Game Preview
- Youngstown State will try to extend its winning streak to five as it begins a three-game week on Monday by hosting IUPUI. Tipoff against the Jaguars is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
- The Penguins have won 11 of their last 12 games after their 1-3 start, and they are 12-4 overall and 6-1 in Horizon League play. With Green Bay's win at Cleveland State on Saturday, YSU is currently a half game out of first place in the conference standings and can pull into a three-way tie at the top with a victory over IUPUI on Monday.
- YSU shared the Horizon League regular-season title with IUPUI in 2021-22 as both teams finished with an 18-4 conference mark. The Lady Jags won both meetings against the Penguins last season, including a gut-wrenching 76-68 overtime victory in Beeghly Center exactly one year from Monday. IUPUI is 8-8 overall and 4-3 in league play this season under former YSU assistant coach Kate Bruce.
- The Penguins are coming off a 65-48 victory over Robert Morris on Thursday in which they trailed for just 41 seconds and led by double digits for most of the final 14 minutes. YSU has trailed for 4:08 during its four-game winning streak.
- YSU leads the Horizon League in assists per game (17.2) and rebounding margin (plus-6.7), and it is among the top three in scoring offense, scoring defense, field-goal percentage offense and field-goal percentage defense.
- Senior forward Lilly Ritz ranks seventh in the country with a .635 field-goal percentage, and she is among the top 20 nationally in double-doubles and rebounding. She ranks among the top three in the conference in six categories.
- On the perimeter, three Penguins guards – Malia Magestro, Megan Callahan and Paige Shy - are averaging at least 8.3 points and rank among the top 12 in the Horizon League in 3s per game. All three are averaging career highs in scoring.
- 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 and won a share of the regular-season title.
- This is the 50th anniversary season of Beeghly Center, which opened in 1972-73. YSU is 54-16 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .771 winning percentage, and it is 29-6 in its last 35 games on Rosselli Court.
- 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 163, and his .570 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history.
Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information
- Advance tickets for Monday'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 Monday.
- Promotions
- Pack the House-Community Night: $5 GA Tickets
- $1 Popcorn Night
Youngstown State vs. IUPUI
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's overall record to 13-4 this season and its Horizon League record to 7-1.
- Allow YSU to start 7-1 through eight HL games for just the second time ever (2021-22).
- Snap a five-game losing streak to IUPUI.
- Give YSU a 9-1 mark at Beeghly Center.
- Be Head Coach John Barnes' 320th career victory and his 164th at YSU.
Scouting IUPUI
- IUPUI is 8-8 overall and 4-3 in Horizon League play following a 69-63 loss at Robert Morris on Saturday. The Jaguars had an impressive 85-72 win over NIU on Dec. 21 to start a four-game winning streak, but they have lost their last two contests.
- IUPUI ranks in the top half of the conference in most offensive categories, and it sits second in the circuit with 8.3 3-pointers per game. The Jaguars are fifth in scoring offense with 69.3 points per game.
- Forward Jazmyn Turner, a transfer from Ball State, leads IUPUI with 15.2 points per game and a .609 field-goal percentage. She ranks fourth in the league in scoring, and Destiny Perkins and Rachel Kent also rank among the top 11 in the conference in scoring. Perkins leads the league in assists per game, and she is third in the conference in 3s per game.
Series History
Overall: IUPUI leads 11-9
Barnes: 3-8 • Home: 4-4 • Away: 4-6 • Neutral: 1-1
Current Win Streak: 5 by IUPUI
- IUPUI has won five straight games against YSU to take an 11-9 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1998-99 season when both schools were members of the Mid-Continent Conference. YSU left the Mid-Con for the Horizon League in 2001-02, and IUPUI joined the Penguins in the Horizon League in 2017-18.
- The teams split the season series in the first three years that IUPUI was in the Horizon League, and IUPUi has swept the Penguins the last two seasons. Before IUPUI's 68-45 win in Indianapolis last February, YSU had led by at least nine and been ahead in the fourth quarter in three straight losses to the Jaguars.
- Coach Kate Bruce: IUPUI first-year head coach Kate Bruce was an assistant on Bob Boldon's staff at YSU from 2010-13. Then Kate Schrader, she joined Boldon when the Penguins were transitioning from an 0-30 season in 2009-10. YSU began its turnaround into a program that could sustain success when it went 23-10 in 2012-13, and Boldon's staff went together to Ohio. Bruce stayed at OU for three seasons, then succeeded current Purdue Fort Wayne head coach Maria Marchesano as the head coach at Division II Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, for the last six seasons.
Last Season vs. IUPUI
- At YSU (Jan. 16, 2022): IUPUI rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 88 seconds of regulation to force overtime and went on to win 76-68 at Beeghly Center. YSU led 56-47 with 1:28 remaining after a 13-4 run, but IUPUI outscored the Penguins 14-5 in the final 1:19 of regulation. Anna Mortag made the game-tying 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left in regulation, and IUPUI scored the first six points of overtime. YSU was an impressive plus-14 in turnover margin for the game, but the Penguins had three turnovers in the final 36 seconds of regulation and two more in overtime.
- At IUPUI (Feb. 24, 2022): IUPUI scored the first 12 points of the game and held a nine-point advantage the rest of the night in a 68-45 victory at The Jungle. IUPUI led 14-3 at the end of the first period. Even though YSU won the turnover margin 14-13, IUPUI held a 15-3 advantage in points off turnovers. The Penguins were limited to 12 points in the paint, and Lilly Ritz was held to a season-low five points as foul trouble and game flow kept her minutes to under 19. IUPUI shot 48.2% and converted 11 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points.
Jan. 16 in YSU History
- Youngstown State is 7-5 all-time on Jan. 16, and the Penguins are playing on the date for the third straight year and for the seventh time in the last 10 years. YSU is 4-2 under head coach John Barnes on the date, which includes a memorable 66-57 win at Green Bay on Jan. 16, 2014.
- YSU won 66-59 at UIC in 2021, and it beat Oakland 79-74 on the road in 2020. In 2022, YSU fell 76-68 in overtime to IUPUI in Beeghly Center.
- The Penguins had their highest-scoring game in program history in a 121-49 win over John Carroll on Jan. 16, 1980.
- In 2017, Alison Smolinski made eight 3s in a 30-point performance as YSU beat Cleveland State 92-67.
Recapping Robert Morris
Game Summary
Youngstown State had three players combine to match Robert Morris' 48 points, and the Penguins were strong defensively again in a 65-48 victory over the Colonials on Thursday at Beeghly Center. Lilly Ritz posted game highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Paige Shy scored 15 points while Megan Callahan posted 14. Five other Penguins combined for 17 points in the 17-point victory. YSU did not trail for the final 37:54 of the game, and a 15-3 run to end the second quarter gave it a 31-19 halftime lead.
Notes
- YSU committed just nine turnovers and was plus-five in turnover margin. That was a significant accomplishment as Robert Morris came into the game  ranking 14th in the country in turnover margin at plus-6.3. The Penguins had just one turnover in the final 15 minutes. YSU's nine turnovers tied for the fewest in a game this season.
- YSU was whistled for just 11 fouls in the game, which tied for the fewest against a Division I opponent this season.
- YSU trailed for just 41 seconds and the largest deficit was two. Since the loss to Cleveland State on Dec. 29, the Penguins have responded by trailing for just 4:08 during its four-game winning streak. The largest deficit in those four games was four points, and it was when Purdue Fort Wayne led 4-0 on Dec. 31.
- The Penguins were just 4-for-24 from beyond the arc, which was their worst result on 3-point attempts since going 4-for-25 in the loss at Western Michigan on Nov. 22. The difference was that YSU was 20-for-35 (57.1%) on two-point attempts. In the losses at Akron and WMU earlier this season, YSU was 18-for-41 (43.9%) at Akron and 14-for-30 (46.7%) against the Broncos. The Penguins also had 19 turnovers against Akron and 17 at WMU.
- With Ritz posting 19 points and 14 rebounds, the Penguins controlled the paint to the tune of a 36-18 scoring advantage. Ritz added two blocks for her sixth time with multiple blocks in the last seven games.
- Miscellaneous: Malia Magestro tied her career high with five assists, and she did not commit a turnover in 27 minutes... That offset her first game without a 3-pointer since Nov. 18... It was Magestro's third game with five assists this season, and she is averaging 0.6 more assists per game than any other season of her career... Shy scored 15 points, which was her highest output since the game at Penn State on Nov. 15... Shy has scored at least nine points in all five games after the holiday break after being held under nine points in each of the previous nine contests... YSU won its fifth straight game over the Colonials.
Up Next
Youngstown State will travel for two Horizon League games in Wisconsin later this week. The Penguins will play at Green Bay on Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern, and they'll play at Milwaukee on Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and 570 WKBN.
