• Game Notes

Game Preview

• Youngstown State will try to capture some March magic as it begins play in the 2020 Horizon League  Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday at Cleveland State. Tipoff in the first round of the tournament at the Wolstein Center is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO, iHeartRadio and ESPN+.
• The Penguins are the seventh seed by virtue of their 6-12 mark during conference play. Cleveland State is the sixth seed, and YSU is playing a true road game in the league tournament for the first time since the 2014-15 semifinals at Green Bay.
• Even though YSU is seeded seventh, it will be a confident group in the postseason. The Penguins either beat or had a one-possession game in the final minute of regulation against eight of the other nine teams in the conference.
• YSU has won a game in the Horizon League Tournament in six of the last seven years, and the Guins are 5-1 in their opening games under head coach John Barnes. YSU has gone on to play in the semifinals in five of the last seven tournaments.
• Chelsea Olson is an All-Horizon League First Team selection after ranking eighth in the league in scoring and being among the top 11 in 10 different categories. She is the first Penguins guard to be a first-team all-conference pick in 20 years.
• YSU needs two more wins to secure its sixth 15-win season in seven seasons under head coach John Barnes. The Penguins won 15 games once (in 2012-13) in the 13 seasons prior to his arrival.
• YSU ranks second in the country in free-throw percentage at 80 percent. The Penguins have been in the top 20 nationally in free-throw percentage three times in the last four years, including 19th in 2018-19. The school record for best free-throw percentage in a season is 78.2 percent. The Penguins shot 83.1 percent from the line in conference play.
• The Penguins surpassed 200 3-pointers for the 10th straight season on Feb. 23 against Oakland. Only 10 other Division I teams in the country have made at least 200 3-pointers each season from 2010-11 through 2019-20.
• Maddie Schires set YSU's freshman record for 3-pointers in a season on Feb. 15, and her total is currently 65. That ranks second in the conference, and it's tied for the 11th-most by a Penguin regardless of class.
• YSU has led the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game for five straight years. The Penguins currently lead IUPUI by six 3-pointers for the top spot in 2019-20. YSU has 215 3-pointers (7.4/game) in 29 games, and IUPUI has 209 (7.2 per game).
• Youngstown State has started at least three freshmen in 21 games, and all six active freshmen averaged at least 13.8 minutes in conference play. Those six freshmen accounted for 51.6 percent of YSU's scoring in Horizon League games.
• YSU played 20 straight games with Jen Wendler being the only active post before Emma VanZanten's return on Feb. 21. VanZanten has 20 points and 10 blocks in her four games. Mary Dunn, the program's lone senior and a preseason first-team all-league pick, has been out since Nov. 16 with an injury and will apply for a medical redshirt, and Amara Chikwe has been out the entire season.

Youngstown State vs. Cleveland State

A Win Would...

• Advance YSU to the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament on Thursday.
• Give the Penguins a 14-16 overall record this season.
• Allow YSU to win a game in the Horizon League Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.
• Be the 274th in head coach John Barnes' career and his 118th at Youngstown State.

On This Day

• Youngstown State is 4-8 all-time in games played on March 3. The Penguins played at Cleveland State once previously on the date, which resulted in a 79-69 loss in 2012.
• YSU is 0-2 in the Horizon League Tournament on March 3 with a loss at Wright State in 2005 and to Valparaiso at Joe Louis Arena in 2017.

Scouting the Vikings

• Cleveland State enters the tournament as the sixth seed after going 19-10 overall and 9-9 in league play. Like YSU, the Vikings were swept by the Wisconsin schools over the weekend.
• CSU leads the Horizon League in several defensive-oriented categories: steals per game, 3-point field-goal percentage defense, turnovers forced and turnover margin. The Vikings rank 36th in the nation with an average of 10 steals per game. Mariah White was voted the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year in leading the effort, and she ranks 13th in Division I in steals per game.
• White was also named to the All-Horizon League Second Team, and Mariah Miller was a first-team pick.  Miller ranks third in the league with 16.9 points per game, and she's also fifth in rebounding. White averages 15.1 points to rank fifth in the league, and Savanna Crockett averages 11.9 points and 8.6 rebounds.

Series History

• Overall: Youngstown State leads 42-32
• Barnes: 8-6 // Home: 26-9 // Away: 12-22 // Neutral: 4-1 // HL Tournament: 1-1
• Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
• Youngstown State has played Cleveland State more than any other program in its history and owns a 42-32 lead in the 84-game series that dates back to Jan. 19, 1976. The Northeast Ohio rivals have played each other at least once in all 45 seasons that YSU has had an intercollegiate women's basketball program.
• YSU is 17-23 against Cleveland State since it joined the Horizon League in 2001-02, but the Penguins have won six of the last seven meetings against the Vikings. Youngstown State won at the Wolstein Center in 2017-18 and 2018-19 but lost 60-52 there in January.

This Season vs. Cleveland State – Jan. 10 at CSU

• Youngstown State battled at Cleveland State but was doomed by low-scoring second and fourth quarters in a 60-52 loss to the Vikings.
• The Penguins outscored the Vikings 41-17 in the first and third quarters, but the Vikings held a 43-11 edge in the second and fourth quarters.
• Jen Wendler tied then-career highs with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Maddie Schires scored all 11 of her points in the third quarter to help Youngstown State build a 48-39 lead after 30 minutes.
• The Penguins led by 10 four different times in the game, including 10-0 three minutes into the game and 45-35 with 1:16 left in the third period.
• YSU, which had six players out with injuries, led for nearly 30 minutes in the game. The Penguins were without McKenah Peters, Taylor Petit and Emma VanZanten, plus long-term injuries Amara Chikwe, Mary Dunn and Lexi Wagner.
• Gabby Lupardus scored nine points, and she had all four YSU points in the fourth period. Her jumper at the 6:53 mark put the Penguins up 50-43, and her basket with 4:09 remaining gave YSU its final lead at 52-50. That bucket also accounted for YSU's last points.
• Youngstown State's defense kept it in the game as the Penguins shot 32.3 percent overall while going 4-for-17 from 3-point range. Cleveland State shot 35.1 percent from the field but made six of its 14 attempts from beyond the arc.
• The Vikings outscored the Penguins 12-2 in the paint and 8-0 on offensive rebounds in the fourth period.
• YSU turned the ball over just 11 times, but those turnovers led to 17 Vikings points. The Penguins limited CSU to four steals, seven below its season average.

This Season vs. Cleveland State – Feb. 15 at YSU

• Five Penguins scored in double figures, and Youngstown State scored 47 points in the second half to beat Cleveland State 84-72.
• Maddie Schires broke YSU's record for 3-pointers by a freshman, and her record-setting make came during an 18-7 run in the third period that put the Penguins ahead 56-51.
• Cleveland State led 27-20 just over a minute into the second period, and YSU went on a 17-5 run to take a 37-32 lead. The Vikings then scored 12 of the next 13 points to go up 44-38, but YSU reclaimed the lead at 47-46. CSU's final advantage was 49-47, and Youngstown State's lead grew to as much as 18 with 2:37 left in the fourth.
• The teams combined for 156 points in this game after combing for 112 in the first meeting in Cleveland on Jan. 10. They reached that level at the end of the third period on Saturday.
• Quinece Hatcher made a career-high seven field goals and finished with 14 points, which was one away from her career high.
• Jen Wendler set career highs with 14 points and two blocks, and she tied her career high with eight free throws.
• McKenah Peters and Taylor Petit combined for 25 points and 15 rebounds. They both missed the first meeting with an injury.
• YSU had 17 assists, its most since having 18 at Oakland on Jan. 16. Chelsea Olson posted six assists, her most since posting 11 in the season opener.
• Mariah White scored 33 points for Cleveland State. That was the most by an opposing player at Beeghly Center since Monica Albano had 34 for Loyola Chicago on March 5, 2011. No other Viking was in double figures.
• YSU was plus-17 in rebounding margin, which was its best mark in HL play.
• Cleveland State played without starting forward Savanna Crockett.

Horizon League Tournament History

• Youngstown State has just three active players who have Horizon League Tournament experience — Deleah Gibson, Chelsea Olson and McKenah Peters. Amara Chikwe and Mary Dunn also have experience, but Chikwe has missed the entire season and Dunn has been out since game five with an injury.
• Going back to the 2012-13 season, the Penguins have won s game in the Horizon League Tournament in six of the last seven seasons. They are 5-1 in their first game in six seasons under head coach John Barnes. Prior to the 2012-13 campaign, YSU had a 1-11 record in the Horizon League Tournament.
• The Penguins have appeared in the semifinals in five of the last seven tournaments – in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019 – and are looking for their first championship game appearance.
• Postseason vs. Cleveland State: YSU is 1-1 all-time against Cleveland State in the Horizon League Tournament, and each team won on its home floor. The Vikings won 59-56 at the Wolstein Center in 2012 when YSU missed three 3-pointers in the final seconds that would have sent the game to overtime. In 2013, the Penguins won 69-62 at Beeghly Center behind 31 points and 13 rebounds from Brandi Brown.

Recapping Green Bay

• Green Bay made eight of its first 11 attempts from 3-point range and went on to beat Youngstown State 71-51 on Saturday at the Kress Center in the regular-season finale for both teams.
• McKenah Peters led Youngstown State with 15 points on five 3-pointers, and she was the only Penguin to finish in double figures. She made three of her triples in the second quarter, and she had 12 points at halftime.
• YSU went 9-for-31 from beyond the arc as a team, and Maddie Schires and Mady Aulbach each made two in addition to Peters' five.
• For Schires, she became the 10th different Penguin to reach 65 3s in a season. She has now made 10 more 3-pointers than any other freshman in YSU history.
• Hailey Oskey made four of Green Bay's 12 3-pointers, and she finished with a game-high 18 points. Four different Phoenix players made at least two triples as Green Bay went 12-of-20 from beyond the arc. The 12 makes were a season high.
• The Phoenix shot 53.1 percent from the field for the game, while YSU shot 34.5 percent.
• The Penguins went perfect from the free-throw line for the second straight game, but they had a season-low four attempts from the charity stripe. The previous low was nine.
• Green Bay scored the first eight points of the game as YSU started 1-for-11 from the field, and the Penguins never led in the game. YSU hung around and trailed just 10-8 after a Schires 3-pointer at the 3:21 mark in the first. The Phoenix hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to take a 16-8 lead, and the margin was 18-10 at the end of the quarter.
• Green Bay led by as much as 35-18 in the second period and 37-23 at halftime, and YSU battled to get within 10 at 53-43 with 8:02 remaining in the fourth period. That's as close as the margin got.

Notebook

Among the Nation's Best at the Free-Throw Line

• Youngstown State is once again among the nation's top free-throw shooting teams this season. The Penguins are shooting 80 percent from the free-throw line in 2019-20, going 356-for-445 to rank second among 348 Division I teams.
• Individually, every Penguin is shooting at least 70 percent from the free-throw line. Chelsea Olson is shooting 85.2 percent, which is the second-best mark in the Horizon League, on 88 attempts.
• The school record for best free-throw percentage is .782, set in 1984-85, and YSU has shot 77 percent or better just three times previously in school history. The Penguins could miss their next nine attempts and still have the best percent in program history. That seems unlikely as YSU has gone 29-for-30 over its last three games. The last Horizon League team to shoot at least 79 percent in a season was Milwaukee in 2010-11. The conference record is 80.1 percent by Green Bay in 2006-07.
• Solid free-throw shooting has been a staple in John Barnes' tenure as YSU's head coach. The Penguins have led the league twice in free-throw percentage and been in the top four in each of his first six seasons. Oakland is the only other league team shooting better than 75 percent from the free-throw line this season. Additionally, YSU has been in the top 20 nationally in three of the last four seasons — 13th in 2014-15, 14th in 2016-17 and 19th in 2018-19.

Olson Named to All-Horizon League First Team...

• Youngstown State junior Chelsea Olson was voted by the league's 10 coaches to the five-member All-Horizon League First Team.
• Olson is the first Penguins guard to be named first-team all-conference since Brianne Kenneally was a first-team pick in the Mid-Continent Conference (now the Summit League) in 1999-2000. Olson is also just the fifth YSU player to earn All-Horizon League First Team honors
• Olson ranks eighth in the Horizon League in scoring, and she is among the league's top 11 in 10 different categories. Among those 10 categories are the key statistics of scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks and 3-pointers. Olson is one of just five players to rank in the top 11 in more than two of those categories.
• Olson has earned postseason recognition in each of her first three seasons. She was an All-Freshman Team honoree in 2017-18, and the Westby, Wis., native was a second-team selection last season as a sophomore.

... And the Horizon League All-Academic Team

• Last week, the league announced that Olson was one of five women's basketball players voted to the Horizon League All-Academic Team. It is Olson's first time on the team, and her selection gives the Penguins five honorees in the past three seasons — two by Mary Dunn and one each by Olson, Sarah Cash and Melinda Trimmer.
• In the classroom, Olson possesses a cumulative grade-point average of 3.95 as an exercise science major.

Schires Sets YSU's Freshman 3s Record

• Maddie Schires has made more 3-pointers than any other freshman in Youngstown State history (male or female). She surpassed Nikki Arbanas' previous record of 55 in YSU's game against Cleveland State on Feb. 15, and Schires' total is currently 65. That total is tied for the 11th-highest for a season at YSU regardless of class, and Schires is one of 10 players in program history who have made 65 3-pointers in a season.
• The top five marks by a freshman have come under head coach John Barnes. The three retired Penguins on the list — Alison Smolinski, Arbanas and Indiya Benjamin —hold the top three marks in career 3-pointers made. Chelsea Olson is tied for 10th currently with 146, and she has one year remaining in her career.
• Nationally, only seven freshmen in the country have made more 3-pointers than Schires. She ranks second in the Horizon League in 3-point field-goal percentage and 3-pointers made, and she's third in 3s per game.

Leading HL, Making 200 3-Pointers a Trend

• Youngstown State has made 200 3-pointers in each of the last 10 seasons after reaching the mark on Feb. 23 versus Oakland. YSU is one of just 11 Division I teams that has made at least 200 3-pointers in each of the last 10 seasons.
• The Penguins have led the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game each of the last five seasons and in six in the last eight campaigns. YSU is currently averaging 7.41 3s per game, which is 0.2 ahead of IUPUI in the conference rankings. The Penguins have made six more 3s than the Jaguars in the same number of games.  On the national level, YSU ranks 58th in Division I in 3s per game.
• Individually, Maddie Schires ranks third in the Horizon League with 2.24 3-pointers per game. If she can stay in the top five (fifth place currently averages 1.9), it would be the ninth straight year that the Penguins have had a player rank in the top five in the league in 3s per game. Since 2011-12, Alison Smolinski, Nikki Arbanas and Liz Hornberger were in the top five twice apiece; and Kenya Middlebrooks, Kelsea Newman and Chelsea Olson were in the top five once.

 Freshmen Playing Big Roles

• As a result of a plethora of injuries, YSU's six active freshmen have gotten tons of playing experience. The Penguins have started at least three freshmen in 21 games, including each of the last 14 contests. All six active freshmen averaged at least 13.8 minutes during Horizon League play.
• For the year, the six freshmen have accounted for 936 of YSU's 1,889 points, or 49.3 percent. That is the highest percentage of points scored by a group of freshmen in YSU's Division I era (since 1981-82) and second only to the 1977-78 team that had 53.6 percent of its points come from freshmen.
• Four of YSU's freshmen – Quinece Hatcher, Taylor Petit, Maddie Schires and Jen Wendler – averaged at least 6.3 points per game in conference play. Freshmen accounted for 51.6 percent of YSU's points in league play. Add in junior transfers Ny'Dajah Jackson and Emma VanZanten, and 66.5 percent of YSU's points in league play have come from players who were high school seniors or redshirts last season.

Wisconsin Connection

• More than a third of Youngstown State's roster in 2019-20 is from Wisconsin as five of the 14 players hail from the Badger State. Chelsea Olson (Westby) is a junior, Taylor Petit (Schofield) is a redshirt-freshman, and Maddie Schires (Wausau), Lexi Wagner (Galesville) and Jen Wendler (Owen) are all true freshmen. All five earned all-state honors, and four of them set their high school's career scoring record. Petit and Schires grew up just a few miles apart from each other.
• Four Wisconsinites – Olson, Petit, Schires and Wendler – along with McKenah Peters has been YSU's most common starting lineup this season. The Penguins are 8-6 with that group taking the floor first this season.

About Those Injuries...

• Injuries have been an undesirable storyline in the 2019-20 season as seven players who figured to play prominent roles have missed action. Lexi Wagner and Amara Chikwe have missed the entire season, and Mary Dunn has been out since Nov. 16. Emma VanZanten missed 20 games before returning on Feb. 21;  McKenah Peters missed five games last month; Taylor Petit missed three contests earlier in January; and Gabby Lupardus missed two games earlier this month. Dunn was a Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League selection, and Chikwe started 21 games last year.
• YSU was forced to play a new style in spurts as Jen Wendler was the only active player taller than 5-foot-10 while VanZanten was out for more than three months. The Penguins have had a forward named to the All-Horizon League first or second team in five of Barnes' seven seasons as they pound the ball inside consistently.

Versatile Olson Reaches Milestones

• Chelsea Olson accomplished three impressive career milestones at Oakland on Jan. 16 when she surpassed 750 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists in what was the 80th game of her career. Olson is the just the third Penguin to reach those levels, joining YSU Athletics Hall of Fame members Danielle Carson (1982-86) and Liz Hauger (1993-97). Her current career totals are 924 points, 581 rebounds and 288 assists.
• In YSU history, Olson's career totals currently rank 24th in points, 15th in rebounds and 17th in assists. She is also in the top 20 in 3-pointers (10th) and blocks (eighth). She is the only Penguin to rank in the top 20 in rebounds, assists and blocks.
• In the season opener she posted YSU's first triple-double in 33 years with 13 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Last season, she was the only underclassman in Division I to average at least 10 points, seven rebounds and 4.5 assists, and she was one of five players to reach those averages regardless of class.

Peters Having Career Year

• Junior McKenah Peters has played out of position all season as the starting "four", but she's put together the best offensive campaign of her career.
• After starting 31 games last season on the wing, she has set new career-bests with 11 points per game a .400 field-goal percentage. She is also one 3-pointer away from tying her previous career high of 43, and she's shooting a career-best 78.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Roster Breakdown

• Youngstown State has just three individuals on its 14-player roster who averaged more than 20 minutes per game last season –  Mary Dunn, Chelsea Olson and McKenah Peters. Of the 14 players, nine entered the season having never played at YSU and seven had never played at the collegiate level.
• YSU is one of just 11 programs in the country with at least nine underclassmen on its roster, according to a poll conducted by Tony Stinnett at Middle Tennessee.

Down, But Not Out

• Three times this season, Youngstown State has rallied from a double-digit first-half deficit to win. On Nov. 16, the Penguins trailed Eastern Michigan by 18 points with 3:29 left in the first half, and they were down 15 at halftime before winning 79-77.  On Dec. 3, YSU fell behind 28-13 at Eastern Kentucky with 5:57 remaining in the second period and won 72-63. On Dec. 28 against IUPUI, YSU trailed the Jaguars 13-2 in the first period and 23-9 with 6:59 left in the second period before winning 75-73. In those three wins, YSU outscored its opponents by an average of 12 points in the third period.

Up Next

If Youngstown State beats Cleveland State, it will advance to the Quarterfinals of the 2020 Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship on Thursday. The opponent will be determined based on results from Tuesday's other three games in the bracket.