The Youngstown State women's basketball team will try to bounce back from a loss like it has all season when it faces Cleveland State at the Wolstein Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeartRadio and the Horizon League Network.
The Penguins will enter Thursday's game trying to even their Horizon League record at 2-2 and keep up the trend of following up a loss with a victory. To do that, they'll have to win in Cleveland for the first time in seven years. YSU and Cleveland State both had solid non-conference seasons, but the loser of Thursday's game will get tagged with its third loss in the first three weeks of league play.
Youngstown State split its two home contests last weekend, defeating Milwaukee 67-50 in a convincing fashion before falling 59-41 to league-leading Green Bay. The Penguins led the Panthers by as many as 27 in the second half, and they trailed the Phoenix 28-27 with 16 minutes left. YSU, though, scored just six points over the next nine minutes and found itself down by 17. The Penguins also scored just two points in the final 10-and-a-half minutes of the first half after leading 17-12. Cleveland State dropped a tough 52-49 decision to Green Bay on Thursday in which it led for most of the contest, and it suffered a 63-60 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday.
YSU senior Brandi Brown ranks in the top 25 in the NCAA in both scoring (19.3) and rebounding (10.8), but she's behind Cleveland State senior Shalonda Winton in both categories. Brown's opportunities were limited in the two games last week, which held her to 14 points per game despite shooting 52 percent. Monica Touvelle had the hot hand against the Panthers and Phoenix, averaging a team-best 14.5 points and hitting seven 3-pointers in the two games.
Youngstown State will host Loyola on Saturday at 4:35 p.m. in the second half of a doubleheader.
Game Recap vs. Green Bay
One of the top defenses in the country was on full display as Green Bay held YSU to 24 points in the final 30 minutes in a 59-41 victory over the Penguins on Saturday at Beeghly Center.
YSU led 17-12 at the 10:33 mark of the first half, but Green Bay closed the period on a 12-2 run. The Phoenix then went on a 22-6 run in an eight-minute span in the second half once YSU cut the lead to one.
Brandi Brown had 11 rebounds but was held to 10 points, which was a team high. Karen Flagg and Liz Hornberger had eight points.
- The Penguins lost at home for the first time this season. They were 6-0 at Beeghly Center entering the contest.
- YSU had season lows in points, field goals, field-goal attempts, assists and steals.
- The 41 points tied for YSU's fewest at home under Coach Bob Boldon.
- Brandi Brown was held to a season-low 10 points, but she earned her 11th double-double of the season.
- YSU committed more turnovers than its opponent for just the third time in 16 games.
- The Penguins scored 33 points in the first 10 minutes of the two halves and eight in the final 10 minutes of the two halves.
- YSU was just 6-for-23 from 3-point range in the contest.
- None of the seven Penguins who played had more assists than turnovers.
- YSU's two steals were the fewest since it also had two against UIC on Feb. 6, 2010.
- The Penguins had a season-high seven shots blocked.
- Green Bay outscored YSU 30-12 in the paint. Only West Virginia had a bigger scoring edge in the paint this year vs. YSU.
- Liz Hornberger scored all eight of her points in the second half.
Scouting Cleveland State
Cleveland State enters this week with a 10-7 overall record and a 2-2 mark in Horizon League play. The Vikings won seven straight games at one point during the non-conference schedule, but they've gone 2-3 since the streak ended. CSU won its first two league games, but lost consecutive three-point contests to Green Bay and Milwaukee last week. Shalonda Winton ranks in the top two in the Horizon League in points, rebounds and assists per game.
Last Time vs. Cleveland State
YSU missed three tying shots in the final nine seconds in a 59-56 loss in the Horizon League Tournament on March 5, 2012 at CSU.
Both teams shot under 37 percent and were streaky on offense. CSU led 23-21 at halftime, and the teams combined for 14 points in the final seven minutes. YSU trailed by seven with 7:08 left but got no closer than two.
Brandi Brown was held to six points on 3-for-16 shooting, and the Penguins were just 3-for-22 from 3-point range.
Series With Cleveland State
Youngstown State has played Cleveland State more than any other opponent, and the Penguins hold a 31-27 lead in the all-time series. YSU won the first six meetings from 1976 to 1979, and the Penguins also won 11 straight contests in the series from 1985 to 1993. The Vikings have won 11 of the last 12 meetings since Feb. 24, 2007, with the lone YSU win coming at home on Dec. 31, 2011. YSU's last win at the Wolstein Center was Feb. 13, 2006.
11-5: Best Start in 13 Years
- Despite its 1-2 start in Horizon League play, Youngstown State has 11 wins in its first 16 games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
- In 16 games, YSU has already surpassed the win totals from nine of its previous 12 seasons, including last year when the Penguins were 10-20.
- 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 won their first six home games for the first time since the 1991-92 season.
Responding from Losses
- YSU has done a good job responding from losses with emphatic wins so far this season.
- Following losses, YSU has won its next game by an average of 22.5 points. The closest game was against Akron, which YSU won by nine points and led for the final 31 minutes. All four of those wins came at home.
The Winning Formula
- With the regular season at its half-way point, some trends have emerged as keys to YSU wins.
- The Penguins are 10-2 when allowing fewer than 60 points and 10-1 when they at least match their opponents in points in the paint.
- YSU is 11-1 when shooting at least 35 percent from the field and 9-0 when opponents shoot less than 40 percent.
- The Guins are 7-0 when at least tying in rebounding margin. Along the same lines, they are 8-1 when at least tying in second-chance points.
- YSU is 9-2 when at least three players score in double figures.
Working to Rediscover Outside Touch
- YSU has been battling a bit of a shooter's slump over the last seven games.
- The Penguins have shot 28.4 percent from 3-point range over the last seven games, four of which they've won. YSU has shot under 35 percent from beyond the arc in each of the last seven games.
- In the first nine games, seven of which they won, the Penguins were shooting 35.8 percent from 3-point range and shot at least 35 percent from distance seven times.
Touvelle's on a Hot Stretch
- Junior Monica Touvelle has made at least two 3-pointers in eight straight games dating back to YSU's win over Wilmington on Dec. 9.
- Over the last eight games, Touvelle is shooting 45.1 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 2.9 3-pointers made per game.
- Touvelle started her hot streak by making 6-of-9 attempts from distance against Wilmington. She was 5-of-8 against Milwaukee last Thursday en route to a career-high 23 points. Touvelle was 7-of-11 from 3-point range in YSU's two games last week.
- Touvelle has made 112 3-pointers in her career, which is the 11th-most in school history.
Guins Earn 500th Win, Play 1,000th Game
- Saturday's game against Green Bay was the 1,000th contest in the history of Youngstown State women's basketball.
- 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.
- The Penguins earned the 500th win in program history against Milwaukee on Jan. 17.
- Of the 500 victories, 319 came under Coach Ed DiGregorio, who led the Penguins for 20 seasons from 1983 to 2003.
Slowing Down the Pace
- Youngstown State head coach Bob Boldon has emphasized a slower pace throughout the season.
- The Penguins are averaging just under 68 possessions per game this season, which is the lowest for YSU since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02. The Penguins averaged 71.9 possessions per game last year, which was their highest since 2002-03.
- YSU plays at the third-slowest pace in the conference behind slowest Green Bay (65.2 per game) and Valparaiso. Milwaukee averages a league-high 74.7 possessions per game.
A Few Areas for Improvement
- Of Youngstown State's five losses this season, three have come with one day of rest. The other two losses came with at least six days of rest.
- YSU has not won a contest on one day of rest since winning at Valparaiso on Jan. 7, 2012. Since that game, the Penguins have lost 11 straight games with only one day of rest.
- Valparaiso is the only conference team that YSU has beaten on the road since March 8, 2008.
