Women's Basketball Begins Six-Game Homestand Tuesday Against WVU Tech

Tuesday, December 6

Youngstown, OH

7:00 PM

Youngstown State University

WVU Tech

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Lindsey Linard - YSU Women's Basketball vs. Saint Francis Brooklyn (Nov. 26, 2022)

Photo by: Dave Dermer

Women's Basketball Begins Six-Game Homestand Tuesday Against WVU Tech

12/5/2022 2:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

Game Information
	Tuesday \| Dec. 6 @ 7 p.m.
	Beeghly Center \| Youngstown, Ohio
	Buy Tickets \| (330) 941-1978
	Gameday Information

Live Coverage
	570 WKBN \| iHeartRadio
	ESPN+ \| ESPN.com
	Live Stats \| YSUsports.com
	Live Tweets \| @YSUWomensHoops

Game Preview

Youngstown State begins a six-game homestand that will extend the rest of the month on Tuesday as it hosts WVU Tech. Tipoff against the Golden Bears is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
The Penguins enter the game against WVU Tech, an NAIA opponent from Beckley, W. Va., having won their last three contests. The streak began with an impressive 70-41 win over St. Francis Brooklyn at Beeghly Center on Nov. 26, and YSU swept the Northern Kentucky-Wright State trip for the first time in program history over the weekend. Youngstown State scored the go-ahead basket with 11.4 seconds left in a 59-55 victory at NKU on Friday, and it jumped out to a 27-4 lead in a 76-62 win at Wright State on Sunday.
YSU will enjoy a 2-0 Horizon League record until after the holiday break as the next four games will be non-conference contests. The Penguins are 2-0 to start Horizon League play for the fourth time in the last five years.
Malia Magestro is the first YSU guard to score at least 20 points in three straight games since Brianne Kenneally in 2000. Magestro scored 24 points against St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 26, and she followed that with 21 at NKU and 20 at Wright State.
Lilly Ritz averaged 16 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two conference wins, and she scored the go-ahead bucket in the final seconds at NKU on Friday. She then posted 20 points and 15 rebounds at Wright State for her fifth double-double in seven 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. In 2022-23, five players return – Aulbach, Megan Callahan, Magestro, 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 155, and his .560 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 48-15 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .762 winning percentage, and it is 23-5 in its last 28 games on Rosselli Court.

Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information

Tickets | Gameday & Parking Information | Visitors Guide | Promotional Schedule | YSU Mobile App - iOS - Android

Advance tickets for Tuesday'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 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Promotion
- Toy Drive: bring a new toy/kid's book to receive a voucher for a free ticket for any future home game
- Pack the House-Community Night: $5 GA Tickets
- Medical Mutual/Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night

Youngstown State vs. WVU Tech

A Win Would...

Improve YSU's record to 5-3 this season.
Be the Penguins' fourth straight victory.
Extend YSU's winning streak against non-Division I opponents to 26.
Be Head Coach John Barnes' 312th career victory and his 156th at YSU.

Scouting WVU Tech

WVU Tech is an NAIA school located in Beckley, W. Va. that plays in the same conference as recent YSU opponents Point Park and Carlow.
The Golden Bears are 9-3 and have played five more games than the Penguins. They had won five straight decisions prior to falling 91-68 at No. 14 Rio Grande in a River States Conference contest on Saturday.
WVU Tech is averaging an impressive 82.8 points per game and make 8.3 3-pointers per game on average. The Golden Bears average 23.3 free-throw attempts per contest.
Guard Faith Silva leads the Golden Bears with 18.3 points per game, and she has sunk 52 3s while shooting 46.4% from beyond the arc. Alva Hedrich (14.4 ppg) and Valiyah Yazzie (10.6 ppg) also average double digits in points, and Hedrich is the squad's top rebounder at 7.0 rebounds per game.

Series History

Overall: First Meeting

This is the first meeting between WVU Tech and Youngstown State in women's basketball. Of note, each of the visiting teams in YSU's first three home games are first-time opponents.
YSU vs. River States Conference Teams: While YSU has never played WVU Tech, it has played three members of the River States Conference. The Penguins are 2-0 against Point Park and 1-0 all-time against Carlow and Rio Grande. YSU played Point Park at Beeghly Center on Dec. 21, 2021, and won 87-41.
Non-Division I games: Youngstown State has won 25 consecutive games against non-Division I opponents dating back to 1990. The Penguins are currently 78-10 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.

Dec. 6 in YSU History

Youngstown State is playing on Dec. 6 for the first time since the 2016 season. The Penguins are 4-6 all time on the date, but they've won just once in the last seven contests on Dec. 6.
YSU played a non-Division I opponent once on Dec. 6, and it resulted in a 92-43 victory over Oberlin at Beeghly Center in 2014. In that game, the Penguins scored 20 straight points in the first half as they improved to 7-0 for the year. Nikki Arbanas made three 3s in a four-possession stretch during that run, and she finished with a team-high 13 points.
On Dec. 6, 1980, YSU enjoyed a 100-79 victory over West Virginia in Pittsburgh behind a 38-point performance from Wanda Grant. That is tied for the eighth-highest scoring total in program history.

Recapping Wright State

Game Summary

Youngstown State scored 27 of the last 29 points of the first quarter and led by at least nine points for the final 34 minutes in a 76-62 win at Wright State on Sunday. Malia Magestro and Lilly Ritz each scored 20 points, Dena Jarrells added 12, and Megan Callahan had 10. Jarrells had eight points and five assists in the opening quarter, and she made two of YSU's four 3s in the quarter. YSU was 10-for-17 in the first period but just 7-for-29 over the next two as Wright State hung around to make a late push. The Raiders made nine of their first 13 attempts in the fourth quarter to get within nine points, but YSU went 11-for-12 from the free throw line in the fourth, including 8-for-8 in the final minute, to preserve the win.

Notes

A Casual 20 and 15 for Ritz: Lilly Ritz was hard to stop in the first and fourth quarters. She scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first quarter, and she poured in 10 points on 4-of-5 from the field in the fourth. She finished the game with 20 points and 15 rebounds, which gave her three 20-point games and three games with at least 15 rebounds in the first seven games of the season.
Three Straight Games with 20 for Magestro: Malia Magestro became the first Penguin guard in 22 years to score at least 20 points in three consecutive games. She started the stretch with a career-high 24 points against St. Francis Brooklyn, and she followed that performance with totals of 21 at Northern Kentucky and 20 at Wright State. The last YSU guard to have 20 points in three straight games was Brianne Kenneally in the first three games of the 2000-01 season. Oddly, Magestro did not have any 20-point games in the first 49 contests of her career before the 24-point effort against St. Francis Brooklyn.
Callahan Enjoying Hot Stretch: Megan Callahan scored in double figures for the third straight contest, and YSU is 4-0 this season when the sixth-year senior reaches double figures. Over the last three games, Callahan is 12.3 points and shooting 55.6% from 3-point range (10-for-18).
Dominating the Glass: YSU was plus-20 in rebounding margin and grabbed 50 rebounds in a Horizon League game for the first time since having 51 against Butler on Feb. 2, 2006. YSU grabbed its most caroms in a conference road game for the first time since it also had 50 at the Nutter Center on Feb. 24, 2003
Quick Hitters: Magestro and Ritz became the first tandem to score 20 points in the same game since March 2, 2021 (Chelsea Olson and Mary Dunn)... Emily Saunders set a new career high with six rebounds, and she set a scoring high this season with seven points... She had 13 points and 10 rebounds in less than 22 minutes in her first two Horizon League contests... YSU held an opponent under 37% shooting for the third straight game... The Penguins had 18 assists on 24 field goals.