• Youngstown State steps back into non-conference play for a four-game stretch leading up to holiday break, beginning Wednesday against Akron. Tipoff against the Zips is set for 6:30 p.m. at Beeghly Center, and the game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO, iHeart, ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Gameday Info

YSU vs. Akron

Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information

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

• Advance tickets for Wednesday'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 Wednesday.
• Promotions
  • Midweek Madness - $2 Beer Wednesdays for all fans
  • YSU Student T-Shirt Giveaway and first 100 YSU Students will receive a Chick-fil-A sandwich
  • Akron Children's Hospital of Mahoning Valley Teddy Bear Toss at Halftime - Bring a teddy bear and receive a voucher for a free ticket for any future home game. Teddy Bears will be delivered to Akron Children's Hospital
  • CheerTime Athletics Night
  • Veterans Appreciation Game, presented by NECA-IBEW

A Glimpse at the Guins

• The Penguins came up short in their two Horizon League games last week to start conference play, falling 59-50 at home to Detroit Mercy on Thursday and 65-63 at Robert Morris on Sunday. The Penguins shot 40.4% overall and 56.7% on attempts inside the 3-point arc against the Colonials, but they continued to struggle from long distance by going 4-for-22 on 3-point attempts.
• YSU is shooting 26.2% from beyond the arc through eight games, which is very uncharacteristic for both the program and the current players on the roster. The four players who have attempted at least 20 3s this season came into the campaign shooting 33.7% combined on 3-point tries over their careers.
• Haley Thierry scored a career-high 16 points against RMU as YSU pushed the ball in transition. Emily Saunders and Malia Magestro scored 13 points apiece, and Saunders continues to lead the Penguins with 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the first starting opportunity of her five-year collegiate career.
• The Guins rank second in the Horizon League in scoring defense allowing 60.3 points per game, but they are at the bottom in scoring offense at 57.3 points per contest. 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.
• 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.
• 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 60-22 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. Akron

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's record to 3-6 this season.
• Be the fifth over Akron in the last six meetings at Beeghly Center.
• Improve YSU's home record to 3-2 this season.
• Snap a six-game losing streak, which is YSU's longest since Jan. 24-Feb. 8, 2020.

Milestone Watch

• Mady Aulbach is eight field goals shy of 100 in her career.
• Dena Jarrells needs two rebounds for 200 in her career.
• Shay-Lee Kirby is five field goals shy of 250 in her career.
• Malia Magestro is 15 points away from 750 in her career.
• Emily Saunders needs 10 points to reach 300 in her career.
• Paige Shy needs 16 points to reach 700 in her career She also needs two rebounds to reach 400 in her collegiate career, and she is seven 3s from 150 in her career.

Scouting the Zips

• Akron has won its last two games to even its record at 3-3. The Zips have had three games go to overtime, and another contest was decided by two points. Among those overtime games are a double-overtime loss to Oakland and an overtime win at RMU. The Zips also beat Pitt in overtime on Nov. 25.
• Akron is shooting 41.2% from the field, and they are averaging just 4.0 makes and 14.5 attempts from 3-point range through six games. The Zips are shooting 45.7% inside the arc, and they've also outscored their opponents 85-63 from the free-throw line.
• Reagan Bass averages 23.3 points and 11.7 rebounds, and she is coming off a 33-point performance against Tennessee State in which she went 9-for-12 from the field and 15-for-16 at the free-throw line. She ranks among the top six players in the country in minutes (second), points (fifth) and rebounds (sixth) per game. Lanae Riley is second on the team with 10.7 points per game, and Morgan Haney averages 10.5 points and has made a team-leading nine 3-pointers.
• Akron was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll, and Bass was a preseason first-team all-conference selection.

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: Youngstown State leads 40-20
Barnes/Nicolais Era: 3-6 • Home: 20-6 • Away: 15-13 • Neutral: 5-1
Current Win Streak: 1 by Akron

• Youngstown State and Akron had played each other every season since 1996-97 until the game in 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19. YSU has played Akron more than any team that isn't currently in the Horizon League.
• Youngstown State has won 40 of the previous 60 meetings, and it has won four of the last five encounters at Beeghly Center. The teams have split the last 20 encounters dating back to the 2002-03 season, and each team is 7-3 on its home floor in that span.

Last Meeting (Nov. 18, 2022 – at Akron)

Youngstown State missed its last 18 attempts from 3-point range and had a great start go to waste in a 61-44 loss at Akron on Nov. 18, 2023. The Penguins led 20-3 less than nine minutes into the game, but they went ice cold and scored 24 points over the final 31 minutes. After the early burst, Akron outscored YSU 58-24. YSU scored the first 11 points of the game and didn't allow an Akron point until the 4:08 mark of the opening quarter. Lilly Ritz scored 10 points in the first quarter, and she finished with 23.

Last Meeting in Youngstown (Nov. 15, 2021)

Behind a feisty will to win, Youngstown State had to grind through a tough night offensively to defeat Akron 57-55 at Beeghly Center. In what was YSU's first home game in front of fans since in 631 days due to the COVID-19 shutdown, the Penguins played tenacious defense in the battle. Both teams shot below 33 percent from the field, but Youngstown State made four 3-pointers in the fourth period to escape with the win. Malia Magestro scored 13 of her 16 points in the second half and went 4-for-6 from 3-point range in the game.

Recapping Robert Morris

Game Summary

Youngstown State went on a second-half surge and led with 22 seconds left, but Robert Morris made plays in the final sequence to defeat the Penguins 65-63 on Sunday afternoon at the UPMC Events Center.

The Penguins trailed by nine, 48-39, with three minutes left in the third quarter, but they went on a 16-3 run to take a 55-51 lead at the 7:29 mark of the fourth. After that, YSU did not make a field goal until an Emily Saunders bucket put it ahead 60-59 five minutes later, and Saunders split two free throws with 22.0 seconds left to give YSU its final lead at 63-62.

Naomi Barnwell, who had a game-high 19 points, scored on a baseline drive to put the Colonials ahead 64-63 with 15.9 seconds on the clock. The Penguins had a turnover on their next possession, and they had to foul to extend the game. Louella Allana made her first free throw but missed her second, and YSU didn't rebound the miss cleanly and never got off a shot attempt after passing to the frontcourt.

Haley Thierry scored 10 of her career-high 16 points in the second half, and and Saunders and Malia Magestro each scored 13 points.

Youngstown State outscored the Colonials in each of the final three quarters after RMU held a 21-14 lead after the first 10 minutes. YSU outshot the Colonials 40.4% to 34.9%, but Robert Morris made five more 3-pointers and attempted 11 more field goals due to having 14 offensive rebounds and being plus-six in turnover margin.

Notes

• Haley Thierry scored a career-high 16 points, going 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. She surpassed her previous career high of 12 against Slippery Rock on Nov. 11. Thierry has 28 points in her last four games, which nearly matches the 30 she had in 38 career games coming into the season.
• Abby Liber played a career-high 26 minutes and finished career-high totals of six rebounds and three assists. She scored two points, marking the fifth straight game where she found the scoring column.
• Shay-Lee Kirby tied her career high with eight rebounds while posting four assists and five points.
• Malia Magestro also had eight rebounds to establish a new career high. She finished with 13 points, which was her highest output since scoring 14 in the season-opening win over Xavier. Magestro also matched her career high with a block.
• Emily Saunders scored 13 points and blocked three shots in 24 minutes.
• The Penguins blocked six shots as a team, which was their most in a game this season. In addition to Saunders' blocks, YSU got blocks from guards Dena Jarrells, Magestro and Thierry.
• Mady Aulbach made her first 3-pointer of the season, and she finished with three points, four rebounds and an assist in 26 minutes of action.
• After Aulbach's triple at the 1:25 mark of the second quarter, the Penguins did not have another make from beyond the arc. YSU was 11-for-17 (64.7%) on two-point attempts in the second half, and it was 17-for-30 (56.7%) from inside the arc for the game.
• Jarrells had her streak of 31 consecutive games with multiple assists snapped. She had one assist and seven points in 16 minutes.
• Youngstown State grabbed a season-high 42 rebounds, and it was plus-10 in rebounding margin. It marked the third time this season that YSU outrebounded its opponent by double digits.
• There were 40 fouls called in the game, which is the most in a game YSU has played in this season. In contrast, there were 23 fouls called the game prior against Detroit Mercy. YSU finished 17-for-20 from the free-throw line, and the 17 makes were its most against a Division I opponent this season.
• Paige Shy was whistled for four of those fouls, and she was limited to 15-and-half minutes. She was still able to record three steals.
• Naomi Barnwell scored 15 points for Robert Morris in the first half, and she missed her first five field-goal attempts of the second half until making the go-ahead basket with 15.9 seconds left.

Up Next

Youngstown State will play its next two games on the road. The Penguins will make the trip to Loretto, Pa., to play Saint Francis U on Saturday at 4 p.m., and they'll focus on finals next week before a contest at St. Bonaventure on Dec. 16.