Game Preview
- After a schedule reshuffling due to COVID-19, Youngstown State will change course and host Robert Morris on Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeartRadio and ESPN+.
- The Penguins and Colonials were both scheduled to play at Wright State and Northern Kentucky this week, but positive tests within WSU's and NKU's programs resulted in YSU and Robert Morris being matched up. The Wright State games were deemed forfeits by the Horizon League, and the NKU games are no contests.
- With the forfeit win against Wright State, the Penguins have their best start ever to Horizon League play at 7-0. Last week, YSU swept Purdue Fort Wayne (64-41) and Cleveland State (70-59) at Beeghly Center. The win over the Vikings was in a battle for first place in the standings, and YSU has a two-game lead in the loss column on the rest of the league with a 7-0 record.
- At 13-1 overall, Youngstown State has its best record through 14 games since the 1997-98 season. The only other time YSU was at least 13-1 was in 1978-79 (14-0), which was at the Division II level.
- Lilly Ritz averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 60.6% from the field in the Penguins' two wins last week. She has scored at least 20 points in all four of her games against Horizon League opponents this season, and for the season she ranks among the top six in the conference in scoring (17.1), rebounding (7.7) and field-goal percentage (.609). Four other Penguins are averaging at least 7.8 points.
- YSU leads the Horizon League in scoring defense, allowing just 55.5 points per game. The Penguins have held nine of their first 13 opponents under 60 points, and opponents averaged 42 points during YSU's 4-0 homestand. That came after the Penguins allowed a season-high 78 points at Penn State on Dec. 12. The Penguins also lead the conference in field-goal percentage defense at 34.5%.
- Offensively, five Penguins are averaging at least 7.8 points. Ritz is averaging team highs of 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds, and Olson is averaging 11.1 points and a team-best 4.0 assists. Ritz is one of nine newcomers on the squad, and Olson is the lone Penguin who has been with the program for more than three years.
- Barnes coached his 250th game at YSU against Point Park on Dec. 21, and he has 139 wins as a Penguin. Only legendary head coach Ed DiGregorio (320 from 1983-2003) has more wins at YSU. Barnes needs five more wins to reach 300 in his career.
- Six different Penguins have made at least three 3-pointers in a game this season, and six have scored at least 16 points in a game.
Program Staples
- Shooting 3s: Youngstown State has led the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game in each of the last seven seasons. A Penguin has ranked in the top five of the conference in 3s per game in each of the last 10 seasons.
- Strong In The Post: The Penguins have had a post be named to the Horizon League's first team, second team or freshman team in six of the last eight seasons and 11 times in the last 14.
- Sharing The Ball: A Penguin has led the Horizon League in assists per game in five of the last six years.
- Academics: YSU has appeared on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll 10 times in the last 11 years. The Penguins have been in the top 10 for four straight years.
- Postseason Play: YSU has played in the WNIT or the WBI in five of the last nine years.
- Strength at the Stripe: YSU has ranked in the top 20 nationally in free-throw percentage in four of the last seven seasons. The Penguins have shot at least 70 percent from the free-throw line in nine straight years.
Tickets & Fan Information
Face covering policy: In accordance with university protocols, face coverings are required for all fans, regardless of vaccination status, in indoor public settings on campus.
- Tickets - Advance tickets for Saturday's game are available on YSUsports.com, over the phone at (330) 941-1978 or at the Stambaugh Stadium Athletics Ticket Office. The Beeghly Center Ticket Office and gates will open at noon on Saturday.
- Parking Information
- Visitors Guide
Youngstown State vs. Robert Morris
A Win Would...
Jan. 8 in YSU history
- Youngstown State is 9-7 overall in 16 previous games played on Jan. 8. The Penguins have played twice on the date in the last decade, and they fell 71-61 to Oakland at Beeghly Center in 2021.
- The Penguins had 29 steals, which is the second-most in a game in program history, in a 77-69 win at Oral Roberts in 1998. Colleen Cook tied the individual record for steals with nine in that game against the Golden Eagles.
Scouting Robert Morris
- Robert Morris is 6-6 overall and 4-3 in Horizon League play following the forfeit win over Wright State. The Colonials have now won three straight decisions as they also swept Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne last week. Robert Morris and YSU had two common non-league opponents in Akron and Canisius. YSU won both of those contests, and RMU lost to Akron and beat Canisius.
- As a team, Robert Morris ranks second in the conference in scoring defense allowing just 58 points per game. However, RMU ranks last in scoring offense at 54.1 points per contest.
- Individually, Esther Castedo leads Robert Morris with 11.1 points per game and 19 3-pointers. Sol Castro averages 9.2 points and was a Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team selection.
Series History
Overall: Youngstown State leads 18-7
Barnes: 4-3 • Home: 10-2 • Away: 8-5 • Neutral: 0-0
Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
- Youngstown State and Robert Morris have played 25 times, and Saturday's game will be the first conference contest at Beeghly Center between the schools located approximately 60 miles apart. The teams played 14 times between 1983 and 1996, and they have met in six of the last seven seasons.
- YSU is 4-3 against the Colonials in Head Coach John Barnes' tenure, and two of those wins have come in overtime. The last meeting at Beeghly Center resulted in a 69-59 overtime victory on Nov. 6, 2018, as Melinda Trimmer hit a buzzer beater in regulation to force the extra session.
Last Season vs. Robert Morris
- Game One: L, 61-46 on Jan. 29, 2021: Youngstown State went 6-for-29 from the field in the second half and saw a five-game winning streak end with a 61-46 loss at the UPMC Events Center. YSU shot 44.4 percent in the first half, and it trailed 32-30 at halftime and 44-39 after a low-scoring third quarter. YSU went almost nine minutes without a field goal in the fourth as RMU held a 17-7 advantage in the quarter to pull away.
- Game Two: W, 71-64 on Jan. 30, 2021: Mary Dunn scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the second half to held YSU rally for a 71-64 win and earn a split of the series with Colonials. The Penguins trailed 47-35 just over 90 seconds into the second half, but they outscored the Colonials 36-17 from that point forward to come away with the win. In addition to Dunn's 25 points, Chelsea Olson had 18 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Robert Morris did not score in the fourth quarter until two free throws at the 4:59 mark.
Recapping Cleveland State
- YSU got a double-double from Lilly Ritz and a big boost from Lexi Wagner off the bench as it beat Cleveland State 70-59 on Saturday at Beeghly Center.
- The Penguins endured a physical battle that lasted more than two-and-a-half hours with its Northeast Ohio rival as they matched their best starter ever to Horizon League play at 6-0. There were 48 fouls called, including two technicals, and the teams combined to shoot 55 free throws in the game. There were also several video reviews and a delay to fix the shot clock after it was hit on a half-court heave.
- Ritz finished with 20 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, and Wagner scorched the nets in the second period when she scored 14 of her career-best 19 points. Ritz's 14 rebounds were the most by a Penguin this season.
- Mady Aulbach was the primary defender on Cleveland State's Destiny Leo and held her to 16 points, which tied for her lowest output of the season.
- After Ritz scored the first points of the game at the 8:30 mark, Cleveland State went on a 13-2 run to take a 13-4 lead with 3:38 remaining. YSU had a scoring drought of 4:30 during the run, but the Penguins scored eight points in just over a minute to get to within a point at the quarter's end. YSU then had its highest-scoring second quarter of the season with 27 points as it outscored the Vikings 35-17 over the final 13 minutes of the first half.
- Nine points tied for the largest deficit that YSU has overcome in a win this season. YSU also trailed by nine against Akron on Nov. 15 when the score was 21-12 with 7:30 left in the second quarter.
- The second-quarter score was within a possession until Lindsey Mack made two free throws at the 5:24 mark to put the Penguins up 26-22. That capped a mini 5-0 run that began when Wagner hit her first of four 3-pointers in the quarter that gave the Penguins a 24-22 lead. They did not trail again.
- Wagner's second 3 came at the 3:11 mark, and it started a stretch where she scored 11 straight points for the Penguins over 1:49. Her fourth 3 of the quarter came with 1:29 on the clock, and it gave YSU its first double-digit lead of the game at 37-27.
- Cleveland State went without a field goal from the 8:35 mark to the 1:16 mark of the fourth quarter.
- The Penguins were 23-for-30 from the free-throw line and outscored Cleveland State 23-18 on the charity stripe. The Vikings entered the contest leading the country in free throws makes per game.
- Defensively, YSU held Cleveland State under 36 percent from the field in every quarter, and the Vikings were 8-for-29 in the second half.
- Magestro tied her career high with seven free throws made, and she set a new career high with 11 free-throw attempts. Magestro is the only Penguin to make at least seven free throws in a game this season, and she's done it three times.
