Game Preview
- Youngstown State begins the second half of Horizon League play and begins a big week at Beeghly Center by hosting Wright State on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
- Thursday's contest begins a stretch of four games in four days on Rosselli Court, and the women will play Thursday and Saturday. The men play on ESPN2 on Friday evening against Oakland, and Saturday's women's game will include a celebration of YSU's 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame class.
- The Penguins are coming off an impressive sweep of the Horizon League's Wisconsin teams last week. YSU won 63-60 at Green Bay last Friday and 61-51 at Milwaukee on Sunday to earn just its third sweep in the Badger State in its 22 years in the conference. The two wins coupled with a Cleveland State loss moved YSU into a three-way tie for first place at the halfway point of the league slate.
- YSU has won 13 of its last 15 games since beginning the season 1-3. The Penguins are 6-0 on the road in Horizon League play, and they have six of their final 10 games at Beeghly Center. YSU is 8-2 overall on its home floor and will try to improve on its 2-2 mark against league opponents.
- Defensively, YSU ranks among the top three teams in the Horizon League in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and rebounding margin. Offensively, YSU leads the league in assists per game and ranks second in field-goal percentage.
- Lilly Ritz had two nice bounce-back games in Wisconsin, averaging 17 points and going 17-for-25 from the field (68%). Ritz collected her 11th double-double of the season at Milwaukee on Sunday, which is the 10th-most in the country. She also ranks in the top 20 nationally in rebounds per game and field-goal percentage.
- On the perimeter, three Penguins guards – Malia Magestro, Megan Callahan and Paige Shy - are averaging at least 7.8 points and rank among the top 15 in the Horizon League in 3s per game. Magestro is averaging career highs of 11.3 points and 2.3 assists, and Callahan is averaging a career-high 10.4 points. Callahan ranks 17th in the country in 3-point field-goal percentage at 44%. Dena Jarrells scored in double figures in both wins last week, and YSU is 6-0 with her in the starting lineup.
- 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.
- 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 165, and his .571 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history.
Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information
- Advance tickets for Thursday'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 Thursday.
- Promotions
- Burgan Real Estate Welcome Back Students Night
- Miller Lite Thirsty Thursday: $2 beer
- YSU Student T-Shirt Giveaway (first 200 students) and first YSU Students receive a McChicken Sandwich (first 150 students)
- Burgan Real Estate Putt for Tuition: One YSU student will have the chance to win free tuition for a year!
- AAA Card BOGO Ticket Game: Tickets are buy one, get one free for fans presenting their AAA card
Youngstown State vs. Wright State
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's overall record to 15-5 this season and its Horizon League record to 9-2.
- Allow YSU to start 9-2 through 11 HL games for the third time ever (2018-19 and 2021-22).
- Be the Penguins' fourth straight over Wright State.
- Improve YSU's home record to 9-2.
- Be Head Coach John Barnes' 322nd career victory and his 166th at YSU.
Scouting Wright State
- Wright State is 2-18 overall and 1-9 in Horizon League play under second-year head coach Kari Hoffman. The Raiders won 82-69 at Detroit Mercy on Jan. 13, and they dropped a close 73-68 contest at Oakland two days later. Wright State's other victory came over Ohio Christian on Nov. 17.
- Wright State is dangerous as it ranks fifth in the country with 9.6 3-pointers per game and 40th in 3-point field-goal percentage at 35.3%. The Raiders are averaging 10.1 makes from beyond the arc in conference play, and they made 18 3s against Cleveland State on Jan. 20.
- Senior transfer Bryce Nixon averages 11.8 points and has made 50 triples, the second-most in the Horizon League, on her own. Emily Chapman, another senior transfer, averages 8.7 points and is shooting 47.6% from beyond the arc on 63 attempts. She also leads the Raiders with 3.4 rebounds per game and 41 assists.
Series History
Overall: Wright State leads 39-29
Barnes: 6-15 • Home: 17-15 • Away: 12-22 • Neutral: 0-2
Current Win Streak: 3 by Youngstown State
- Wright State owns a 39-29 lead in the all-time series that dates back to 1979. Cleveland State is the only opponent YSU has played more in its history.
- The programs were members of the Mid-Continent Conference in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons, and they've been in the Horizon League together since 2001-02. The Penguins won 19 of the first 25 meetings in the series, and the Raiders have won 15 of the last 21.
- YSU has fared better at home against the Raiders with a 17-15 record versus a 12-24 mark away from Beeghly Center. The Penguins captured their first win at the Nutter Center since 2013 when the teams met in December.
Recently vs. Wright State
- This Season (at Wright State – Dec. 4, 2022): 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 Dec. 4, 2022. 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.
- Last Season at YSU (Feb. 20, 2022): Youngstown State never trailed and had six players score at least eight points in a 77-53 victory over Wright State on Feb. 20, 2022, at Beeghly Center. Lilly Ritz posted game highs of 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Mady Aulbach, Paige Shy and Lexi Wagner each made three 3-pointers. Chelsea Olson finished with eight points and nine rebounds to go along with an assist, a steal and a block on her Senior Day. Ritz had 10 points and seven rebounds in the third quarter alone, and the Penguins led 52-30 after back-to-back 3-pointers from Shy with 6:37 and 6:09 on the clock. YSU led 61-42 at the end of the third period. Youngstown State shot 47.7% overall from the field and 41.4% from 3-point range.
Jan. 26 in YSU History
- Youngstown State is 6-8 all-time in previous games played on Jan. 26, and it is playing on the date for the fourth time in Head Coach John Barnes' tenure. The last five games on the date have been played at Beeghly Center, and YSU is 3-2 in those meetings.
- Kenya Middlebrooks became the first Penguin to make eight 3s in a game in YSU's 80-67 win over Detroit Mercy on Jan. 26, 2012. Wanda Grant had 38 points in a 69-60 win at Bowling Green in 1980.
Recapping Milwaukee
Game Summary
Youngstown State endured a defensive battle and a slow start to outlast Milwaukee 61-51 on Sunday at the Klotsche Center. YSU had just three points in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the game, but Megan Callahan's 3-pointer sparked a 10-0 run that flipped a 9-3 deficit into a 13-9 lead. After that burst, YSU remained ahead or was tied the rest of the afternoon. Milwaukee tied the score twice in the third period, and the Penguins' advantage was 53-51 with 70 seconds left. Lilly Ritz scored two of her game-high 20 points to push the lead to 55-51, and YSU made six free throws in the final 16 seconds for the final tally.
Notes
- The Penguins, who were coming off an emotional three-point win at Green Bay on Friday, swept the Horizon League's Wisconsin teams on the road for just the third time since joining the conference in 2001-02 and for the first time since 2013-14.
- The Penguins earned their third straight win over Milwaukee and won at the Klotsche Center for the second straight season.
- YSU won the rebounding battle for the first time since the game against Detroit Mercy on Jan. 5. Since then, the Penguins had been even or minus in four straight games. Including that game against the Titans, YSU held the rebounding edge in 11 of its first 14 contests.
- Youngstown State shot 86.7% from the free throw line, making 13 of its 15 attempts. That was YSU's highest percentage in a league game this season and the second-best of the season (behind Saint Francis U). Malia Magestro was 8-for-8, which was the most number of makes by someone who did not miss an attempt this season.
- YSU shot 42.9% from the field for the game, which was an impressive end result after making just one of its first 10 attempts. Beginning with Megan Callahan's 3-pointer that sparked a 10-0 run in the first quarter, YSU made 20 if its final 39 attempts from the field (51.3%) while going 13-for-15 from the free-throw line.
- Mack Makes 150th Career 3: Lindsey Mack made the 150th 3-pointer of her career with 5:52 left in the opening quarter to account for the Penguins' first points of the game. She made 121 3s in three seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson, and she has 29 as a Penguin.
- For the second straight game, four starters scored in double figures for the Penguins. Lilly Ritz (20), Megan Callahan (15), Malia Magestro (13) and Dena Jarrells (10) combined for 58 of YSU's 61 points. Mack's 3-pointer was the only scoring by a non-starter in the game, meaning YSU's final 58 points were all from starters.
- Milwaukee had the fewest number of field-goal attempts by an opponent this season with 50.
Up Next
- Youngstown State will host Northern Kentucky on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Beeghly Center. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased in advance on YSUsports.com or by calling (330) 941-1978.
