Game Preview
- Youngstown State will try to complete its third-ever Wisconsin sweep as it heads to Milwaukee for a Sunday afternoon bout. Tipoff at the Klotsche Center is set for 3 p.m. Eastern, and the contest will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
- The Penguins are coming off their first road win over Green Bay since the 2013-14 season as they topped the Phoenix 63-60 on Friday at the Kress Center. YSU led for more than 32 minutes and shot 46.3% from the field to snap Green Bay's 11-game winning streak. It was YSU's third road win ever over Green Bay, and the Penguins have also won at Milwaukee each of the previous two times (2004-05 and 2013-14).
- Friday's win allowed the Penguins to stay within a game of the top spot in the Horizon League standings. YSU is 13-5 overall and 7-2 in conference play, and the victory was a big response for the Penguins after they lost 64-61 at home to IUPUI on Monday. YSU is tied for second with Green Bay, and Cleveland State is 8-1 in HL play.
- YSU has won 12 of its last 14 games since beginning the season 1-3. The Penguins are 5-0 on the road in Horizon League play, and they've won at least five conference road contests for just the third time in their 22 seasons in the league.
- 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 (16.94), and it ranks among the top three in the conference in scoring offense, scoring defense, scoring margin, field-goal percentage, field-goal percentage defense, rebounding margin and assist-to-turnover margin.
- Senior forward Lilly Ritz is the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week, and she had a nice bounce-back game against the Phoenix. Ritz was 7-for-8 from the field and had team highs of 14 points and seven rebounds despite being limited to 19 minutes with foul trouble. She ranks among the top 20 in the country in double-doubles, field-goal percentage and rebounds per game, and she has five double-doubles in the last seven games.
- 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 10 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 10.2 points and leads YSU with 37 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 164, and his .569 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history.
Youngstown State vs. Milwaukee
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's overall record to 14-5 this season and its Horizon League record to 8-2.
- Allow YSU to start 8-2 through 10 HL games for the third time ever (2018-19 and 2021-22).
- Give YSU a 6-0 record in Horizon League road games.
- Be the Penguins' third straight over Milwaukee.
- Be Head Coach John Barnes' 321st career victory and his 165th at YSU.
Scouting Milwaukee
- Milwaukee is 7-10 overall and 5-4 in Horizon League play after beating Robert Morris 72-60 on Friday afternoon on a Kids Day game. The Panthers are 4-3 since returning from holiday break, and they have scored 63 points in each of those four wins.
- Milwaukee ranks in the top half of the conference in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and blocks per game. The Panthers are also averaging 14.47 assists per game, they have an assist on 67.2% of their field goals. That's the eighth-highest rate in the country.
- Kendall Nead leads the Panthers in scoring with 10.8 points per game, and she has made a team-high 16 3-pointers. Megan Walstad averages 9.2 points with team highs of 7.6 rebounds per game and 22 blocks.
Series History
Overall: Milwaukee leads 31-19
Barnes: 12-7 • Home: 11-13 • Away: 7-18 • Neutral: 1-0
Current Win Streak: 2 by Youngstown State
- Milwaukee holds a 31-19 advantage in the all-time series with YSU, but the Penguins have won 14 of the last 21 encounters dating back to the 2012-13 season. YSU has won eight of the last 10 meetings at Beeghly Center, and its win at the Klotsche Center last season was its first in Milwaukee since 2016. The Penguins had a string of tough setbacks from 2017-21, losing by four in 2017, by one at the buzzer in 2018, by three in overtime in 2019, by five in 2020 and by nine in the conference tournament in 2021.
- Eleven of the last 16 meetings with UWM have been decided by six points or fewer, and only two final margins since February 2015 have been double digits.
- Youngstown State and Milwaukee have become rivals in the Horizon League Tournament as the teams have eliminated each other in three of the last five seasons. YSU ousted Milwaukee in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, and the Panthers ended the Penguins' season in 2020-21.
Last Season vs. Milwaukee
- At YSU (Dec. 2, 2021): YSU outscored Milwaukee 22-11 in the third period and played tough defense throughout in a 58-50 win at Beeghly Center. YSU's lead was 15-14 at halftime before the Penguins scored 43 points in the second half. Milwaukee had 36 points in the second half, but a 21-2 YSU run in the second half was too much to overcome. YSU, playing without leading scorer and rebounder Lilly Ritz, led by double digits the entire fourth quarter until Milwaukee's Alyssa Moore hit a 3 at the final horn. The Penguins trailed 14-6 after Milwaukee's second possession of the second period, but the Panthers didn't score for the final 8:52 of the half. Paige Shy made three 3s in the second half and finished with a team-high 16 points.
- At Milwaukee (Feb. 5, 2022): Youngstown State scored 15 straight points in the third quarter and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 17 seconds to beat Milwaukee 60-56 at the Klotsche Center. Lindsey Mack scored a team and season-high 16 points, and she made four of those free throws in the final stretch. Lilly Ritz scored eight of her 11 points in that decisive third quarter, and Malia Magestro added 10 points that included two free throws with 3.8 seconds left that put the Penguins up by two possessions. Milwaukee's largest lead was 38-31 at the 8:08 mark of the third quarter, but that's when YSU went on its 15-0 run. The Penguins did not trail after taking a 40-38 advantage.
Jan. 22 in YSU History
- Youngstown State is 8-6 all-time in previous games played on Jan. 22. The Penguins are playing on the date for the third straight year, and the previous two were in Beeghly Center. They beat UIC 88-78 in 2021, and they topped Robert Morris 61-44 in 2022.
- Sarah Cash blocked five shots, which is tied for the ninth-most in a game in program history, in a 75-70 win over Wright State on Jan. 22, 2015.
Recapping Green Bay
Game Summary
Youngstown State led for more than 32 minutes and scored five of the final six points to beat Green Bay 63-60 on Friday evening at the Kress Center. The Penguins beat the Phoenix on the road for the first time since 2014, and they snapped Green Bay's 11-game winning streak in the process. Green Bay's final lead came at 59-58 with 2:35 left when Jasmine Kondrakiewicz made a 3-pointer, but Dena Jarrells hit a 3 on YSU's next possession to put the Penguins up 61-59. The final three points of the game came at the free-throw line as Callie Genke split two free throws for Green Bay with 1:54 on the clock, and Malia Magestro and Paige Shy made attempts in the final five seconds. The Phoenix had two turnovers in the final six seconds.
Notes
- YSU beat Green Bay at the Kress Center for the first time since 2014 and snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Phoenix on the road. YSU's last win in the building before Friday night was against Oakland in the first round of the 2016 Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship.
- Six players accounted for all of YSU's points. Lilly Ritz led the Penguins with 14 points on 7-for-8 from the field, and she played just 19 minutes with foul trouble. Malia Magestro scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, and Megan Callahan and Dena Jarrells both scored 11. Paige Shy scored eight as the fifth starter, and Emily Saunders scored six points in a season-high 18 minutes.
- For Ritz, it was a huge bounce-back game after she was 6-for-20 from the field in Monday's loss to IUPUI. Ritz made her first five field-goal attempts against Green Bay. For the first time this season, she did not attempt a free throw.
- Magestro hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter, and she finished with three triples in her 12-point effort. She also recorded four assists to surpass her assist total from last season. Magestro is averaging a career-high 2.4 assists in 2022-23, up from 1.3 as a freshman and 1.6 as a sophomore.
- Back in the starting lineup, Jarrells turned in a big performance with 11 points and five assists in 25 minutes. She hit the biggest shot of the game, a 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining to put YSU ahead 61-59. It came immediately after Green Bay hit a 3 to take its final lead.
- In addition to her season-high total of 18 minutes, Saunders tied her career high with three blocks, matching what she had as a freshman against Air Force while at Tennessee.
- YSU had its fewest free-throw attempts in a game this season with six. Four of those free-throw attempts came in the final five seconds as Green Bay was forced into a fouling situation to extend the game. The Phoenix were 14-for-18 from the charity stripe.
- YSU committed 11 turnovers, which was a huge improvement from when it turned the ball over 26 times in a double overtime loss at Green Bay in 2022.
Up Next
- Youngstown State will begin the second half of Horizon League play with a pair of home games next week. The Penguins will host Wright State on Thursday, and they'll take on Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
