leads the Horizon League with 2.7 3-pointers per game. Her 75
treys ranks third 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 133
makes in 360 attempts over her last 52 games – an average of
2.6 per game and 36.9 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 Better in 2nd Half
YSU has scored more points in the second half than in the first
24 times in 28 games. For the year, YSU averages 8.1 more points
and shoots 9.0 percent higher in the second half than in the first.
Five times, YSU has scored 20 more points in the second half than
in the first. YSU is 7-2 when ahead at halftime and 3-16 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 1,398 points in her 88
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 10
of YSU's 17 league games, and she's been in double figures 52 times
in the last 58 games. Brown also ranks sixth in school history in
career rebounds with 851.
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 10 of her
last 14 games. Fickiesen leads YSU in field-goal percentage (.440)
and ranks second in assists (52) and blocks (7) and third in steals
(35). No freshman guard has ever led YSU in shooting percentage for
a season.
Touvelle Improving in Year Two
Monica Touvelle has more than doubled her scoring output from
her freshman year (3.0 points to 6.4), and she's upped her shooting
percentage from 28.7 percent to 41.4 percent. Touvelle is
51-for-127 from 3-point range, which gives her the third-most makes
ever by a YSU sophomore. Dianne Rappach is the sophomore record
holder with 54 in 1989-90.
Nortey Efficient at Point
Senior guard Macey Nortey is
having, by far, the most efficient season of her career. Nortey has
103 assists and just 63 turnovers this year for a career-best 1.6
assist-to-turnover ratio. Her previous best was 1.1 last year. Her
assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.0 (71:35) in league games.
Schlegel Returns to Form
Heidi Schlegel showed again that she can be one of the top young
posts in the Horizon League last week. Schlegel averaged 16 points
and 7.5 rebounds in two games last week. She was averaging six
points and 2.3 rebounds in her eight games since returning from a
foot injury.
Up Next
YSU plays in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament
on Monday. The opponent, location and time are to be
determined.
