The Youngstown State women's basketball team will play in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament for the first time in school history on Friday against Loyola. Tipoff against the third-seeded Ramblers is set for 6 p.m. Eastern at Green Bay's Kress Center. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeartRadio and HorizonLeague.com.
The second-seeded Penguins are coming off a 69-62 victory over No. 7 Cleveland State on Wednesday in the tournament quarterfinals. YSU led by six at halftime and by as many as 16 with just over three minutes left before the Vikings cut the margin to three with 16 seconds left. Shar'Rae Davis hit two free throws with 14 seconds left, and Brandi Brown added the final two with seven seconds left for the final margin. Brown finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds on 11-for-23 shooting, and Davis filled up the box score with 18 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals. Brown recovered from a limited week of practice due to an ankle injury she suffered at Detroit last Thursday to post the highest point total by a Penguin in the Horizon League Tournament. The Penguins earned their first tournament victory since 2007-08, and that win came in a No. 7 vs. No. 10 game in the play-in round.
YSU and Loyola met two years ago in the Horizon League Tournament with the setting much different. The Ramblers beat the Penguins 49-47 in Chicago in the eight versus nine game. The teams combined for 18 wins that season, 20 fewer than their combined total in 2012-13.
Brown is the Horizon League Player of the Year and ranks in the top 15 nationally in points and rebounds per game. Davis is an All-Newcomer Team selection, and YSU head coach Bob Boldon is the conference's coach of the year.
If YSU prevails, it will play in the Horizon League Championship Game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern.
#YSUWBB Summary
- YSU is in its 38th season in 2012-13 and its third under head coach Bob Boldon.
- The Penguins have their most wins in a season since 1999-2000.
- The Penguins entered the Horizon League Tournament ranking seventh in the country with 8.3 3-pointers per game.
- YSU is plus-7.2 in scoring margin this season. That's a 10.1-point improvement from last season and a 33-point improvement from three years ago.
- Opponents are scoring 57.5 points per game against YSU, the lowest since 1978-79. They averaged 67.5 points last year.
- YSU is averaging 64.6 points this season, the same as last season.
- YSU has more wins this season than in the last four combined (19).
A Win Would
- Advance YSU to its first conference championship game since 1999-2000.
- Give YSU 23 victories, tying for its third-highest win total in school history.
- Be YSU's second over Loyola this season.
- Give YSU its first victory at the Kress Center.
Game Recap vs. Cleveland State
Brandi Brown returned from an ankle injury to score 31 points and help lead YSU to a 69-62 win over Cleveland State in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament on Wednesday.
The Penguins built a 62-46 lead late in the contest before the Vikings went on a frantic run and cut the lead to three with 18.2 second left.
Shar'Rae Davis and Brown went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line to help preserve the win.
- Brown's 31 points were the most for a Penguin in a Horizon League Tournament game. The previous record was 19, which Brown actually surpassed at halftime.
- Brown tied the school record for career minutes with 3,839. She also became the third player in school history to score 600 points in a season.
- Davis filled up the box score with 18 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals. She is averaging 17.3 points, five rebounds and five assists in her last three games.
- Karen Flagg scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds in her first game back from a four-game absence. She also held CSU's Shalonda Winton in check for most of the night.
- The Penguins were plus-nine in turnover margin but were outscored 18-16 off those turnovers.
- YSU outscored the Vikings 32-26 in the paint and improved to 17-1 when holding a scoring advantage in the paint.
- The duo of Monica Touvelle and Liz Hornberger went without a 3-pointer for the first time this season.
- YSU went on a 14-3 run over a five-minute span in the second half that turned a five-point edge into a 16-point lead. The Guins also had a 10-0 run in the second half.
- The Penguins were 16-for-21 from the free-throw line in the second half after not attempting a free throw in the first half.
Scouting Loyola
Loyola beat No. 6 Milwaukee 71-54 on Wednesday Chicago to advance to the semifinals. The Ramblers have won nine of its last 10 games dating back to Feb. 9, including a 67-59 victory over YSU three weeks ago in Chicago. Simone Law, who did not play in YSU's 75-38 win in Youngstown on Jan. 26, averages 17.6 points and 8.5 rebounds and is a First-Team All-Horizon League selection. Guard Taylor Johnson was voted the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year.
Last Time vs. Loyola
Loyola scored nine of the final 10 points and won for the fifth straight game, beating YSU 67-59 in an early Saturday afternoon game.
The game featured 12 lead changes and nine ties, the final of which was at 58-58. Loyola's Simone Law broke that tie with a bucket on the low block with 1:57 remaining. The Ramblers went on to score the next seven points.
Law finished with 24 points and was 12-for-21 from the free-throw line. Brandi Brown led YSU with 16 points.
Series With Loyola
Loyola leads the all-time series with Youngstown State 20-6 and is 14-0 in games not played on YSU's campus. The teams have never met on a neutral floor. Loyola won the first seven contests in the series, which started when the Penguins joined the Horizon League in 2001-02. The Ramblers have also won nine of the last 11 meetings. YSU won 75-38 in Youngstown in the first contest between the teams this season but lost 67-59 in Chicago on Feb. 23.
