Game Preview
- Youngstown State will look to sweep another Horizon League road trip as it remains in the Detroit area to play on Oakland on Saturday. Tipoff against the Golden Grizzlies at the Athletics Center O'rena is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and ESPN+.
- The Penguins improved to 3-0 in conference road games with a 77-45 win at Detroit Mercy on Thursday evening. YSU scored 18 of the first 20 points of the game and led by double digits for more than 35 minutes in the victory over the Titans. Megan Callahan made four of YSU's nine first-half 3-pointers, and Emily Saunders scored 12 of her career-high 18 points in the fourth quarter.
- YSU swept its first conference road swing at Northern Kentucky and Wright State the first weekend of December, and Thursday's win at Detroit Mercy was YSU's first road game in 32 days. The Penguins are currently 10-4 overall and 4-1 in Horizon League play, which is tied for second in the conference standings.
- The Penguins have fared better on the road than at Beeghly Center against the Golden Grizzlies in recent year. YSU has won four straight games at the O'rena, but the Golden Grizzlies have won four of the last five meetings in Youngstown.
- YSU leads the Horizon League in assists per game (17.7), field-goal percentage (.447) and rebounding margin (plus-7.14). Senior forward Lilly Ritz plays a big part in all three of those as she ranks ninth in the country with a .642 field-goal percentage, and she leads the league with 9.9 rebounds per contest. She has made a league-high 104 field goals, and she ranks second in the conference with 17.2 points per game.
- 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.
- Callahan tied her career high with five 3-pointers against Detroit Mercy, and she ranks fifth in the Horizon League with 2.14 3s per game. She is shooting 45.5% from long distance for the season, and she is at 53.7% over the last 11 contests.
- Malia Magestro ranks 12th in the Horizon League in scoring at 11.9 points per game, and she has made a 3-pointer in 11 consecutive contests.
- This is the 50th anniversary season of Beeghly Center, which opened in 1972-73. YSU is 53-16 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .768 winning percentage, and it is 28-6 in its last 34 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 161, and his .567 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history.
Youngstown State vs. Oakland
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's overall record to 11-4 this season and its Horizon League record to 5-1.
- Be YSU's fifth straight at the Athletics Center O'rena.
- Snap a two-game slide against the Golden Grizzlies.
- Give YSU a 4-0 mark in Horizon League road games and a 4-3 overall record on the road.
- Be Head Coach John Barnes' 318th career victory and his 162nd at YSU.
Scouting Oakland
- Oakland snapped a three-game losing streak with a 71-59 victory over Robert Morris on Thursday. That was the most points scored against RMU this season aside from the two games the Colonials played against Oklahoma and West Virginia. The Golden Grizzlies are 7-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play, which they started with four straight on the road.
- Oakland ranks third in the Horizon League with 9.4 steals per game, and it forces 17.7 turnovers per game.
- Alexis Johnson, who was a teammate of YSU's Paige Shy for two seasons at Marshall, leads Oakland with 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Linda van Schaik, a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe, has made a team-high 25 3s on 87 attempts. Senior Breanne Beatty is the only returner among Oakland's top four scorers, which includes Johnson, van Schaik and freshman Brooke Daniels.
Series History
Overall: Tied 15-15
Barnes: 12-9 • Home: 7-9 • Away: 7-6 • Neutral: 1-0
Current Win Streak: 2 by Oakland
- Youngstown State and Oakland are tied with 15 wins apiece in the 30-game history of the series that dates back to the 1998-99 season. Oddly, each team has a better record on the road in the series than on their respective home floors. YSU is 7-9 against the Golden Grizzlies at Beeghly Center, and Oakland has won six of the last eight meetings on Rosselli Court. The Penguins have won four straight at the Athletics Center O'rena, and they are 7-6 on the road in the series.
- The programs were both members of the Mid-Continent Conference for three seasons from 1998-99 through 2000-01, and they have been members of the Horizon League together since 2013-14. YSU has a 12-9 edge since Oakland joined the league.
- Coach Glover at Oakland: YSU assistant coach Malika Glover began her collegiate career at Oakland. She played for the Golden Grizzlies for two seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12 before transferring to Northern Kentucky to finish her career from 2012-13 through 2014-15. She played under former Oakland head coach Beckie Francis.
Last Season vs. Oakland
- The Golden Grizzlies handed YSU two of its four home losses in 2021-22, including one in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. Youngstown State scored 76 points in the win at the Athletics Center O'rena, but it scored just 52 points in each of the two losses at Beeghly Center.
- At Oakland: YSU torched the nets to build a sizable lead and held off a frantic Oakland rally to win 76-68 on Nov. 18, 2021. The Penguins shot 56.3% for the game, and they were 12-for-23 from 3-point range. Their 12th 3 with 7:18 left gave them a 66-46 lead, and Oakland went on a 14-1 run to get within 67-60.
- At YSU (regular season): YSU led by 10 in the second half, but it went 5-for-29 on 3-point attempts in a 56-52 loss on Jan. 30, 2022. The Penguins trailed 11-2 less than four minutes into the game, but they led 27-26 at halftime and 42-32 with 12 minutes left in the contest. Oakland went on a 16-2 run to take a 48-44 lead, and YSU's final advantage was 49-48.
- At YSU (tournament): YSU never got into a rhythm offensively and fell 63-52 in the quarterfinals of the Keeps Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship on March 3, 2022. Lilly Ritz and Chelsea Olson accounted for 40 of YSU's 52 points, and they scored all of YSU's 26 points over the final 25 minutes. Khalaijah Dean scored 15 points in the final 10:32 of the game for Oakland.
Jan. 7 in YSU History
- Youngstown State is 8-6 in 14 previous games played on Jan. 7. The Penguins were awarded a forfeit victory over Wright State on Jan. 7, 2022, as the Raiders did not meet the extraordinary threshold relating to positive COVID-19 tests.
- Including the forfeit, YSU has won three of its last four contests on Jan. 7 dating back to 2012. On Jan. 7, 2016, Kelsea Newman hit a stepback jumper as time expired to give Youngstown State a 69-67 victory over Milwaukee.
- Wanda Grant had a notable 34-point effort at West Virginia on Jan. 7, 1981, in a 78-67 Penguins victory.
Recapping Detroit Mercy
Game Summary
Youngstown State scored 18 of the first 20 points of the game and went on to beat Detroit Mercy 77-45 on Thursday at Calihan Hall. Megan Callahan went 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half as YSU went 9-for-13 as a team in the first 20 minutes to take a 53-24 lead at halftime. Callahan finished with 15 points, and Emily Saunders scored 12 of her career-high 18 points in the fourth period.
Notes
- YSU had the largest margin of victory in a Horizon League road game in school history at 32 points. The previous high was 26 points in an 85-59 win at Detroit Mercy on Dec. 28, 2018. The last time YSU had a 30-point margin in a road victory was 80-48 triumph at Canisius on Dec. 13, 2014.
- After missing its first attempt of the game from 3-point range, YSU made its next seven attempts from beyond the arc. It started with Megan Callahan's make with 6:21 on the first-quarter clock that gave the Penguins a 9-0 lead, and it ended with a Malia Magestro triple at the 4:32 mark of the second period that made the score 45-18. Callahan made four of the 3s, and Paige Shy, Shay-Lee Kirby and Magestro each made one. YSU also made seven straight 3-point attempts earlier this season against St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 26, 2022.
- YSU finished making 11-for-22 from 3-point range for the game, which resulted in a season-high .500 3-point field-goal percentage. YSU allowed just three 3s defensively, which matched a season low.
- Youngstown State set a new season high for points in transition with 20, surpassing the previous high of 14. The Penguins had 11 of those in the second quarter as they scored 28 points in the period. YSU had three fast-break points in the second half as it was content to extend possessions late in the shot clock with a sizable lead.
- Mady Aulbach set a new season high with five assists, and YSU had 24 assists on 30 field goals. Aulbach did not commit a turnover in 22 minutes. Kirby and Jen Wendler tied their career highs with three assists, and Shy also had three assists.
- YSU had 10 steals in the game, which was its most in a Horizon League contest this season. Callahan, Shy Lilly Ritz and Dena Jarrells each had two steals.
- Callahan matched her career high with five 3-pointers. She has made five three other times in her career, including this season on Nov. 26 against St. Francis Brooklyn.
- Saunders was 9-for-12 from the field for the game, and she was 6-for-7 in the fourth period. The highest scoring game of her career coming into the night was 11, and she surpassed that with 12 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Up Next
- Youngstown State will return home to host Robert Morris on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. That will be the lone game of the week as part of the Horizon League's 11-team schedule. YSU will then play three games the following week, hosting IUPUI on Jan. 16 and playing at Green Bay and Milwaukee on Jan. 20 and Jan. 22, respectively.
