With finals week in the past and the holiday break quickly approaching, Youngstown State will go for its third straight victory at St. Bonaventure on Saturday. Tipoff at the Reilly Center is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeart, ESPN+ and ESPN.com.

Gameday Info

YSU at St. Bonaventure

A Glimpse at the Guins

• YSU had one of its best defensive results in program history in its 69-32 win at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Dec. 9, and it did not play during the midweek to focus on final exams. After playing 10 games in the first 31 days of their season, the Penguins are in a stretch of having just two contests between Dec. 9 and Dec. 29. Those two affairs include Saturday's game at St. Bonaventure and a meeting with Canisius in Youngstown on Dec. 21 in the final non-conference game of the season.
• For the first meeting between the Penguins and Bonnies, YSU heads to New York looking for its third straight victory. Youngstown State stopped a six-game skid by beating Akron 53-52 on Dec. 6, and it was in control from the tip in a 69-32 win over the Red Flash on Saturday. While the margin of victory was much smaller against the Zips on Dec. 6, YSU has trailed for just 2:51 combined in its last two games.
• The Guins lead the Horizon League in scoring defense allowing 56.6 points per game. Four of YSU's losses have come when they've allowed 65 points or fewer, and the Penguins have dropped three games by four points or less.
• John Nicolais is serving as YSU's Acting Head Coach while John Barnes is on leave to focus on personal family matters. Nicolais has been with the program since 2013-14, and he served as YSU's Associate Head Coach in each of the past two seasons.
• Forward Emily Saunders leads the Penguins with 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and she ranks sixth in the country with a .663 field-goal percentage. YSU's other four starters are each averaging 6.6 points or better.
• YSU is shooting 25.7% from beyond the arc through 10 games, which is very uncharacteristic for both the program and the current players on the roster. The Penguins are shooting 51.5% inside the arc for the season, and they have made 56.7% of their two-point attempts over the last four games as they've worked through their 21-for-103 stretch from the outside.
• The Penguins 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.
• In total, YSU returns nine letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad that posted a 19-11 record and tied for third in the League standings with a 13-7 conference record. The Penguins were picked to finish third in the league's preseason poll despite losing their top two scorers.
• YSU is 31-13 in Horizon League play since the start of the 2021-22 season, and it has won at least 13 conference games in three of the past six campaigns.

Program Staples

• Shooting 3s: Youngstown State 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. St. Bonaventure

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's record to 5-6 this season.
• Give the Penguins a three-game winning streak, which would be their longest of the season.
• Be YSU's second victory away from Beeghly Center.
• Give YSU a regular-season split against teams from the Atlantic 10.

Milestone Watch

• Mady Aulbach is six field goals shy of 100 in her career.
• Shay-Lee Kirby is 10 points from getting to 200 at YSU and 12 points from reaching 250 in her career.
• Lindsey Linard needs two points to reach 100 as a Penguin.
• Malia Magestro is 10 points away from 750 in her career.
• Paige Shy needs 14 points to reach 700 in her career, and she is seven 3s from 150 in her career.

Scouting the Bonnies

• St. Bonaventure is 2-7 this season, and the Bonnies will be looking to stop a three-game losing streak on Saturday. While the Penguins haven't played since Dec. 9, the Bonnies have not played since a 55-53 loss at Cornell on Dec. 5.
• St. Bonaventure's first win of the season was a 70-52 victory over Horizon League member Robert Morris on Nov. 11. RMU beat the Penguins 65-63 on Dec. 3. The Bonnies also have a 55-51 win at Loyola Maryland on their record. Looking ahead, St. Bonaventure lost 63-56 to Canisius, who will be YSU's next opponent.
• St. Bonaventure, like YSU, has struggled during the first section of the season to score. The Bonnies are averaging 58.3 points per game offensively, which ranks last in the Atlantic 10. The Bonnies are surrendering 67 points on defense on average, which ranks 10th in the conference. SBU is averaging 5.7 3-pointers per game and shooting 28.2% from long distance. Dani Haskell, a transfer from Canisius, is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game, and Nadechka Laccen is averaging 13 points.
• The Bonnies were picked to finish 14th out of 15 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll. Loyola Chicago, a former Horizon League member that YSU has played 29 times, was picked 15th.

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: First Meeting

• Saturday will be the first meeting in women's basketball between Youngstown State and St. Bonaventure despite the institutions being just a three-hour drive apart.
• SBU is the second team from the Atlantic 10 Conference that the Penguins are playing for the first time in 2023-24. On Nov. 24 as the Las Vegas Holiday Classic, Youngstown State fell 63-50 to preseason A-10 favorite Rhode Island.
• YSU vs. the Atlantic 10: The Penguins are 20-32 all-time against current members of the Atlantic 10, and 43 of the 52 meetings have been against Loyola Chicago or Duquesne. The Penguins are 8-21 against the Ramblers, and they beat LU 74-63 in 2018 in their last meeting. YSU is 8-6 against Duquesne all-time, and those teams last met in the 2015 WNIT when the Dukes won 72-54. YSU's last victory over a team that was in the Atlantic 10 at the time of the contest was 58-45 over VCU on Jan. 4, 2013, in Richmond, Va.

Recapping Saint Francis U

Game Summary

Youngstown State allowed the fewest points in a road game in school history and beat Saint Francis 69-32 on Saturday at DeGol Arena.

The Penguins also had their largest margin of victory in a road contest in 25 years with the 37-point win. Youngstown State outscored the Red Flash by 19 (36-17) in the first half and 18 (33-15) in the second half.

Senior Emily Saunders took advantage of size mismatches in the post and finished with a career-high 23 points in less than 21 minutes of action. She was 11-for-15 from the field, and she helped the Penguins shoot 52.9% from the field. Dena Jarrells made four 3-pointers while filling the stat sheet with 14 points, five assists and three steals, and Abby Liber added a career-high 11 points off the bench.

Defensively, Youngstown State didn't allow a field goal for nearly the first eight-and-a-half minutes of the game as it built a 10-2 lead, and the margin was at least six points the rest of the way.

Saint Francis was just 10-for-47 from the field for 21.3%, and the Red Flash were 3-for-16 from 3-point range. SFU's leading scorer Kendall Carruthers had scored at least 12 points in five straight games, and YSU held her to seven points on 2-for-10 shooting.

YSU's first double-digit advantage came at 14-4 on a Malia Magestro layup with 51 seconds left in the opening quarter, and the Penguins led by at least 10 the rest of the way. The lead was 36-17 at halftime, and YSU scored the first 16 points of the third period to extend its lead to 35 at 52-17. The largest advantage was 39 points at 61-22 and 63-24 with seven minutes left.

Notes

• YSU had one of its best defensive performances in a game ever, and it was arguably the best defensive result in program history in a road game.
• The 32 points are the fewest YSU has ever surrendered in a road game, and it is the second-fewest a Division I opponent has scored in the Penguins' Division I era. The only lower total was when UIC scored 29 points on Jan. 3, 2019, in Beeghly Center.
• The 37-point margin of victory is the largest in a road game since the Penguins beat Chicago State by 43 points, 95-52, on Jan. 29, 1998.
• There have only been five games in program history where YSU has held an opponent to fewer than 32 points.
• For the first time ever, YSU held an opponent to four points or fewer in two different quarters in a game. SFU's four points in the third quarter tied for the fewest ever by an opponent in the period. 
• The Penguins held the Red Flash to 21.3% shooting from the field. That was the lowest percentage by a Division I opponent since the game against UIC on Jan. 3, 2019, when the Flames scored 29 points.
• YSU did not trail in a game for the first time this season.  Emily Saunders scored on the first possession of the game with 9:35 on the clock, and the Penguins went on to take a 10-2 lead.
• Saunders finished with 23 points, making 11-of-15 from the field and 1-of-2 at the free-throw line. She set new career highs for both points and field goals.
• Dena Jarrells scored her 300th point, made her 50th 3-pointer and distributed her 150th assist as a Penguin. She is 142 points away from 1,000 in her career, and her current pace would get her to 1,000 in approximately 17 games. Jarrells finished with season highs of 14 points, three steals and four 3-pointers.
• Abby Liber set new career highs with 11 points and six rebounds. She was 3-for-3 from the field and added four free throws.
• Shay-Lee Kirby made her 250th career field goal, and she was 4-for-4 on attempts inside the 3-point arc.
• Haley Thierry was held scoreless, but she kept up her streak of effective play by setting new career highs with eight rebounds and five assists. She had the highest plus-minus on the box score at plus-34 over 23:24 of game action despite not scoring.
• The Penguins used the final four-and-a-half minutes of the game to get reserves some experience. Abbie Davidson tied her career high with one rebound, Mackenzie Hurd tied her career high with two points, and Bella Samz tied her career best with one steal.
• YSU outscored the Red Flash 34-6 in the paint, and it held a 38-22 rebounding advantage. The Penguins also outscored SFU 20-5 off turnovers despite being even in the turnover column with 16 apiece.

Up Next

The Penguins will conclude their non-conference schedule by hosting Canisius on Thursday at 11 a.m.