Youngstown State University
Slippery Rock
Penguins to Host Slippery Rock on Saturday Night in Beeghly
11/10/2023 3:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Youngstown State will look to ride the high of Wednesday's season-opening victory as it hosts Slippery Rock on Saturday to conclude the first week of the 2023-24 campaign. The contest against The Rock in Beeghly Center will tip at 6:30 p.m., and it will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
Gameday Info
YSU vs. Slippery Rock
- When: Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023 | 6:30 p.m.
- Where: Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
- Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
- Listen: 570 WKBN | iHeart.com
- Stats: ysusports.com
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information
- Advance tickets for Wednesday's game are available on YSUsports.com. The Beeghly Center Ticket Office and gates will open at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
- Promotions
- CheerTime Athletics Night
- $1 Popcorn Night
- Veterans Appreciation Game, presented by NECA-IBEW
A Glimpse at the Guins
- The Penguins used a great defensive effort to beat Xavier 55-41 on Wednesday to earn their first win over a Big East team in 11 years. Emily Saunders posted a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds in her first career start to help acting head coach John Nicolais record his first career victory.
- For Saunders, her career night came as the Penguins began the task of replacing two-time All-Horizon League first teamer Lilly Ritz in the post. Nicolais is the acting head coach as John Barnes is on leave to focus on personal family matters.
- Nicolais is certainly no stranger to the program. He's been alongside Barnes at YSU since 2013-14, and he'll provide stability at the helm. The Penguins also depend on the strength of six fifth-year seniors and two fourth-year seniors, who supply plenty of leadership in the locker room in addition to a veteran presence on the court.
- YSU returns nine letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad that posted a 19-11 record and tied for third in the Horizon League standings with a 13-7 conference record. It was the third time in the last six years that YSU finished with at least 19 wins overall and 13 wins within the league. Youngstown State was picked to finish third in the Horizon League in the conference's preseason coaches poll.
- Youngstown State has enjoyed tremendous success at Beeghly Center. The Penguins have had a winning record at home in 10 of the last 11 seasons, and they are 59-20 on Rosselli Court since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
Program Staples
- Shooting 3s: Youngstown State has led the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game in eight straight seasons from 2014-15 through 2021-22. The Penguins have made at least 200 3-pointers every season since 2010-11 except the COVID-19-shortened campaign in 2020-21. Individually, a Penguin has ranked in the top seven of the Horizon League individually in 3s per game in each of the last 11 seasons.
- Strong In The Post: The Penguins have had a post be named to the Horizon League's first, second or third-team in nine of the last 11 seasons and 14 times in the last 17. They've had a first-team honoree in three of the last five years, including each of the last two.
- Sharing The Ball: A Penguin has led the Horizon League in assists per game in six of the last eight years. As a team, the Penguins have paced the conference in assists per game in three of the last five campaigns, including 2022-23.
- Academics: YSU has appeared on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll 12 times in the last 13 years. The Penguins have been in the top 10 in five of the last eight years. The Penguins were second in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, and they were 12th in 2022-23.
- Postseason Play: YSU has played in the WNIT or the WBI in six of the last 11 years.
Youngstown State vs. Slippery Rock
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's record to 2-0 this season.
- Extend YSU's winning streak against non-Division I teams to 28.
- Improve YSU's all-time record to 3-0 against Slippery Rock.
- Allow YSU to win its first two games for the second time in the last three campaigns.
- Give Acting Head Coach John Nicolais a 2-0 career record.
Milestone Watch
- Dena Jarrells needs nine 3-pointers for 150 in her career and nine assists for 300 in her career.
- Shay-Lee Kirby is 15 rebounds away from 300 in her career.
- Malia Magestro needs 16 points to reach 600 in her career. She is one 3-pointer from 125 in her career.
- Emily Saunders is three field goals away from 100 in her collegiate career.
- Paige Shy will reach 100 3-pointers at YSU with her next make.
- Jen Wendler is four field goals from 100 in her career.
Scouting Slippery Rock
- Slippery Rock is making its season debut under first-year head coach Ryenn Micaletti. Micaletti she takes over a program that went 15-13 last season and features eight returners. Micaletti was the associate head coach at Saint Louis in 2022-23 where current Penguin Abby Liber played her freshman season.
- Kristina Donza, a transfer from the United States Naval Academy, is The Rock's top returning scorer. She averaged 6.3 points while being limited to just seven games at Slippery Rock in 2022-23, and she scored 28 points in her final two contests of the season.
- Former Penguin Deleah Gibson is a graduate assistant at SRU after playing the previous two seasons for The Rock.
- Slippery Rock will also play a game at Wright State this season on Nov. 20. The Rock played Ohio State and Akron in 2021-22.
Series History and Matchup Notes
Overall: Youngstown State leads 2-0
Barnes Era: 0-0 • Home: 1-0 • Away: 1-0 • Neutral: 0-0
Current Win Streak: 2 by Youngstown State
- Youngstown State and Slippery Rock will be playing for the first time since Dec. 14, 1991, and for just the third time in program history. The universities are located less than an hour apart.
- The first two meetings in the series have been competitive and high scoring with the Penguins claiming a nine-point (83-74) victory in Beeghly Center in 1990 and a 10-point win (90-80) at Slippery Rock in 1991.
YSU vs. PSAC Teams: The Penguins are 21-2 all-time against teams that are currently in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The most-recent contest against a PSAC team was against Clarion in 2006, a game that Youngstown State won 58-47.
YSU vs. non-Division I teams: YSU's last loss to a non-Division I team came to current PSAC member Edinboro on Jan. 13, 1990. Since that time, the Penguins have won 27 consecutive games against non-Division I opponents. The Penguins are 81-10 all-time against teams that are currently not in Division I. YSU has played at least one non-Division I opponent in every season since 2013-14 except 2020-21. Last year, YSU beat WVU Tech 102-39 and Mount Vernon Nazarene 79-42.
Recapping Xavier
Game Summary
Emily Saunders had a career night in her first career start, and Youngstown State used a strong defensive effort to beat Xavier 55-41 on Wednesday evening in the 2023-24 opener for both squads.
Saunders, a fifth-year senior forward, took advantage of her first opportunity as YSU's starting center in its inside-out offense. She was 10-for-15 from the field to score 20 points, and she added 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. It was her first career double-double, and she set new career highs in both scoring and rebounding.
Malia Magestro scored 14 points and made four 3-pointers, and the Penguins held the Musketeers to 33.3% shooting from the field. Xavier did not make its first 3-pointer until the 6:18 mark of the fourth quarter, and it finished 1-for-19 from beyond the arc in the game.
Xavier scored six of the first eight points of the game as YSU had just two points nearly five minutes into the game, but Dena Jarrells' pull-up jumper at the 5:30 mark sparked a 12-0 run for the Penguins. Jarrells found Lindsey Linard on a layup with 1:40 left on the clock to put YSU ahead 14-6, and the Penguins led by at least four the rest of the night.
The Penguins' largest lead of the opening half was 23-14 on a Jarrells layup with 2:06 on the clock, and their halftime advantage was 25-18.
Saunders secured her double-double by getting to 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first two minutes of the third quarter, and Magestro's third triple of the night gave YSU its first double-digit lead at 30-20 with 7:33 left in the period. Youngstown State matched that 10-point advantage at 36-26 heading into the fourth, and an 8-0 run featuring 3-pointers by Magestro and Shay-Lee Kirby pushed the margin to 48-31 with 4:27 remaining.
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Notes
- The Penguins beat a team in the Big East for the first time since they topped Pitt to open the 2012-13 season. The Panthers have since moved to the ACC. YSU hadn't beaten a team currently in the Big East since it defeated old Horizon League foe Butler on Feb. 2, 2006.
- John Nicolais earned his first career victory as the Penguins' acting head coach. He joined Joyce Ramsey (1975) and Tisha Hill (2003) as the only YSU coaches to win their debuts.
- Emily Saunders posted career highs in scoring (20 points) and rebounding (14) in her first career start. The fifth-year senior spent her first three collegiate seasons at Tennessee, and she was a reserve behind all-league post Lilly Ritz at YSU last season. Saunders credited Ritz after the game for helping her to improve.
- Malia Magestro had a strong start to the season with 14 points and making four of her eight attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. She added a team-high three steals, four rebounds and two assists.
- Mady Aulbach assisted on one of those 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for her 200th career assist.
- Shay-Lee Kirby made the 150th 3-pointer of her career, which is the highest career total on YSU's roster. It came in the fourth quarter as the Penguins pushed their lead to 17 points. Kirby added a career-high six assists.
- Abbie Davidson, Mackenzie Hurd and Bella Samz each made their collegiate debuts in the fourth quarter. Hurd, a redshirt freshman, went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line after a nice cut to the basket. Abby Liber, a sophomore transfer from Saint Louis, also scored in her first game as a Penguin.
- YSU had 11 offensive rebounds, which it converted to 12 second-chance points. Youngstown State won the battle of the boards 39-25.
- The Penguins also had a significant 24-11 advantage in points off turnovers despite being minus-3 in turnover margin.
- Youngstown State had 19 assists on 22 field goals, while Xavier had five assists on 17 field goals.
- Youngstown State went 8-for-13 from the field in the fourth quarter as it outscored the Musketeers 12-5 over the first five-and-a-half minutes of the period.
Up Next
Youngstown State will continue its season-opening three-game homestand by hosting Western Michigan on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and 1390 WNIO.
