Game Preview
- Youngstown State will try to shake off back-to-back road losses as it travels to Western Michigan for the first time since 2010. The Penguins and Broncos will play at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
- The Penguins are 1-2 this season with a nine-point home win in the season opener and consecutive double-digit setbacks on the road. YSU beat a quality Wofford team 81-72 to start the campaign, and it led Penn State by six early in the second half last Tuesday before falling 77-63. The Penguins then built a 17-point lead in the first quarter at Akron on Friday before the Zips rallied for a 61-44 win.
- YSU couldn't buy a 3-pointer against the Zips as it missed its final 18 attempts from beyond the arc. That has the Penguins shooting 23% from long distance this season, and YSU has also been plagued by 45 combined turnovers in the past two games.
- The Penguins won the school's first regular-season conference title in 23 years last season as it shared the Horizon League crown with IUPUI. YSU went 24-7 overall and advanced to the Women's NIT behind what was largely a roster full of new faces. Now in 2022-23, five players return – Mady Aulbach, Megan Callahan, Malia Magestro, Lilly Ritz and Paige Shy – who started at least 20 games on last year's team that hung a championship banner.
- While the core of the roster is familiar, the target on the Penguins' back is not. For the first time in program history, Youngstown State was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Horizon League by the conference's coaches. Last season, YSU was picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll.
- Ritz was named the Horizon League Player of the Week after her 27-point, 20-rebound performance against Wofford to start the season. She was named to the All-Horizon League First Team in 2021-22 after ranking among the top three in the conference in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage, double-doubles and steals.
- This is YSU's 10th season under Head Coach John Barnes, who was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2021-22. Barnes is second in career victories at YSU with 152, and his .557 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history.
- This is the 50th anniversary season of Beeghly Center, which opened in 1972-73. The first women's game played in the arena was on Jan. 31, 1976. YSU is 46-15 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .754 winning percentage, and it is 21-5 in its last 26 games on Rosselli Court.
Youngstown State vs. Western Michigan
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's record to 2-2 this season.
- Be YSU's second straight over Western Michigan and its third against the Broncos in the last four meetings.
- Give the Penguins their first victory at WMU in five tries.
- Be Head Coach John Barnes' 309th career victory and his 153rd at YSU
Scouting Western Michigan
- Western Michigan will be looking for its first win on Tuesday against the Penguins. WMU lost 60-51 to Loyola Chicago in its season opener, and the next two games resulted in sizable losses at Michigan State (97-49) and Michigan (99-67). The Broncos were scheduled to play Detroit Mercy on Saturday, but the contest was canceled due to snow.
- Lauren Ross is averaging 20 points and has made eight 3-pointers in the first three games. She also leads the Broncos with eight steals, and WMU is averaging 9.3 steals per game.
- The Broncos were picked to finish sixth in the MAC in the preseason poll, and Ross was named to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team. WMU has 13 players back from last year's team that won 16 games.
Series History
Overall: Western Michigan leads 5-3
Barnes: 0-0 • Home: 3-1 • Away: 0-4 • Neutral: 0-0
Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
- Tuesday will be Youngstown State's first meeting with Western Michigan since Nov. 30, 2011, and its first trip to Kalamazoo since 2010. The Penguins and Broncos played six times from 1987 through 1991 but have met just twice since.
- Youngstown State is 3-1 against WMU in Beeghly Center but 0-4 on the road in the series. In the last meeting at University Arena, Western Michigan rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit and made 31-of-32 from the free-throw line to win 69-64 in overtime on Dec. 12, 2010.
- YSU led by 10 with less than five minutes left, and an intentional foul call with 1:12 left changed the course of the game. YSU's Brandi Brown rebounded a WMU miss, but officials ruled that she made contact with a Bronco player's head with her elbow, and WMU was awarded two free throws and possession. The Broncos turned that into five points to force overtime, and WMU took its first lead of the game with 26 remaining in the extra session. Former YSU assistant coach Brenna Banktson was a player on that WMU team that rallied.
Last Meeting vs. Western Michigan
- Youngstown State used a strong second-half effort to pull away for an 80-55 victory over Western Michigan on Nov. 30, 2011, at the Beeghly Center. YSU outscored the Broncos 50-33 in the second half after connecting on 12 of its first 16 shots in the stanza.
- The Penguins led 30-22 at halftime, and runs of 9-2 and 14-1 blew the game open. YSU made four 3-pointers during a 14-1 run in the second half that gave the Penguins a 63-34 lead.
- Heidi Schlegel scored 15 points and was one of three Penguins to make three 3-pointers in the game. Brandi Brown and Kelsea Fickiesen had 12 points apiece, and Macey Nortey added 11.
Nov. 22 in YSU History
- Youngstown State is 5-2 in seven previous games played on Nov. 22. Tuesday's game at Western Michigan will be the program's first on the date since 2014.
- YSU won its first four contests on Nov. 22, including three against MAC opponents in 2002, 2003 and 2005. After losses in 2008 and 2009, the Penguins won 70-44 at Radford in 2014.
- In the game against the Highlanders, Latisha Walker had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in 16 minutes of action. Indiya Benjamin led the Penguins with 16 points and six assists, and Kelsea Newman finished with 14 points off the bench. Both Benjamin and Newman hit four 3s, and Nikki Arbanas made one as YSU went 9-for-20 from beyond the arc.
Recapping Akron
- Youngstown State missed its last 18 attempts from 3-point range and had a great start go to waste in a 61-44 loss at Akron on Friday evening.
- The Penguins led 20-3 less than nine minutes into the game, but they went ice cold and scored 24 points over the final 31 minutes. After the early burst, Akron outscored YSU 58-24.
- Lilly Ritz scored 23 points and was 11-for-16 from the field, and Emily Saunders was 2-for-3 from the field for five points in six minutes. Every other Penguin combined for 15 points on 6-for-42 shooting from the field.
- YSU scored the first 11 points of the game and didn't allow an Akron point until the 4:08 mark of the opening quarter. YSU's lead was 18-3 when Paige Shy made a 3 two minutes later, and that prompted an Akron timeout. The Penguins did not make another triple the rest of the night.
- The margin grew to 20-3 after Ritz scored her 10th point of the first period with 1:34 on the clock. Akron hit a 3 in the final minute of the opening quarter and in the first minute of the second, and a Saunders basket at the end of the shot clock put YSU up 22-9 with 8:04 remaining in the half. After that Saunders basket, YSU scored eight points in the next 21:50.
- Akron took its first lead at 25-24 on its first possession of the second period, and the final tie of the night came at 26-26 when Megan Callahan scored on YSU's next possession. The Zips led 46-30 at the end of the third period and outscored the Penguins 40-10 over the second and third quarters.
- Akron blocked seven shots in the game. YSU had seven shots blocked just twice last season – at Milwaukee on Feb. 5 and at Penn State on Dec. 12, 2021.
- Ritz tied her career high for most field goals in a game with 11. No other Horizon League player has made at least 11 field goals in a game this season.
- YSU lost back-to-back non-conference games for the first time since Nov. 20 (Kent State) and Nov. 23 (Yale) in 2018.
- YSU held Akron's leading scorer Reagan Bass to eight points in 22 minutes as she battled foul trouble.
- The Zips were 1-for-12 shooting to start the game but made 20 of their last 37 attempts from the field.
- Youngstown State outscored Akron 32-24 in the paint, but Akron made six more 3-pointers and seven more free throws.
- YSU grabbed 12 offensive rebounds but was only able to convert them into six second-chance points.
Up Next
- Youngstown State will make a quick stop at home to host St. Francis Brooklyn at 7 p.m. on Saturday. After the game against the Terriers, YSU will be back on the road to play at Northern Kentucky on Dec. 2 in its Horizon League opener.
