The Youngstown State women's basketball team will try to finish the 2023 calendar year with a conference victory as it hosts IUPUI on New Year's Eve at Beeghly Center. Tipoff against the Jaguars on Sunday is set for noon, and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeart, ESPN+ and the ESPN app. The contest is part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's basketball team, which will host Oakland in the second contest on Rosselli Court.

Gameday Info

YSU vs. IUPUI

Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information

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• Advance tickets for Sunday's game are available on YSUsports.com. The Beeghly Center Ticket Office and gates will open at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
• Promotions
  • Happy New Year! - $2 General Admission Game Tickets
  • $5 Dunkin' Gift Card giveaway

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Both the Penguins and Jaguars will be looking for their first Horizon League victories of the season on Sunday. YSU had its best offensive output of the conference slate on Friday, but the Penguins' defense was the problem in an 82-68 loss. YSU came into the contest allowing just 57.2 points per game, and Wright State shot 48.3% from the field and made 23 free throws to score the most points by an opponent in Beeghly Center since February of 2020.
• Malia Magestro scored a season-high 22 points on Friday, becoming the fifth different Penguin to score at least 20 points in a game through the first 13 contests of the season. She was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, and YSU was 14-for-14 as a team.
• Youngstown State leads the Horizon League in scoring defense allowing 59.1 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 58 points offensively, which is the bottom mark in the conference.
• Forward Emily Saunders leads the Penguins with 11.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She leads the Horizon League with a .654 field-goal percentage and 1.7 blocks per game. Saunders is one of six fifth-year seniors on the team.
• 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.
• YSU is 31-14 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.
• 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 61-24 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. IUPUI

A Win Would

• Improve YSU's overall record to 5-9 this season and its Horizon League record to 1-3.
• Give acting head coach John Nicolais his first conference win.
• Snap a seven-game losing streak to IUPUI that dates back to Dec. 28, 2019.
• End a three-game slide for the Penguins.
• Make YSU's record 4-4 at home this season.

Milestone Watch

• Mady Aulbach is four field goals shy of 100 in her career, and she's 16 rebounds away from 300 in her career.
• Dena Jarrells needs three fields from 300 in her career.
• Shay-Lee Kirby is 11 steals and 12 assists from 100 of each in her career.
• Lindsey Linard needs 15 rebounds for 100 in her career.
• Malia Magestro is 11 rebounds from reaching 250 in her career.
• Emily Saunders is nine rebounds shy of 200 in her career.
• Paige Shy is four 3s from 150 in her career.

Scouting the Jaguars

• IUPUI is 2-10 overall, and it will be looking for its first Horizon League victory on Sunday against YSU. The Jaguars dropped to 0-3 against the conference with their 60-49 loss at Robert Morris on Friday. IUPUI beat Eastern Illinois in its season opener, and its other victory came at Evansville on Dec. 6.
• IUPUI averages 62.9 points offensively, but is is allowing a league-high 78.8 points on defense. Friday night's game at RMU was the first time an opponent scored below 65 against IUPUI this season. The Jaguars rank third in the conference with 3.6 blocks per game.
• Miami (Ohio) transfer Katie Davidson ranks third in the Horizon League with 18.2 points per game. Injuries have limited IUPUI's second and third scorers as Tahlia Walton and Jazmyn Turner, a preseason first-team all-league pick, have missed a combined 13 games. Walton, who is a transfer from Kentucky Wesleyan, is averaging 10.8 points over six contests, and Turner is averaging 9.4 points in five games.
• IUPUI head coach Kate Bruce was an assistant on Bob Boldon's staff at YSU from 2010-13. Then known as Kate Schrader, she helped the Penguins go 23-10 and win a game in the Women's NIT in 2012-13. Jaguars freshman Alexa Hocevar is the younger sister of Athena Hocevar, who was a true freshman on YSU's Horizon League regular-season championship team in 2021-22.

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: IUPUI leads 13-9
Barnes/Nicolais Era: 3-10 • Home: 4-5 • Away: 4-7 • Neutral: 1-1
Current Win Streak: 7 by IUPUI

• IUPUI has won seven straight games against YSU to take a 13-9 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1998-99 season when both schools were members of the Mid-Continent Conference. YSU left the Mid-Con for the Horizon League in 2001-02, and IUPUI joined the Penguins in the Horizon League in 2017-18.
• The teams split the season series in the first three years that IUPUI was in the Horizon League, and IUPUI has swept the Penguins the last three seasons. The games last season were decided by a combined 10 points, and YSU fell in overtime in Youngstown in 2022.

Last Meeting

Feb. 21, 2023 – at IUPUI

Lilly Ritz surpassed 2,000 career points and recorded her 17th double-double of the season, but YSU couldn't make enough stops defensively in an 87-80 loss at IUPUI on Feb. 21, 2023. Ritz had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Dena Jarrells scored a career-high 25, but the Penguins surrendered a season-high 87 points on defense. YSU made four of its first five attempts from beyond the arc as it took an 18-6 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Penguins matched that 12-point advantage after two field goals in the first 47 seconds of the second period, but they had just two baskets the rest of the half. That allowed IUPUI to take a 44-39 lead at halftime, and YSU was never able to take the lead in the second half.

Recapping Wright State

Game Summary

Malia Magestro scored a season-high 22 points as Youngstown State fell 82-68 to Wright State on Friday evening at Beeghly Center.

The Penguins scored 11 points above their season average behind Magestro, but Wright State's 82 points were 25 points above YSU's defensive average.

Alexis Hutchison, the Horizon League's scoring leader, scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Raiders. Wright State made just three 3-pointers in the contest, which was five below its average, but it was 25-for-40 inside the arc and went 23-for-31 from the free-throw line.

Wright State scored the first eight points of the game, and YSU never caught the visitors. YSU leading scorer Emily Saunders was whistled for two fouls before the Penguins got on the scoreboard. The Penguins were still able to exploit a size advantage in the post as Saunders finished with 14 points in 15 minutes, and Lindsey Linard scored a career-high 10 points.

Wright State lead 17-10 after the end of a quarter, and a 3 by Magestro and Saunders' first bucket cut the deficit to 23-19 at the 6:14 mark of the second. That's as close as the Penguins would get in the half, and Wright State led 37-28 at halftime.

Saunders scored eight points in the third quarter, and Youngstown State trailed just 56-50 heading into the fourth. YSU made its first four field goal attempts of the final stanza and remained within six at 62-56 with eight minutes remaining. Wright State went on a 15-6 run to build a 15-point lead with 2:37 on the clock, and the Raiders went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line in the quarter.

Notes

• Wright State had the most points by an opponent on Rosselli Court since Oakland beat the Penguins 86-73 on Feb. 23, 2020.
• The Penguins were 14-for-14 from the free-throw line. That was the second-most attempts on a perfect night in program history, behind only when YSU was 17-for-17 against UIC on March 3, 2011. The Penguins have gone at least 10-for-10 just four other times in program history.
• Malia Magestro was the first Penguin to go perfect from the free-throw line on at least eight attempts since Chelsea Olson was 10-for-10 against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 18, 2022.
• YSU attempted just five 3-pointers in the second half and missed all five opportunities. The Penguins and Raiders combined to go 7-for-39 from long distance.
• Wright State came into the game averaging 8.3 3-pointers per game and shooting 35% from beyond the arc. The Raiders were just 3-for-18 from long distance, but they were 25-for-40 on two-point attempts and went 23-for-31 from the free-throw line. That was the most makes and attempts from the free-throw line by an opponent this season.
• Magestro became the fifth Penguin to score at least 20 points in a game this season, joining Dena Jarrells, Shay-Lee Kirby, Emily Saunders and Paige Shy. It's the first time since the 2017-18 season that five different Penguins have reached the 20-point threshold in a game.
• Magestro surpassed 750 career points and 150 career assists. She tied her career high with eight rebounds, matching her effort from the game at Robert Morris earlier this month.
• Magestro scored a season-high 22 points, which was eight more than she has scored in any other contest this season. It was her first 20-point performance since she had 20 at Wright State on Dec. 4, 2022. Magestro made two 3-pointers for her first game with multiple 3s since the Slippery Rock game on Nov. 11.
• Dena Jarrells scored her 900th career point in her 123rd career game. If she plays in each of the 17 games remaining on the schedule, she would need to average 5.9 points the rest of the season to reach 1,000. Jarrells is averaging 10 points this season and eight points per game over her 43 contests at YSU.
• YSU had 16 offensive rebounds but were only able to convert those into 12 second-chance points. Those 12 second-chance points tied YSU's season-high from the opener against Xavier. Wright State had 10 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points.
• Wright State's 11 steals tied for the most by an opponent this season (Northern Arizona). YSU had nine steals in the contest, which is the second-highest total this season (10 vs. Detroit Mercy).
• The Penguins were whistled for a season-high 24 fouls, which led to Wright State attempting 31 free throws. Eleven of those fouls occurred in the fourth quarter, and eight of the 11 fourth-quarter infractions were shooting fouls.
• YSU had a season-high 40 points from its bench, and it has gotten at least 20 points from its reserves four times in six games this month. The Penguins are getting an average of 20.5 points per game from their bench in December, which is up from 13 points in November.
• For the first time this season, Emily Saunders had to battle early foul trouble. She was called for a charge at the 7:02 mark of the first quarter, and she committed a shooting foul on the next possession. Saunders then fouled a 3-point shooter with 5:52 on the second-quarter clock to pick up her third.
• The Penguins used a different starting lineup for the fourth straight game. All five active fifth-year seniors started together for the first time this season.
• Lindsey Linard set new career highs with 10 points and five field goals. She had scored nine points twice previously in her career, including this season against Slippery Rock.

Up Next

Youngstown State begin 2024 by concluding a four-game homestand against Oakland on Wednesday. Tipoff against the Golden Grizzlies is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Beeghly Center.