Game Information
	Wednesday | Dec. 21 @ 11 a.m.
	Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
	Buy Tickets | (330) 941-1978
	Gameday Information

Live Coverage
	1390 WNIO | iHeartRadio
	ESPN+ | ESPN.com
	Live Stats | YSUsports.com
	Live Tweets | @YSUWomensHoops

Game Preview

• Youngstown State will conclude its non-conference schedule by hosting Mount Vernon Nazarene for the Ninth Annual Chick-fil-A School Field Trip Game on Wednesday. Tipoff at Beeghly Center is set for 11 a.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and ESPN+. More than 700 students from the Youngstown City School District are expected to be in attendance.
• If the Penguins can prevail against MVNU, an NAIA team from approximately 130 miles away from YSU's campus, they'll enter a seven-day break from competition for the holidays as a confident group that has won seven straight decisions. When YSU returns, it will be nothing but Horizon League games on the schedule until the end of February.
• The Penguins are riding a six-game winning streak over which they've outscored their opponents by an average of 29.2 points per game. YSU has won four of those contests at Beeghly Center, and its average margin of victory in those contests is 39.3.
• This is the eighth different season in Head Coach John Barnes' 10 years that YSU has had a winning streak of at least five games. The Penguins have assembled 11 five-game winning streaks in Barnes' tenure, an amazing feat considering the program had one in the 13 seasons before his arrival.
• YSU leads the Horizon League in field-goal percentage (.441), assists (16.8 per game), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.14) and rebounding margin (+7.4). The Penguins are also second in scoring defense and third in field-goal percentage defense.
• Offensively, forward Lilly Ritz ranks second in the Horizon League in scoring (18.1 per game), and she is first in rebounding (10.0 per game), field-goal percentage (.620) and double-doubles (5). Guard Malia Magestro is averaging 16.8 points per game during the Penguins' five-game winning streak, and she and Megan Callahan have each made a 3-pointer in seven straight contests.
• This is the 50th anniversary season of Beeghly Center, which opened in 1972-73. YSU is 51-15 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .785 winning percentage, and it is 26-5 in its last 31 games on Rosselli Court.
• The Penguins have won 22 of their last 24 home games against non-conference opponents in the regular season.
• 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. 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.
• 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.
• 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 158, and his .564 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history.

Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information

• Advance tickets for Wednesday'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 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
• Promotion
  • School Field Trip Game presented by Chick-fil-A

Youngstown State vs. Mount Vernon Nazarene

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's record to 8-3 this season.
• Be the Penguins' seventh straight victory.
• Give YSU a 6-0 record at Beeghly Center.
• Extend YSU's winning streak against non-Division I opponents to 27.
• Be Head Coach John Barnes' 314th career victory and his 158th at YSU.

Scouting the Cougars

• Mount Vernon Nazarene competes at the NAIA level as a member of the Crossroads League. The university is in Mount Vernon, Ohio, which is south of Mansfield and located approximately 130 miles from Youngstown.
• The Cougars are 6-7 overall and have lost four of their last five contests. They dropped two decisions outside of Miami last week.
• MVNU had an impressive 84-80 win over No. 20 Rio Grande on Nov. 15, and it lost 89-80 against a St. Thomas squad last week that was receiving votes in the NAIA poll. For comparison, WVU Tech, which YSU beat earlier this month, lost 91-68 to Rio Grande.
• Maggie Coe leads the Cougars in scoring at 16.8 points per game, and two of her teammates also average double figures. Rylee Pireu has made 34 3-pointers and is shooting 43.6% from beyond the arc. As a team, MVNU leads the Crossroads League in scoring with 77.8 points per game.

Youngstown State vs. Mount Vernon Nazarene

Overall: First Meeting

• This is the first meeting between Mount Vernon Nazarene and Youngstown State in women's basketball. This is the fourth first-time opponent that the Penguins are hosting at Beeghly Center this season.
• Non-Division I games: Youngstown State has won 26 consecutive games against non-Division I opponents dating back to 1990. The Penguins are currently 79-10 all-time against teams that are currently not in Division I. The last loss was 65-64 at Edinboro on Jan. 13, 1990. YSU has played at least one non-Division I opponent in every season since 2013-14 except 2020-21. Earlier this season, YSU beat WVU Tech, another NAIA school, 102-39.

Previous Kids Day Games

• This is the Ninth Annual Chick-fil-A School Field Trip Game, and the Penguins are 8-0 in the previous eight contests. All eight events have been against non-Division I opponents, and YSU has won by an average score of 86.1-52.3. YSU has held the event every season of Head Coach John Barnes' tenure except for the 2020-21 season that was largely affected by COVID-19.

Dec. 21 in YSU History

• Youngstown State has played 18 times previously on Dec. 21 and holds a 9-9 record on the date. This is the second straight year that the Penguins are hosting the Chick-fil-A School Field Trip Game on the date, and YSU beat Point Park 87-41 in 2021.
• Three school records have been set on Dec. 21. The Penguins attempted 43 free throws as a team versus Clarion in 2006. Devin Novak attempted a school record 17 3-pointers at Akron in 2003. Danielle Carson tied her own school record with 16 assists against Montevallo in 1985.
• Tiara Scott had one of the 12 20-point, 20-rebound games in school history at Akron on Dec. 21, 2007, finishing with 25 points and 21 rebounds. There was only one 20-20 game by a Penguin between Scott's effort in 2007 and Lilly Ritz's 20-20 night against Wofford in the 2022-23 season opener.

Up Next

• After a break for the holidays, Youngstown State will get back into Horizon League play on Dec. 29 against Cleveland State. The game will tip at 5:15 p.m. and will be part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's basketball team, which will also play the Vikings.