Game Notes

Game Preview

• Youngstown State will play its first road games of the season this weekend as it travels to Chicago for a two-game series at UIC. The Penguins and Flames will play Friday at 3 pm. Eastern and again on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern. Both games will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO, iHeartRadio, ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
• The Penguins earned their first win of the season this past Saturday by beating Oakland 72-57 at Beeghly Center. Chelsea Olson and Nneka Obiazor combined for 46 points in the win, which snapped a seven-game skid by YSU dating back to the end of last season. The Golden Grizzlies took game one of the set 71-61 last Friday.
• Obiazor is the reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Week after averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds against Oakland. With 22 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's win, she became the first YSU freshman to score at least 20 points in a double-double performance since 2009-10.
• Olson shook off a slow start to the season on Saturday by pouring in 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. Those 24 points were more than she scored in her first three games combined (seven in each). Olson enters this weekend with 981 points in her career, needing 19 to become the 23rd Penguin to reach 1,000.
• The Penguins struggled offensively the opening weekend of the season, but they averaged 66 points against Oakland and are coming off their best game of the season. YSU shot at least 50 percent in three different quarters and had its two highest-scoring quarters in Saturday's win.
• YSU has had to pause basketball activities twice due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Tier 1 bubble. The Penguins had as many as four non-conference games canceled due to the first positive test, and the first four Horizon League contests were canceled the second time. UIC, meanwhile, hasn't played since Dec. 20 due to Christmas and subsequent COVID-related matters in its Tier 1 group.
• Fifth-year senior Mary Dunn was YSU's top scorer and rebounder against Wright State in what was her first game action in 13-and-a-half months. After missing the final 26 games of the 2019-20 season, Dunn averaged 11 points and six rebounds against the Raiders. She was an All-Horizon League First-Team honoree as a junior in 2018-19, and she was a preseason first-teamer in 2019-20.
• Maddie Schires and McKenah Peters lead the Penguins with seven 3-pointers apiece. Schires, who set YSU's freshman record with 65 makes in 2019-20, was 5-for-10 from beyond the arc against Wright State. Peters was 5-for-11 last weekend against Oakland.
• YSU has high hopes for the season with five players who started at least 21 games back from the 2019-20 squad that went 13-17. The Penguins were 11-7 before a string of mounting injuries and inexperience resulted in a 2-10 finish.
• With Olson as a First-Team All-Horizon League selection in 2019-20 and Dunn as one in 2018-19, YSU has multiple returning first-team all-conference players for just the second time in school history (1999-2000 was the other).

Youngstown State vs. UIC

A Win Would...

• Give the Penguins a 2-3 record this season.
• Give YSU 14 wins in its last 17 meetings against UIC.
• Be the 275th in Barnes' career and his 119th at Youngstown State.

Scouting UIC

• It's a new-look UIC team in 2020-21 as the top-four scorers are all newcomers. Leading scorer Daijah Smith (15.5 ppg) is a transfer from Indiana State, and Jaida McCloud (14.1 ppg), Keona Schenck (11.7 ppg) and Kristian Young (10.6 ppg) are all freshmen.
• McCloud ranks seventh in the league in scoring, fifth in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and third in steals (2.3 spg). Young is pacing the conference in assists with 4.14 per game.
• The Flames are averaging 67.4 points per game, which is a big jump from 49.8 points per game in 2019-20. UIC ranks second in the conference in points per game, and it ranks 11th in scoring defense (75.0)

Series History

• Overall: Youngstown State leads 22-20
• Barnes: 11-3 // Home: 11-10 // Away: 11-10 // Neutral: -
• Current Win Streak: 1 by UIC
• Youngstown State had won nine consecutive games against the Flames prior to a 59-53 loss at Credit Union 1 Arena on Jan. 30, 2020. All-time, YSU owns a 22-20 advantage in the all-time series with UIC that dates back to the 1992-93 season when both schools were in the Mid-Continent Conference.
• The Penguins won three of the four meetings when the programs were in the Mid-Con and the first two when the series was renewed in 2001-02 upon YSU's arrival in the Horizon League. UIC went 16-4 against the Penguins in the 2002-03 through the 2011-12 seasons, but YSU has won 13 of the last 16. The Penguins had won seven straight decisions at UIC before last season's loss.

Last Season at UIC • L, 53-59 on Jan. 30, 2020 | Recap | Box Score

• UIC outscored Youngstown State 25-18 in the fourth period and beat YSU 59-53 to snap a nine-game skid in the series.
• The Flames led 18-7 at the end of the first period, but YSU started the second quarter on a 16-2 run to take a 23-20 lead. The Penguins led 25-23 at halftime and 35-34 heading into the fourth.
• UIC went 6-for-8 from the field and 12-for-14 from the free-throw line in the fourth period as it held on to earn its third win of the season. The Flames were 14-for-16 from the free-throw line in the game despite shooting 55.2 percent coming into the contest.
• Chelsea Olson and Quinece Hatcher scored 13 points, and Taylor Petit had 10. The Penguins were 11-3 when at least three players scored in double figures.
• YSU tallied 11 steals in the game, and it also had 11 against the Flames in Beeghly Center. That tied for the highest total of the season against a Division I opponent.

Recapping Oakland

Jan. 8 – L, 61-71 | Recap | Box Score

• Youngstown State struggled with turnovers and was cold from the field in the third quarter in a 71-61 loss to Oakland last Friday.
• Oakland torched the nets from beyond the 3-point arc, especially in the first half. The Golden Grizzlies were 8-for-15 from long distance in the first 20 minutes as they built a 41-36 halftime lead. Oakland slowed down to a 1-for-7 effort in the second half, but it still shot 40.9 percent for the game.
• Turnovers were a bugaboo again for the Penguins as their 22 turnovers led to 22 Oakland points.
• YSU made a season-best eight 3-pointers – four by McKenah Peters and two each from Maddie Schires and Malia Magestro.
• Youngstown State scored 36 points in the first half, which was just three fewer points than it had total in its previous game against Wright State on Jan. 6.
• YSU shot at least 40 percent in three of the four quarters, but the Penguins shot 17.6 percent in the third quarter as they were limited to nine points. Oakland led 55-45 at the end of the third.
• Magestro set new season highs with eight points, two rebounds and two 3-pointers in 22 minutes.
• Schires made two 3s in five attempts in her first start of the season. It was the third straight game that the sophomore made multiple 3s.
• Peters tied for game-high honors with 14 points on an efficient 5-for-7 effort from the field. She made her first four 3-point attempts and finished 4-for-5 beyond the arc. It was a nice bounce-back game for the senior, who had eight points on 2-for-13 shooting in the first weekend against Wright State.
• Emma VanZanten saw her first action of the season after missing the first two games with a hand injury. She had practiced just twice prior to the game.

Jan. 9 – W, 72-57 | Recap | Box Score

• Chelsea Olson and Nneka Obiazor combined for 46 points, and YSU earned its first win by beating Oakland 72-57 on Saturday.
• Olson scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field, and Obiazor set new career highs with 22 points and 11 rebounds. It was her first career double-double, and she provided the first 20-point effort in a double-double by a YSU freshman in 11 years.
• The Penguins led 31-30 at halftime and outscored the Golden Grizzlies 41-27 in the second half. YSU shot 51.7 percent overall and went 5-for-11 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes. Defensively, YSU held Oakland to 35.1 percent from the field for the game and limited leading scorer Kahlaijah Dean to six points.
• YSU missed its first seven field-goal attempts of the first quarter and its first eight of the second quarter and still shot 47.5 percent for the game. The Penguins also trimmed their turnovers down to 13 from 22 in Friday's loss, and YSU had a 40-26 scoring edge in the paint.
• After missing its first seven shots of the game, YSU made nine of its last 11 attempts of the first quarter and led 20-11 after 10 minutes. Oakland went on a 14-4 spurt to start the second quarter to take its last lead at 25-24. The Penguins led 31-30 at halftime and held the upper hand the entire second half.
• Malia Magestro hit a 3 to spark an 8-2 run in the third period that put the Penguins ahead 49-39, and YSU led by at least 12 the entire fourth.
• Olson had seven points in each of her first three games before erupting for 24 in this one. She set season highs in points (24), assists (5), steals (4) and 3-pointers (4).
• As a team, YSU had its best statistics of the season in points (72), field-goal percentage (.475), assists (15), steals (8) and fewest turnovers (12). Coming into the game, the Penguins were averaging 19.7 turnovers per game, and opponents were averaging 19.7 points per game off the miscues. Oakland had just four points off turnovers.

Top Storylines

Obiazor Named Horizon League Freshman of the Week

• Nneka Obiazor is the reigning Nike® Horizon League Freshman of the Week. The forward from Eden Prairie, Minn., averaged a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds per game against Oakland last weekend.
• Obiazor had 12 points and nine rebounds in game one of the series last Friday, and she followed that up with career highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's victory. She was 10-for-19 from the field in the win, and she added two assists and two steals.
• Obiazor leads YSU with 13.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. She currently ranks eighth in the Horizon League in scoring, and she sits seventh in rebounding. Both of those averages rank second among freshmen in the conference.

1,000 Points Watch for Olson

• Senior guard Chelsea Olson needs just 19 points to become the 23rd player in YSU women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. She enters this weekend's series at UIC with 981 points. Olson would join teammate Mary Dunn in the 1,000 points club, and she would become the sixth player in Coach John Barnes' eight seasons to score her 1,000th point (also Heidi Schlegel, Indiya Benjamin, Sarah Cash, Alison Smolinski and Dunn).
• Olson scored 252 points as a freshman when she was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team, and she scored 320 points as a sophomore as a second-team all-conference performer. Last season as a first-team pick, she scored a career-high 364 points with 12.1 points per game. She has scored 45 points through four games in 2020-21. 

Olson Reaches 600 Rebounds, 300 Assists

• Chelsea Olson reached two other significant milestones last weekend against Oakland. She grabbed her 600th career rebound and dished out her 300th career assist against the Golden Grizzlies. Olson and Danielle Carson (1982-86) are the only two players in program history to have at least 600 rebounds and 300 assists.

A Rare 20-Point Double-Double for Obiazor

• With her 22-point, 11-rebound performance in Saturday's win over Oakland, freshman Nneka Obiazor joined a short list of YSU freshmen who had at least 20 points and a double-double in the same game. She became just the sixth Penguins freshman in the program's Division I era (since 1982-83) to have at least 20 points in a double-double effort, and she was the first since Brandi Brown did it 11 years ago.

Freshmen with at least 20 points in a double-double
2020-21: Nneka Obiazor vs. Oakland (22 points, 11 rebounds)
2009-10: Brandi Brown vs. Akron (24 points, 14 rebounds)
1994-95: Ann Marie Martin vs. UMKC (26 points, 13 rebounds)
1994-95: Ann Marie Martin vs. Valparaiso (21 points, 11 rebounds)
1985-86: Cara Hendrix vs. Eastern Kentucky (21 points, 10 rebounds)
1984-85: Dorothy Bowers vs. Cleveland State (24 points, 10 rebounds)
1982-83: Danielle Carson vs. Kent State (23 points, 10 rebounds)

Up Next

• Youngstown State returns home next weekend to host Detroit Mercy for a pair of Horizon League games. The Penguins and Titans will play at 2 p.m. on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 as part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's basketball team.