Game Preview
- Youngstown State begins its challenging trip to Wisconsin by facing Horizon League-leading Green Bay on Friday. Tipoff at the Kress Center is set for 8 p.m. Eastern, and the contest will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
- The Penguins will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing 64-61 loss to IUPUI on Monday in Beeghly Center that began this three-game week. YSU had its four-game winning streak snapped and missed an opportunity to move into a tie for first place in the conference standings with Green Bay and Cleveland State.
- Despite the loss to the Jaguars, YSU is 12-5 overall and 6-2 in Horizon League play as it heads to the Badger State. The Penguins have won 11 of their last 13 games since beginning the season 1-3, and a win over Green Bay would keep them toward the top of the Horizon League standings as the conference slate approaches the halfway point this week.
- YSU shared the Horizon League regular-season title with IUPUI in 2021-22 as both teams finished with an 18-4 conference mark. While the core of YSU's 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.
- YSU leads the Horizon League in assists per game (17.0) and rebounding margin (plus-5.6), 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 is the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week, and she ranks seventh in the country with 10 double-doubles. She has five double-doubles in the last six games, and she also ranks among the top 15 in the country in field-goal percentage and rebounds per game.
- On the perimeter, three Penguins guards – Malia Magestro, Megan Callahan and Paige Shy - are averaging at least 8.2 points and rank among the top 12 in the Horizon League in 3s per game. All three are averaging career highs in scoring. Magestro is averaging 11.2 points, Callahan is averaging 10.1 points and leads YSU with 36 3-pointers, and Shy is averaging 8.2 points.
- This is the 50th anniversary season of Beeghly Center, which opened in 1972-73. YSU is 54-17 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .761 winning percentage, and it is 29-7 in its last 36 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 .568 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history.
Youngstown State vs. Green Bay
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's overall record to 13-5 this season and its Horizon League record to 7-2.
- Allow YSU to start 7-2 through nine HL games for the fourth time ever (2012-13, 2018-19, 2021-22).
- Give YSU a 5-0 record in Horizon League road games.
- Be YSU's first win over Green Bay at the Kress Center since 2013-14 and snap an eight-game road losing streak to GB.
- Be Head Coach John Barnes' 320th career victory and his 164th at YSU.
Scouting Green Bay
- Green Bay is 14-3 overall and 7-1 in Horizon League play, and it hasn't lost since Dec. 1. The Phoenix have won 11 straight games since its 59-52 loss at Milwaukee, including a big 82-65 victory at Cleveland State on Saturday. Green Bay is tied for first in the league standings despite having played six of its first eight conference games on the road.
- Green Bay leads the Horizon League in field-goal percentage and field-goal percentage defense, and it also holds the top spot in free-throw percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio. It ranks in the top half of every major category except blocks and steals.
- Sydney Levy leads Green Bay with 10.8 points per game and 32 3-pointers. Bailey Butler has 55 assists against just 24 turnovers.
Series History
Overall: Green Bay leads 44-5
Barnes: 4-15 • Home: 3-19 • Away: 2-23 • Neutral: 0-2
Current Win Streak: 1 by Green Bay
- Green Bay has won 44 of the 49 all-time meetings with Youngstown State in a series dating back to Jan. 21, 1993, when both teams were members of the Mid-Continent Conference. All 49 contests have been in league play or a conference tournament. Green Bay is 23-2 at home in the series, and YSU's last win over the Phoenix in the Kress Center was in 2014.
- Of YSU's five wins, four of them have come in Head Coach John Barnes' nine-plus seasons. The Penguins are 4-15 against the Phoenix under Barnes, who coached for a season at Green Bay alongside Kevin Borseth in 2012-13. The pair also coached together at Michigan in 2011-12, and both are former head coaches at Michigan Tech.
- While Green Bay has a sizable hold on the all-time series, YSU has closed the gap under Barnes, particularly in the last six meetings. The Penguins are 2-4 in the last six encounters, and the losses include a two-point margin in the semifinals of the 2019 Horizon League Championship and two double-overtime setbacks.
Last Season vs. Green Bay
- At YSU (Dec. 4, 2021): Youngstown State made 15 3-pointers in the first three quarters and withstood a second-half push by Green Bay in a 67-58 at Beeghly Center. YSU made three 3-pointers in the first period as it took a 13-12 lead heading into the second, and the Penguins buried seven 3-pointers in the second to go up 37-26 at halftime. Green Bay got as close as four in the second half, but YSU ended up leading for 32:23. Megan Callahan scored a game-high 20 points, and Lindsey Linard had five points in a starting role as Lilly Ritz missed the contest.
- At Green Bay (Feb. 3, 2022): The Penguins battled Green Bay for 50 minutes but fell 70-69 in double overtime at the Kress Center. YSU led for more than 38 minutes, and it had possession at the end of regulation and both overtimes but couldn't come up with the winning basket. The Penguins held a 69-64 lead in the second overtime before Green Bay scored the final six points of the game. Lilly Ritz scored 19 points and added eight rebounds, and five other Penguins finished with between eight and 12 points. YSU made 12 3-pointers in the game, but it was hurt by 26 turnovers. One of those turnovers came at the end of the first overtime after an inadvertent whistle with 3.2 seconds left squashed a one-on-one scoring opportunity for Ritz in the post.
Jan. 20 in YSU History
- Youngstown State is 8-6 overall in 14 previous contests played on Jan. 20. The Penguins have won their last two games on the date, winning road games at Cleveland State and Robert Morris in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
- Last year on Jan. 20, Megan Callahan hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left to give the Penguins a 59-57 win at RMU. Callahan, a Robert Morris graduate who transferred to YSU, helped the Penguins overcome a 12-point deficit.
- Danielle Carson posted a triple-double of 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in an 80-79 win at Austin Peay in 1986. It was her fourth triple-double of the campaign. On Jan. 20, 2005, Jen Perugini grabbed 20 rebounds at Butler.
Recapping IUPUI
Game Summary
Youngstown State didn't have its best on either end of the floor and suffered a 64-61 defeat to IUPUI as a result on Monday evening at Beeghly Center. YSU was just 13-for-34 inside the arc, and the Jaguars posted the second-highest field-goal percentage against the Penguins this season. Still, YSU battled back from a nine-point deficit to tie the game at halftime and held a 60-59 lead with 3:47 left in the game. The Penguins didn't make another field goal the rest of the night, and they had a turnover and a missed 3 on their final two possessions in the final 10 seconds.
Notes
- Youngstown State missed an opportunity to move into a tie for first place in the Horizon League standings with the loss. The Penguins entered the game with a 6-1 conference record, which was a half game behind Cleveland State and Green Bay.
- YSU dropped its sixth straight game to IUPUI, and the Penguins have been ahead in the fourth quarter in four of the last five setbacks.
- The only opponent to shoot higher than IUPUI's 46.2% this season is Penn State (49.2%) on Nov. 15. The Penguins had held 12 straight opponents under 39%.
- YSU was outrebounded 34-31, marking the first time this season that it has been outrebounded in back-to-back games. The Penguins won the rebounding battle in 11 of their first 14 games, but they have been even, minus-1 and minus-3 in their last three contests.
- While Penguins struggled inside the arc, they were 8-for-20 on 3-point attempts for 40%. That was their second-best percentage this season in a Horizon League game, and marked just the second time this season that YSU shot better from outside than arc than inside it. Megan Callahan (3-for-6), Shay-Lee Kirby (2-for-4) and Malia Magestro (1-for-2) combined to go 6-for-12.
- Even with a tough night shooting around the rim, Lilly Ritz still collected 15 points and 10 rebounds. It was her 10th double-double of the season and her fifth in the last six games. She has six double-doubles in eight Horizon League games.
- Callahan continued the best offensive season of her career with 13 points, and she has reached double figures in six of the last seven games. The only game since Dec. 21 that she didn't reach double figures was when she exerted most of her energy shutting down Purdue Fort Wayne's Amellia Bromenschenkel on Dec. 31. Callahan is averaging 10.1 points and shooting 43.9% from 3-point range, which is up from 6.7 points and 31.2% in 2021-22.
- Malia Magestro scored nine of her 11 points in the final 4:30 of the second quarter. She reached double figures for the first time since Dec. 31, and she tied her career high with five assists.
Up Next
- Youngstown State will continue its Wisconsin trip in Milwaukee by taking on the Panthers on Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
