The Youngstown State women's basketball will complete the first half of Horizon League play on Thursday evening with a battle for second place against Detroit. Tipoff against the Titans is set for 5:15 p.m., and the game will be the first part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's team. The contest will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeartRadio and the Horizon League Network.
The Penguins will enter Thursday's game on a four-game winning streak and owners of a 15-5 overall record and a 5-2 mark in league play. YSU is off to its best start since 1997-98 with 15 wins in its first 20 games, and it is 5-2 in Horizon League play for the first time since joining the conference in 2001-02. Further, with at least 10 games remaining (nine in league play), YSU already has its most wins since 1999-2000 and its most conference wins since 2007-08.
YSU went 2-0 on its five-day road trip to UIC and Wright State last week, beating the Flames 67-54 and the Raiders 66-47. The Penguins used big runs in both games to pull away for the wins. They ended the first half against UIC on a 19-6 run, and YSU went on runs of 10-0 and 13-0 early in the second half at Wright State. Senior Brandi Brown had double-doubles in both contests, running her consecutive streak to five games and her career total to 51. She also reached 1,800 career points and 1,100 career rebounds in Sunday's contest. Only one other player in both YSU (Wanda Grant) and Horizon League history (Traci Edwards, Milwaukee) has reached those milestones.
Detroit has won five straight games to improve to 5-2 in Horizon League play and 12-7 overall. The Titans lead the conference in scoring offense with 72.2 points per game, and five players average at least nine points. Sophomore Shareta Brown leads the conference with 22.7 points per game and a 59.6 shooting percentage. Brown and Yar Shayok rank third and fourth in the league in rebounds per game, which has Detroit a league-best plus-6.2 in rebounding margin for the season.
Tickets And Promotions
Tickets for Thursday's doubleheader are available for purchase on YSUsports.com or in person, at the Stambaugh Stadium ticket office until Thursday at 5 p.m. or at the Beeghly Center ticket office starting Thursday at 4:15 p.m. For more information on tickets, call (330) 941-1978. All fans in attendance Thursday will receive a YSU Basketball Key Chain, courtesy of Medical Mutual of Ohio and MyYTV. There is also a student tailgate party with free pizza from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and the first 500 YSU students in attendance will receive a free T-shirt, courtesy of Cleveland Clinic Star Imaging, Bottom Dollar Food, Farmers National Bank and Eagle Wear.
#YSUWBB Summary
- YSU is in its 38th season in 2012-13 and its third under head coach Bob Boldon.
- The Penguins already have their most wins in a season since 1999-2000.
- The Penguins are averaging 8.6 3-pointers per game this season, which is ranks seventh in the country. They averaged 9.2 3-pointers per game last season.
- YSU is plus-9.4 in scoring margin this season. That's a 12.3-point improvement from last season and a 35.2-point improvement from three years ago.
- YSU is averaging 65.7 points this season, up 1.1 points from last season. It's the best scoring average since 2001-02.
- Opponents are scoring 56.2 points per game against YSU, the lowest since 1978-79. They averaged 67.5 points last year.
A Win Would
- Give YSU 16 wins in its first 21 games for the first time since 1997-98.
- Give YSU its first five-game winning streak since 2000.
- Improve YSU to 6-2 in Horizon League play for the first time ever.
- Make YSU 8-1 at Beeghly Center
- Be the 505th in program history.
Game Recap vs. Wright State
Youngstown State outscored Wright State by 19 points over the final 16:30 to win 66-47 on Sunday afternoon at the Nutter Center.
The game was tied at 32 with 16:35 left when a driving bucket by Melissa Thompson started a 10-point run for the Penguins that developed into a 29-7 stretch.
Brandi Brown finished with her fifth consecutive double-double, posting 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Penguins.
- YSU secured its 15th win, the most in a season since 1999-2000. The Penguins also surpassed their conference win total from each of the past two years.
- YSU earned its fourth straight conference win, a first for the Penguins since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02.
- YSU was 1-for-13 from 3-point range in the first half but 8-for-22 in the second half. Monica Touvelle made three second-half 3-pointers, and Liz Hornberger hit two.
- Brown's five consecutive double-doubles matches a career-long streak from earlier this season.
- Karen Flagg was a bucket away from her first double-double. She had eight points with new career highs of 11 rebounds and three blocks.
- Melissa Thompson also had three blocks in the contest and has six over the last three games. She had three in the first 17 games.
- Heidi Schlegel set new season highs with nine free throws made and 11 attempted.
- YSU out-rebounded the Raiders 49-33. The Penguins have out-rebounded four straight opponents.
- Wright State played without preseason conference player of the year Kim Demmings, who was out with an injury.
Last Time vs. 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 Feb. 25, 2012, 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.
Heidi Schlegel scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for YSU. Senee Shearer scored 20 points and made six of Detroit's eight 3s.
Series With Detroit
Detroit is 17-13 all-time against Youngstown State in the series that dates back to 1983. YSU won five of the first eight meetings and claimed five straight victories against the Titans in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Detroit then won six straight contests versus the Penguins before YSU won 80-67 last year at home. YSU's last win in Detroit was Feb. 14, 2008.
15-5: Best Start in 15 Years
- Youngstown State has 15 wins in its first 20 games for the first time since the 1997-98 season, 15 years ago.
- With at least 10 games remaining, YSU has already surpassed the win totals from each of its previous 12 seasons, including last year's 10-20 record.
- YSU's five conference wins are already the most since 2007-08 and tied for the fourth-most in 12 seasons in the Horizon League.
- The Penguins are 10 games above .500 for the first time since Feb. 17, 2000.
- The 10 non-conference wins tied the 1997-98 team for the most in school history.
- The Penguins won their first six home games for the first time since the 1991-92 season. Their seven wins at Beeghly Center are tied for the most since 1999-2000.
- YSU's eight road wins are the most in the last 13 years.
Looking Back at the First Half of HL Play
- With Thursday's game ending the first half of Horizon League play, YSU has posted a nice list of accomplishments so far this conference season.
- The Penguins have led by at least 15 points in six of their seven conference games.
- YSU has five league wins, the most since 2007-08 when it went 8-10.
- YSU snapped a 15-game losing streak to Milwaukee and a 10-game skid to Wright State.
- YSU is plus-9.9 in scoring margin in conference games. Its previous best scoring margin since joining the Horizon League is minus-2.4 in 2007-08.
A Battle-of-the-Browns: YSU's Brandi vs. Detroit's Shareta
- Thursday's game will feature two candidates for the Horizon League Player-of-the-Year award in Youngstown State's Brandi Brown and Detroit's Shareta Brown.
- Youngstown State senior Brandi Brown leads the Horizon League in double-doubles and rebounding while also ranking third in scoring, eighth in field-goal percentage, steals and minutes and 11th in free-throw percentage.
- Detroit sophomore Shareta Brown is the league leader in scoring and field-goal percentage while ranking third in rebounding, seventh in blocks, 13th in free-throw percentage and 14th in steals.
Brown's Place in Horizon League History
- With nine games left in her Horizon League career, Brandi Brown continues to cement herself as one of the top players in Horizon League history.
- The senior forward ranks seventh in career points with 1,814, 53 points behind sixth place. Three players in conference history have scored 2,000 points.
- Brown is even better in career rebounds, ranking third with 1,110. She is 83 behind second.
- Brown is the active career leader in both categories. She leads the closest active player in scoring by 193 points and the closest active rebounder by 123 caroms.
- Brown is one of two players in conference history with 1,800 points and 1,100 rebounds.
