Game Information
	Thursday | Feb. 2 @ 7 p.m.
	Gates Sports Center | Fort Wayne, Ind.
	Ticket Information

Live Coverage
	1390 WNIO | iHeartRadio
	ESPN+ | ESPN.com
	Live Stats | SIDEARM Stats
	Live Tweets | @YSUWomensHoops

Game Preview

• Youngstown State will try to remain unbeaten on the road in conference play and win its fifth straight game as it heads to Purdue Fort Wayne for a Thursday contest. Tipoff at the Gates Sports Center is set for 7 p.m., and the game against the Mastodons will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and ESPN+.
• The Penguins finished off a seven-win January by edging Northern Kentucky 52-51 on Saturday at Beeghly Center. Paige Shy made two game-winning free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining for the fourth lead change in the final 28 seconds. It was YSU's fourth game in the month that was decided by three points or fewer, and the Penguins were on the winning end in three of those.
• Youngstown State is 16-5 overall and 10-2 in Horizon League games, and the Guins are 6-0 on the road in conference play. YSU is in a three-way tie with Cleveland State and Green Bay with eight games left in the regular season. The Penguins have won four straight contests, eight of nine and 15 of 17. Since Nov. 25, only 10 teams in the country have a better winning percentage than YSU's .882 (as of Jan. 30).
• Defensively, YSU ranks among the top three teams in the Horizon League in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and rebounding margin. Offensively, YSU leads the league in assists per game and ranks in the top four in field-goal percentage and 3-pointers per game.
• Lilly Ritz leads the Horizon League in rebounding (10.7), field-goal percentage (.620) and double-doubles (12), and she ranks among the top 15 players in the country in all three categories. She also ranks second in the league in scoring (17.2 ppg).
• On the perimeter, three Penguins guards – Malia Magestro, Megan Callahan and Shy - are averaging at least eight points and rank among the top 12 in the Horizon League in 3s per game. Magestro and Callahan are both averaging career highs in scoring, and Shy is 0.1 behind her pace from last season.
• Dena Jarrells has scored at least eight points in four straight games, and she ranks third in the Horizon League with 3.6 assists per game. YSU is 8-0 with her in the starting lineup.
• YSU shared the Horizon League regular-season title with IUPUI in 2021-22 as both teams finished with an 18-4 conference mark. While the core of YSU's roster is familiar, the target on the Penguins' back is not. For the first time in program history, Youngstown State was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Horizon League by the conference's coaches. Last season, YSU was picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll and won a share of the regular-season title.
• This is the 50th anniversary season of Beeghly Center, which opened in 1972-73. YSU is 56-17 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .767 winning percentage, and it is 31-7 in its last 38 games on Rosselli Court.
• This is YSU's 10th season under Head Coach John Barnes, who was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2021-22. Barnes is second in career victories at YSU with 167, and his .574 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history.

Youngstown State vs. Purdue Fort Wayne

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's overall record to 17-5 this season and its Horizon League record to 11-2.
• Allow YSU to start 11-2 through 13 HL games for the second time ever (2021-22).
• Be the Penguins' eighth straight over Purdue Fort Wayne.
• Improve YSU's record in Horizon League road games to 7-0.
• Be Head Coach John Barnes' 324th career victory and his 168th at YSU.

Scouting the Mastodons

• Purdue Fort Wayne has won three straight games and four of its last five decisions to improve its record to 9-13 overall and 6-6 in League play. The Mastodons seemed to have turned a corner offensively as they have scored at least 69 points in five straight games after reaching that plateau four times in their first 17 games.
• Defensively, Purdue Fort Wayne leads the Horizon League in steals and ranks second in blocks. Shayla Sellers and Amellia Bromenschenkel both rank in the top five in the league in steals, and Jazzlyn Linbo is second in the circuit in blocks.
• Bromenschenkel leads the Mastodons in scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (4.9 rpg) and 3-pointers (34). Five 'Dons players have made between 23 and 34 3s.

Series History

Overall: Youngstown State leads 10-2
Barnes: 6-0 • Home: 6-1 • Away: 3-1 • Neutral: 0-0
Current Win Streak: 7 by Youngstown State

• Youngstown State leads the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne 9-2, and the Penguins have won eight of the last nine meetings. YSU is 6-0 against the Mastodons since they joined the Horizon League in 2020-21, and five of those six meetings have been at Beeghly Center. Before Purdue Fort Wayne joined the league, the teams last met in 2011.
• YSU had its highest scoring output ever in a Horizon League game in a 102-60 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne when the series resumed on Feb. 5, 2021. Since then, YSU has scored in the sixties in all five meetings. YSU had to rally in the final period to win 62-59 in the conference tournament in 2021, and it earned 64-41 and 69-55 victories last season over the 'Dons. On New Year's Eve in 2022, YSU won 60-44.

Recently vs. Purdue Fort Wayne

• This Season (at YSU – Dec. 31, 2022): YSU built a 15-point halftime lead and played well defensively all afternoon to beat Purdue Fort Wayne 60-44 on Dec. 31, 2022, at Beeghly Center. Lilly Ritz led the Penguins on the box score with 20 points and 14 rebounds to record her seventh double-double, and Malia Magestro made four first-half 3-pointers in a 16-point effort. But it was the defense that carried YSU to victory as the Penguins held the Mastodons to 28.6% shooting, and Megan Callahan held PFW's leading scorer Amellia Bromenschenkel to four points on just seven shot attempts. The Penguins led by double digits for the final 25:45 of the game, and the largest margin was 22 at 44-22 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter.
• Last Season at PFW (Feb. 13, 2022): Youngstown State outscored Purdue Fort Wayne 24-10 in the third quarter and had four players score in double figures in a 69-55 win on Feb. 13, 2022. The Penguins trailed 30-23 with less than two minutes left in the first half but outscored the 'Dons 46-25 the rest of the game. After YSU led 14-8, Purdue Fort Wayne went on a 19-5 run to take a 27-19 lead. The Penguins went 7-for-8 on two-point attempts and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the third quarter. Megan Callahan went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the fourth period, and she finished with a team-high 19 points.

Feb. 2 in YSU History

• Youngstown State is 7-5 all-time in games played on Feb. 2, and the Penguins will be looking for their first road win on the date since 1980.
• The last time YSU played on the date, the Penguins shot 60.7% from the field in a 91-45 victory over Detroit Mercy in 2019. Seven different Penguins scored in double figures against the Titans, and Alison Smolinski made five 3-pointers during a 19-0 run to start the game. YSU was wearing pink jerseys for the first time in program history, and it had its best field-goal percentage for a game in 21 years and the third-best percentage in program history.
• Margaret Peters scored her 1,000th career point in 1985 against Akron. YSU shot 59.1 percent in that contest, one of the top-10 best marks for a game in program history. Jessica Schloemp grabbed 19 rebounds in a game against Butler on Feb. 2, 2006.

Recapping NKU

Game Summary

Paige Shy was fouled on an inbounds play with 2.3 seconds remaining and hit both ensuing free throws to give Youngstown State a 52-51 win over Northern Kentucky on Saturday at Beeghly Center. Shy's late free throws produced the fourth lead change in the final minute. YSU led 48-42 after a fast-break layup by Shay-Lee Kirby with 4:48 left in the game, but NKU scored the next seven points and went ahead 49-48 on Lindsey Duvall's second-chance layup with 27 seconds. The Penguins answered immediately as Malia Magestro's driving layup put YSU ahead 50-49 with 21 seconds to go, and NKU responded with a driving layup by Kaliee Davis to regain a 51-50 advantage with 14.7 seconds on the clock and set up the final sequence.

Notes

• The Penguins got a huge boost from their bench as Kirby, Emily Saunders and Mady Aulbach combined for 20 of the team's 52 points. Over the previous three games, YSU's bench had accounted for just 14 of the team's 200 points.
• Saunders scored 11 points, which tied her highest scoring total in a home game this season, while playing 13 minutes. That was the second-most minutes she has played in a game this season.
• Shay-Lee Kirby scored six points and had two assists, two rebounds and a steal in 22 minutes. She provided a big spark with fresh legs after playing less than a minute against Wright State on Thursday.
• Both teams struggled mightily from the field as NKU shot 34.4% and went 2-for-13 from the field and YSU shot 35.6% while making 5-of-22 from long distance. Only two guards – YSU's Kirby and NKU's Kennedy Igo – shot better than 50%.
• YSU played a season-low eight players, and NKU played just seven.
• The Penguins led for 33:29 in the contest, and they held the upper hand from when Dena Jarrells scored at the 3:00-mark of the first quarter until NKU tied the game at 37 with 2:40 left in the third. YSU didn't trail for a stretch of 32:33 from Jarrells' basket made the score 9-8 until Duvall's putback with 27 seconds left.
• Lilly Ritz led the Penguins with 12 points and seven rebounds to go along with Saunders' 11 points and six rebounds. Jarrells was the top-scoring guard with eight points while adding six assists.
• YSU won in the final five seconds in a home game for the first time since Maddie Schires made two free throws with 0.8 seconds left on Nov. 16, 2019.
• Odds & ends:  YSU had the scoring edge in just one quarter: 16-10 in the first...  YSU had its second-lowest point total of the season... The six free-throw attempts tied for the fewest in a game this season for the Penguins... NKU made the fewest 3s and had the worst 3FG% by an opponent this season... NKU had just one steal, which was the lowest mark by an opponent this season.

Up Next

• Youngstown State will travel back to Ohio for a game at Cleveland State on Saturday. Tipoff at the Wolstein Center is set for 2 p.m.