Game Preview
- Youngstown State will attempt to build off of an impressive offensive performance as it welcomes Detroit Mercy to Beeghly Center on Saturday. Tipoff against the Titans is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+. The Penguins will wear pink jerseys for their annual Pink Game to raise awareness for breast cancer.
- The Penguins emphatically bounced back from last week's two losses on the road by beating Oakland 85-62 on Thursday. YSU led by double digits for the final 30 minutes and registered its highest scoring total of the season against a Division I opponent. Youngstown State shot 54.1% overall and 52.4% on 3-point attempts.
- Lilly Ritz led the way with 31 points in under 30 minutes of action, and she added nine rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Those 31 points were the most by a Penguin since 2015, and they tied for the most by any player in a Horizon League game this season. She had three teammates join her in double figures, and Dena Jarrells recorded 10 of YSU's 24 assists in the game.
- Youngstown State improved to 17-7 overall and 11-4 in Horizon League play with Thursday's victory. YSU is third place in the conference standings heading into Friday evening's action. The Penguins are one game ahead of IUPUI, and they are 1.5 games behind Cleveland State and Green Bay. YSU has won 16 of its last 20 games dating back to its win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 26.
- 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 three in field-goal percentage and 3-pointers per game.
- Ritz leads the Horizon League in rebounding (10.5), field-goal percentage (.606) and double-doubles (13), and she ranks among the top 15 players in the country in all three categories. She also ranks third in the league in scoring (17.1 ppg).
- On the perimeter, three Penguins guards – Malia Magestro, Megan Callahan and Shy - are averaging at least 8.0 points and rank among the top 11 in the Horizon League in 3s per game. Magestro and Callahan are averaging career highs in scoring, and Shy is within 0.1 points of her career high while already setting a new career best in assists Dena Jarrells ranks third in the Horizon League with 3.9 assists per game, and the Penguins are 9-2 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.
- This is the 50th anniversary season of Beeghly Center, which opened in 1972-73. YSU is 57-17 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .770 winning percentage, and it is 32-7 in its last 39 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 168, and his .571 winning percentage is the third-best mark in school history. His 300th game at Youngstown State will be YSU's first contest in the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championships.
Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information
- Advance tickets for Saturday'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 noon on Saturday.
- Promotions
- Pink Game – YSU will wear pink jerseys
- Pink T-Shirt Giveaway to the first 200 fans, courtesy of Mercy Health
- High School Band "Jam The Gym" presented by Auto Owners Insurance
- Keychain Giveaway, courtesy of Medical Mutual and 21 WFMJ
Previewing Detroit Mercy
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's overall record to 18-7 this season and its Horizon League record to 12-4.
- Be YSU's 10th straight over Detroit Mercy.
- Allow YSU to win 12 Horizon League games for just the third time ever (2018-19 and 2021-22).
- Improve YSU's home record to 12-2
- Be Head Coach John Barnes' 325th career victory and his 169th at YSU.
Scouting the Titans
- Detroit Mercy is 4-20 overall and 2-13 in Horizon League play following a 61-55 win at Robert Morris on Thursday. Both of the Titans' conference wins have come over the Colonials. Last week, Detroit Mercy battled Green Bay to a nine-point margin and Milwaukee to a five-point difference.
- Irene Murua leads Detroit Mercy with 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, and she has a team-high 26 steals. Emma Trawally Porta leads the conference with 43 blocked shots.
- Kate Achter is in her first season as Detroit Mercy's head coach. She spent the previous six seasons as the head coach at Loyola Chicago, and the Ramblers were 18-12 in 2021-22.
Series History
Overall: Youngstown State leads 27-23
Barnes: 13-5 • Home: 17-8 • Away: 10-15 • Neutral: 1-0
Current Win Streak: 9 by Youngstown State
- Youngstown State has won nine straight meetings against Detroit Mercy to take a 27-23 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1982-83 season. YSU has won seven of the last eight contests at Calihan Hall and four straight matchups at Beeghly Center. The teams did not play during the 2020-21 season, and YSU has won by eight, 19 and 32 in the last three meetings since the pandemic season.
- There was a stretch where the Penguins' and Titans' benches had close ties. Former Detroit Mercy head coach Bernard Scott was YSU's recruiting coordinator from 2008-10, and former Titans assistant Tara Fleming played for the Penguins from 2001-05. Former Titan player and head coach Autumn Rademacher was an assistant coach at YSU during the 2019-20 campaign.
Recently vs. Detroit Mercy
- This Season (at Detroit Mercy – Jan. 5, 2023): Youngstown State scored 18 of the first 20 points of the game and went on to beat Detroit Mercy 77-45 on Jan. 5 at Calihan Hall. Megan Callahan went 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half as YSU went 9-for-13 as a team in the first 20 minutes to take a 53-24 lead at halftime. Callahan finished with 15 points, and Emily Saunders scored 12 of her career-high 18 points in the fourth period. YSU made seven straight attempts from beyond the arc n the first half to extend its lead. The Penguins had the largest margin of victory in a Horizon League road game in school history at 32 points.
- Last Season at YSU: Youngstown State had six players score between eight and 15 points, and the Penguins led for nearly 36 minutes in a 78-59 win over Detroit Mercy on Jan. 28, 2022, at Beeghly Center. YSU had a 13-2 run in the first period to take a 16-6 lead, and it scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 42-30 lead. The Penguins led by double digits the entire second half. Youngstown State had a sizeable 22-6 edge in points off turnovers and was plus-nine in turnover margin. That was a monumental swing from the first matchup when the Titans were plus-six in turnover margin and had a 22-11 advantage in points off turnovers. Malia Magestro led YSU with 15 points, and Lilly Ritz and Paige Shy both scored 14.
Feb. 11 in YSU History
- Youngstown State is 7-9 overall in games played on Feb. 11, and it is 2-6 in Horizon League games on the date. Last season, YSU earned a 77-69 overtime victory at Cleveland State.
- Youngstown State set a school record with 16 3-pointers at Loyola Chicago on Feb. 11, 2012.
- Individually, Donna Djorovic recorded six of YSU's 10 blocks against Western Michigan on Feb. 11, 1993. Mary Jo Vodenichar scored 30 points vs. EKU in 1985.
Recapping Oakland
Game Summary
Lilly Ritz scored the most points by a Penguin in eight years, and Youngstown State had one of its best offensive nights of the season in an 85-62 victory over Oakland on Thursday. Ritz scored 31 points and made 15 field goals, and three of her teammates also scored in double figures. The Penguins led 27-14 at the end of the opening period, and their advantage was at least 10 points the rest of the night. Ritz was 15-for-21 from the field, and she added nine rebounds, five steals and three blocks in a standout effort. She helped the Penguins shoot 54.1% from the field, and her inside presence allowed YSU's perimeter players to succeed to the tune of 52.4% from beyond the arc.
Notes
- Ritz's 15 field goals and 31 points were the most in a game by a Penguin since Heidi Schlegel went 16-for-24 in a 38-point day at Valparaiso on Feb. 21, 2015. The 15 field goals tied for the ninth-most in a game in school history, and Schlegel is the only other Penguin to make at least 15 field goals since the 2000-01 season.
- Ritz' 31 points tied for the most in a Horizon League game this season, and she became the first player to make 15 field goals in a conference game since Cleveland State's Mariah White had 15 at Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 1, 2021.
- Ritz is one of 12 players in the country to make at least 15 field goals in game this season.
- Ritz added five steals, which was the most by a Penguin against a conference opponent since Chelsea Olson had five at Milwaukee on Feb. 27, 2020.
- Dena Jarrells registered a career-high 10 assists, and YSU had 24 assists on 33 field goals. She delivered the first 10-assist game by a Penguin since Chelsea Olson vs. Purdue Fort Wayne on Dec. 30, 2021. No other Horizon League player has had at least 10 assists in a conference game this season.
- YSU recorded its most points (85), field goals (33) and assists (24) against a Division I opponent this season.
- YSU tied its highest-scoring first quarter against a league opponent (at Wright State on Dec. 4) with 27 points. The Penguins then had their highest-scoring third quarter against a Division I opponent this season with 24 points.
- The Penguins went 11-for-21 from beyond the arc for 52.4%, which was their best success rate on 3-point attempts this season. That came after they went 4-for-32 at Cleveland State last Saturday.
- YSU committed just 11 turnovers, which was 11 fewer than the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 7.
- The Penguins scored 40 points in the paint and had 24 points off turnovers, which were season highs in Horizon League play.
Up Next
- Youngstown State will play its final two home games of the regular season next week. The Penguins will continue their four-game homestand by hosting Milwaukee on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m., and they'll wrap up the home slate on Feb. 19 against Green Bay.
