• Game Notes
• Coach Bob Boldon Comments
• Brandi Brown Comments

With a school-record-tying 10 non-conference wins already in the books, the Youngstown State women's basketball team restarts at 0-0 with its Horizon League opener at Valparaiso on Saturday. Tipoff at the Athletics-Recreation Center is set for 2:35 p.m. Eastern, and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeartRadio and the Horizon League Network.

The Penguins finished the non-conference season with a 10-3 record, which gives them their best record through 13 games since the 1997-98 season. YSU enters Horizon League play on a three-game winning streak following a 58-45 victory at VCU on Jan. 4. Reigning Horizon League Player of the Week Brandi Brown had a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. The 45 points were the fewest YSU allowed on the road since 2004.

YSU has already matched its win total from last year, and strong defense has been a common theme throughout the young season. The Penguins are allowing just 57.5 points per game this season, a 10-point improvement from last season. In fact, it's the fewest in 34 years, and YSU hasn't allowed fewer than 64 points on average since 1990-91. That has helped YSU a plus-9.2 mark in scoring margin, which is 12.1 points better than last season and an astonishing 35 points better than three seasons ago.

Valparaiso enters league play coming off two straight victories, and the Crusaders are 4-1 at home. One of those victories at the ARC came over Indiana in the season opener and first-year head coach Tracey Dorow's debut. Forward Tabitha Gerardot averages 12.5 pionts and 7.5 rebounds.

After the Valpo game, YSU plays three of its next four contests at Beeghly Center. The Guins will host Milwaukee on Jan. 17 before welcoming Green Bay on Jan. 19 for the 1,000th game in program history.

#YSUWBB Summary

• YSU is in its 38th season in 2012-13 and its third under head coach Bob Boldon.
• The Penguins are averaging 8.7 3-pointers per game this season, which is ranks sixth in the country. They averaged 9.2 3-pointers per game last season.
• YSU is plus-9.2 in scoring margin this season. That's a 12.1-point improvement from last season and a 35-point improvement from three years ago.
• YSU averaged 64.6 points last season, its best scoring average since 2001-02. The Guins are averaging 66.6 points this year.
• Opponents are scoring 57.5 points per game against YSU. They averaged 67.5 points last year.
• YSU will play the 1,000th game in its history against Green Bay on Jan. 19.

A Win Would

• Give YSU 11 wins in its first 14 games for the first time since 1997-98.
• Put YSU eight games over .500 for the first time since Feb. 10, 2000.
• Be the 500th in program history
• Start YSU 1-0 in Horizon League play for the second consecutive season
• Give YSU five straight wins over Valpo

Game Recap vs. VCU

Brandi Brown scored 28 points, and YSU held VCU to 18 second-half points in a 58-43 win on Jan. 4 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

YSU scored the first 13 points of the game, but VCU fought back and had its only lead of the contest at 27-26 with 21 seconds left in the first half. YSU's Karen Flagg hit a bucket just before the buzzer to put the Penguins up at the break, and they led the entire second half.

Brown scored 18 of her points in the first half and finished 13-of-20 from the field. She added 10 rebounds for her ninth double-double.

• The 45 points were the fewest YSU allowed on the road since Feb. 12, 2004 (Wright State).
• VCU was held to a season low with 45 points, a mark that was 37 fewer points than in its 82-47 win in the previous game.
• Brown had seven of YSU's first 10 points and scored 11 straight at one point in the first half.
• Brown's 13 field goals were the most by a Penguins since Brianne Kenneally had 15 against Georgia State on Nov. 24, 2000.
• Melissa Thompson scored the 200th point of her career with a 3-pointer on YSU's first possession of the second half.
• YSU led by double digits for the final nine minutes of the game and trailed for just 20 seconds overall.
• Karen Flagg had assists on each of YSU's first five buckets and had seven in the game. She has 19 assists in the past three games.
• The Penguins made their first five field-goal attempts for the second consecutive game. VCU missed its first seven shots.
• Both teams played without their second-leading scorer, YSU's Heidi Schlegel and VCU's Jessica Pellechio, due to illness.

Scouting Valparaiso

Valparaiso is 5-8 and enters Horizon League play as winners of its last two contests. The Crusaders beat Indiana and Purdue Calument to open the season, and they also have wins over IPFW, Ball State and Northern Illinois. They are 4-1 at home. Junior Tabitha Gerardot is an all-league candidate, ranking 11th in the conference in scoring (12.5) and seventh in rebounding (7.5). Valpo has the league's lowest scoring offense but ranks second in rebounding and free-throw percentage.

Last Time vs. Valparaiso

Brandi Brown hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining, and Kenya Middlebrooks made six free throws in the final 17 seconds as YSU held on to beat Valpo 64-58 on Feb. 2, 2012.

Brown's trey broked a 55-55 tie, and Macey Nortey came up with a big steal off an offensive rebound to set up Middlebrooks' run of free throws. Valpo got within two with 12 seconds remaining.

Brown led all scorers with 20 points and hauled in 10 rebounds for the double-double.

Series With Valparaiso

Youngstown State owns an 18-13 lead in the all-time series against Valparaiso. The Penguins have won four straight games against the Crusaders and five of the last seven meetings. YSU is 4-0 against Valpo under Bob Boldon. 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.

10-3: Best Start in 15 Years

• Youngstown State has 10 wins in its first 13 games for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
• In 13 games, YSU has already matched or surpassed the win totals from nine of its previous 12 seasons.
• The 10 non-conference wins tied the 1997-98 team for the most in school history.
• The nine wins by New Years Day were the second-most in YSU's 38 seasons.
• The Penguins have won their first five home games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

Horizon League Openers

• The Penguins will begin their 12th season of Horizon League play against Valparaiso on Saturday
• In the 11 previous Horizon League openers, YSU is 3-8. The Penguins beat Cleveland State 70-48 to open league play last year, and their other two victories came in 2004-05 and 2007-08.
• The Guins are 3-3 when starting league play at Beeghly Center, but they are 0-5 when opening on the road.
• YSU opened the 2008-09 Horizon League schedule at Valparaiso and lost 86-43.

Preseason Poll: YSU Picked Eighth

• Youngstown State and Valparaiso were picked to finish eighth and ninth, respectively, in the preseason Horizon League poll of coaches, SIDs and media.
• The Penguins were just 13 points out of sixth, but they were 31 points ahead of last-place Valparaiso

Wrapping Up The Non-Conference Season

• The Penguins had victories over teams in the Big East, MAC, NEC, America East, Summit League, Ohio Athletic Conference, Patriot League and the Atlantic 10.
• YSU went 3-0 against teams from the Mid-American Conference and improved to 6-1 against MAC foes over the last two years.
• The win over Pittsburgh was YSU's first against a current Big East team since 1991 and its first over a team currently in a BCS conference since 1997.
• YSU matched Green Bay with a league-best 10 victories during the non-conference season. Of the Penguins' three losses, they lost at the buzzer at Northern Kentucky and trailed Cincinnati by one with 2:20 left.
• The Penguins matched their win total from all of last season with their 10 non-conference wins. Interestingly, YSU also did that last season with its six wins in the non-conference season matching its 2010-11 win total.

Next Win Will Be Program's 500th; 1,000th Game Next Saturday

• Youngstown State's next victory will be the 500th in program history, and the Penguins will play the 1,000th game in their history against Green Bay on Jan. 19 at Beeghly Center.
• The Penguins won their first game as an official program on Jan. 10, 1976, against Oberlin by a score of 67-34.
• YSU moved up to Division I prior to the 1981-82 season and has 414 wins as a D-I program.
• The Penguins' most successful decade came in the 1990s when they went 196-91 from the 1990-91 through 1999-2000 seasons.
• Of the first 499 victories, 319 came under Coach Ed DiGregorio, who led the Penguins for 20 seasons from 1983 to 2003.

Penguins Debut at 53 in RPI

• When the first official NCAA RPI was released at the beginning of the week, Youngstown State debuted at No. 53. The Penguins were 48th in the final RPI of the 1997-98 season, and they haven't finished above 220 since 1999-2000.
• As of Jan. 7, Green Bay was the only Horizon League team above YSU at 31. Detroit was next in line at 136.
• According to RealTimeRPI.com, the Horizon League ranks 11th in the conference RPI.

Brown Named Player of the Week

• Senior Brandi Brown is the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week. She also earned the award on Dec. 24.
• Brown had a game-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds in YSU's 58-45 victory at VCU on Jan. 4. She made a career-high 13 field goals.
• Brown was also named the player of the week in the conference by College Sports Madness for the fifth time this season.

Brown's Place in YSU History

• Senior forward Brandi Brown eclipsed two more important marks for her career resume in the game against Akron on Dec. 20. She moved past Ann Marie Martin (1994-98) for fourth place on YSU's career scoring list and grabbed her 1,000th rebound in the game.
• In 103 games, Brown currently has 1,682 points, 15 behind Danielle Carson for third. Wanda Grant is second with 1,829 points, and Dorothy Bowers is first with 2,324. Brown would need to average roughly 18.8 points the rest of the season to reach 2,000.
• Brown is one of only three players in both YSU and Horizon League history to surpass 1,600 points and 1,000 rebounds.
• Brown needs to average about 9.4 rebounds the rest of the way to break Wanda Grant's school record of 1,178 rebounds. Dorothy Bowers is second on the list with 1,083, 64 ahead of Brown's current total of 1,019.
• Brown is 10 free throw attempts and 11 free throw makes away from setting new school records. She could also reasonably set new records for starts (needs 10) and minutes (needs 533).

Among D-I Leaders in 3's Per Game

• Through games completed on Jan. 6, Youngstown State ranked sixth in Division I with 8.7 3-pointers per game.
• The Guins ranked fifth nationally last year with 9.2 3-pointers per game and set school and Horizon League records for 3-pointers made in a season last year with 275.
• In fact, YSU has re-set the school record for 3-pointers made and attempted in Coach Bob Boldon's first two seasons.
• The Penguins have made at least eight 3-pointers 30 times in the last 43 games dating back to the start of last season.

A Much-Improved Defense

• YSU has held opponents to an average of 57.5 points per game this season. That is a 10-point improvement from last season
• The Penguins haven't allowed fewer than 64 points per game since 1990-91, and they haven't allowed fewer than 60 points on average since 1979-80.
• Last season, the Guins ranked second-to-last in the Horizon League scoring defense (67.5 points per game). This season, they are second in the HL in scoring defense.
• YSU has held 10 teams under 60 points, and it is 9-1 in those contests.
• The Penguins have held four straight opponents under 60 points twice this season. Prior to this season, they hadn't done it once since the 1990-91 season.

Touvelle Surpasses 100 Career 3-Pointers

• Junior guard Monica Touvelle became the 12th player in school history to make 100 3-pointers with a triple at the 14:29 mark of the second half against Bucknell.
• The graduate of nearby Boardman High had 53 3-pointers last season, one shy of YSU's sophomore record held by Dianne Rappach.
• Touvelle is 103-for-284 in her career from 3-point range for a .363 shooting percentage. That is eighth-best in school history among players who made at least 30.
• Touvelle shot a Horizon League-best 42.4 percent from 3-point range during conference play last season.

An Impressive Turnover Margin

• The Penguins rank third in the Horizon League with a plus-3.9 turnover margin. That is the sixth-best margin in school history, and it's the best 1999-2000.
• YSU has outscored opponents off turnovers 11 times in the first 13 games and are 9-2 in such contests. The Guins are outscoring opponents off turnovers by an average of 9.5 points per game.
• The Penguins rank second in the Horizon League with 19.8 turnovers forced per game.
• YSU is committing 15.5 turnovers per game, which ranks fourth in the HL. If it holds up, that will also be a school record for fewest turnovers per game over a season. The record is currently 16.0 in 2010-11.

Academic Success

• The YSU women's basketball team posted a team grade-point average of 3.52 during the fall semester, which was the highest of any team on campus.
• Four Penguins – Brandi Brown, Liz Hornberger, Taylor Hvisdak and Kelsea Newman – registered a 4.0 GPA.
• YSU ranked sixth on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll during the 2011-12 academic year with a 3.550 GPA. The Guins were 17th in 2010-11 with a 3.395 GPA.

Making Half-Time Adjustments

• Youngstown State is outscoring its opponents 488-382 after halftime this season, an average of 8.1 points per game.
• The Penguins have outscored their opponent by at least 15 in the second half five times.
• YSU has been outscored in the second half four times this season and has lost three of those contests.
• YSU is averaging 29.1 points on 37.8 percent shooting in the first half and 37.5 points on 42.8 percent shooting in the second half.
• The biggest difference between the scoring in the two halves is at the free-throw line. The Penguins are 129-for-169 at the stripe in the second half and 32-for-49 in the first half.

Getting Better on the Boards

• YSU was last in the Horizon League in rebounding margin last year at minus-5.1. This year, YSU is minus-0.4 on the glass More impressively, it is a significant improvement from two seasons ago when YSU was edged by 9.0 rebounds per game.
• YSU's biggest win on the glass this season came on Dec. 3 when it out-rebounded IUPUI 47-22. That plus-25 edge was YSU's best since 2006.
• YSU has won the battle of the boards five times in the first 13 games. The Penguins out-rebounded six opponents last year, just three in 2010-11 and six in 2009-10.

Davis Impressing Early at PG

• Freshman Shar'Rae Davis has had a strong start to her career. In her first 13 games, she's averaged 9.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals. She's posted highs of 23 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and five steals.
• Davis has posted 10 assists in two different games this season, becoming the first freshman to post at least 10 assists twice in a season since Lauren Branson in 2004-05.
• Davis is tied for the Horizon League lead in assists per game, and only Lianna Doty of Missouri averages more assists among freshmen nationally.

B.B.'s Double-Doubles

• YSU senior Brandi Brown has posted nine double-doubles in 13 games this season. That ranks as fifth-most in the country.
• Brown has 45 double-doubles in 103 career games. She had 14 as a freshman, 13 as a sophomore and nine as a junior.
• She began this season with five straight double-doubles, which was the best streak of her career.
• Since 1982, Dorothy Bowers is the only Penguin with more career double-doubles with 58 from 1984-88.

Flagg's an All-Around Performer

• Karen Flagg is averaging 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists while starting all 13 games in her first season.
• She's posted highs of 12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks this season.
• Over the last two games, she's posted 19 assists and just five turnovers.

Schlegel Key Off the Bench

• Heidi Schlegel is averaging 10.9 points and 4.7 rebounds off the bench in her nine games this season.
• Players eligible to be named the Horizon League's Sixth Player of the Year must come off the bench for 67% of her games played. Schlegel is outscoring the closest eligible player by 4.5 points per game, and she is also the leader in minutes.
• Schlegel scored in double figures in each of her first four games, which was the longest streak of her career. She's scored between 11 and 15 points in six of her nine games.
• Schlegel averaged 9.7 points and 4.6 rebounds last year in 27 games, 17 of which she started.