• The Youngstown State women's basketball team begins the bulk of its Horizon League schedule and continues its four-game homestand when it hosts Wright State on Friday. Tipoff against the Raiders is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeart, ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Gameday Info

YSU vs. Wright State

Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information

Tickets | Gameday & Parking Information | Visitors Guide | Promotional Schedule | YSU Mobile App - iOS - Android

• Advance tickets for Friday'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 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
• Promotions
  • $5 Ticket Night - Happy Holidays from Youngstown State Basketball! Come celebrate the holiday season with the Penguins and receive a $5 GA ticket

A Glimpse at the Guins

• The Penguins are playing for just the third time since Dec. 9, and YSU is resuming its Horizon League schedule after playing two conference games on Nov. 30 and Dec. 3. Youngstown State heads into the post-holiday stage of its 2023-24 campaign with a 4-8 overall record and an 0-2 mark against the league.
• When YSU last took the court on Dec. 21, it built a 16-point lead late in the third quarter against an improved Canisius team but fell 65-59. The Penguins scored 25 of the first 28 points of the third quarter, but the Golden Griffins made six 3s over the final 10:23 of the game to rally.
• Youngstown State leads the Horizon League in scoring defense allowing 57.2 points per game. Six of the Penguins' losses have come when they've allowed 65 points or fewer, and they have dropped four games by six points or less. YSU is averaging 57.2 points offensively, which is the bottom mark in the conference.
• Forward Emily Saunders leads the Penguins with 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. She leads the Horizon League with a .660 field-goal percentage and 1.83 blocks per game. Saunders is one of six fifth-year seniors on the team.
• Fellow fifth-year senior Dena Jarrells made six 3-pointers against Canisius, and she went into the holiday break having made 13 3s in her last three contests. She ranks among the top five in the conference in both assists and 3-pointers per game.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 61-23 on Rosselli Court since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

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. Wright State

A Win Would

• Improve YSU's overall record to 5-8 this season and its Horizon League record to 1-2.
• Give acting head coach John Nicolais his first conference win.
• Give the Penguins their fifth consecutive victory over Wright State.
• Make YSU's record 4-3 at home this season.

Milestone Watch

• Mady Aulbach is five field goals shy of 100 in her career, and she's 19 rebounds away from 300 in her career.
• Dena Jarrells needs seven points to reach 900 in her career.
• Shay-Lee Kirby is 12 steals from 100 in her career.
• Malia Magestro is four points away from 750 in her career. She is also one assist from reaching 150.
• Emily Saunders is 13 rebounds shy of 200 in her career. She is also one field goal from 150 in her career.
• Paige Shy is five 3s from 150 in her career.

Scouting the Raiders

• Wright State owns a 7-6 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the Horizon League as it comes to Youngstown, and it is one victory shy of matching its win total from the 2022-23 season. The Raiders were 2-19 after losing 76-60 at YSU on Jan. 26, 2023, and they are 13-11 since. WSU finished the non-league slate with a 66-61 win, which snapped a three-game skid, over Presbyterian on Dec. 22.
• The Raiders are dangerous from the outside, ranking second in the Horizon League in 3s per game (8.3) and third in 3-point field-goal percentage (.350). Wright State averages 70.5 points per game offensively, which ranks fifth in the conference.
• Malone transfer Alexis Hutchison leads the Horizon League in scoring with 19.2 points per game, and she ranks second in the league with 2.2 3s per game. Kacee Baumhower averages 11.8 points, and Layne Ferrell averages 11.5 points while leading the squad with 20 blocks and 20 steals.

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: Wright State leads 39-30
Barnes/Nicolais Era: 7-15 • Home: 18-15 • Away: 12-22 • Neutral: 0-2
Current Win Streak: 4 by Youngstown State

• Wright State owns a 39-30 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 22.
• YSU has won all four meetings in the last two seasons, and it has scored at least 76 points in the last three encounters with the Raiders.
• Historically, YSU has fared better at home against the Raiders with an 18-15 record versus a 12-24 mark away from Beeghly Center.

Last Meeting

Jan. 26, 2023 – at Youngstown State

Youngstown State led for more than 38 minutes and had four starters score in double figures in a 76-60 win over Wright State on Jan. 26, 2023, at Beeghly Center. Lilly Ritz scored 23 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, and she was 10-for-13 from the field. Malia Magestro made her 100th career 3-pointer, and four different starters made at least two 3s. YSU led 22-19 after a quarter, and it extended its lead to 36-27 at halftime. The Penguins maintained that nine-point edge at 55-46 at the end of the third, and YSU scored the first seven points of the fourth to pull away.

Recapping Canisius

Game Summary

Canisius hit six 3-pointers and scored 31 points in the final 10:30 minutes to rally for a 65-59 victory over Youngstown State on Dec. 21 at Beeghly Center.

Dena Jarrells scored 13 points during a 19-0 Penguins run, and YSU led 50-34 with fewer than 30 seconds left in the third quarter. Youngstown State scored 25 of the first 28 points of the third period, but Canisius scored the final three and went on to outscore the Penguins 28-9 in the fourth.

Jarrells finished with a season and game-high 22 points, and Paige Shy added 20 points off the bench. It was the second time this season that the Penguins had a pair of players score 20 points in the same contest.

Jarrells' sixth 3 of the contest gave Youngstown State a 13-point lead at 53-40 with 7:26 left, and YSU led 55-43 with less than six minutes remaining. The Golden Griffins scored 14 of the next 16 points and tied the score at 57 when Mackenzie Amalia hit a 3-pointer and was awarded a free throw. Shy made two free throws on YSU's next possession to give the Penguins their final lead at 59-57 with 2:41 left. Canisius scored the final eight points of the game as Youngstown State's next three possessions resulted in a shot clock violation and two defensive rebounds for the Golden Griffins.

Both teams held a five-point lead in the opening quarter, and both teams started slow in the second quarter before Canisius went on an 11-0 run that gave the visitors a 31-22 lead in the final minute. Jarrells hit a 3 on the last possession of the half to make the score 31-25 at the break, and the Penguins went on to start the third on a 25-3 burst.

Notes

• The second half was a rollercoaster as YSU scored 25 of the first 28 points to build its 50-34 lead with 1:17 left in the game. The 25 points was the highest-scoring quarter of the season for the Penguins.
• After scoring three points in a span of 10:03 - from a basket by Brooklyn Thrash with 26 seconds remaining in the second quarter until a 3-pointer by Thrash with 23 seconds left in the third - Canisius scored 31 points in the final 10:23.
• The Penguins scored 44 of their 59 points in the first and third quarters, and they were held to 15 points combined in the second and fourth periods. From the field, the Penguins were 16-for-23 in the first and third quarters but just 5-for-30 in the second and fourth. On 3-point attempts, YSU was 5-for-9 from 3 in the first and third quarters, and 3-for-19 in the second and fourth. The Penguins did not make a field goal for the final 5:07 of the game.
• After Thrash's 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in the third quarter, the Penguins had six turnovers the rest of the game. Canisius scored nine points off of five YSU turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Penguins went late in the shot clock several times in the quarter, and a shot clock violation with 1:47 left came when YSU had its final lead at 59-57.
• Dena Jarrells made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored a season-best 22 points. She accounted for six of the Penguins' eight makes from beyond the arc. She added six assists, which tied for game-high honors.
• Jarrells went into the holiday break having made 13 3-pointers in her last three games. She started the stretch by going 4-for-6 at Saint Francis (Pa.), and she went 3-for-9 at St. Bonaventure and 6-for-8 versus Canisius. She has made at least five field goals in four straight games, and she is averaging 15.3 points over her last four contests.
• Emily Saunders blocked four shots to match her career high from YSU's previous game at St. Bonaventure. Saunders has blocked at least three shots in five of the last six contests, and she leads the Horizon League with 1.8 blocks per game. Donna Djorovic (1990-91 and 1992-93) and Margaret Somple (1990-91) are the only Penguins who have averaged at least 1.8 blocks per game over an entire season. Saunders has 50 blocks in 42 career games at Youngstown State.
• Paige Shy had an impressive outing after a lower-body injury limited her to four minutes in the last two games. Shy was 7-for-11 overall from the field, including 5-for-5 inside the arc, in a 20-point performance. It was her second 20-point outing of the season, and it was the second-highest scoring total of her career behind her 21-point effort against Northern Arizona on Nov 25. She scored her 700th career point against Canisius, and she added a team-high-tying seven rebounds.
• Abby Liber made her first career start, and she scored three points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked her first career shot.

Up Next

Youngstown State will wrap up the 2023 calendar year by hosting IUPUI on New Year's Eve at noon. The contest will be part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's basketball team, which will host Oakland at approximately 2:30 p.m.