Game Preview
- Youngstown State begins its final home week of the regular season by hosting Milwaukee on Friday at 7 p.m. as part of a crucial stretch on Rosselli Court featuring two women's games and two men's games in a four-day period. The contest will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
- The Penguins have their sights set on ensuring that the final home week of the regular season leads to another game in Beeghly Center in the quarterfinals of the upcoming Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. YSU has already secured a bye into the quarterfinals of the tournament, and any combination of Penguins wins plus losses by Northern Kentucky equaling two will guarantee a top-four seed and a home game in the tournament on March 2.
- Youngstown State is 18-7 overall and 12-4 in Horizon League play with four games left in the regular season. YSU is one game ahead of IUPUI for third place in the conference standings, and it is three games up on fifth-place NKU. Cleveland State and Green Bay, who the Penguins will play on Sunday, are tied for first at 14-2.
- YSU has won 17 of its last 21 games dating back to its win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 26. The Penguins are 12-2 in Beeghly Center, and getting to 14-2 this week would give them their sixth 20-win season in the last 11 years.
- YSU began this four-game homestand by completing regular-season sweeps of Oakland and Detroit Mercy last week. The Penguins had one of their top performances of the season offensively in their 85-62 win over the Golden Grizzlies, and they fought off an improving Titans squad for a 72-67 win.
- Lilly Ritz averaged 28.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two victories to earn her third Horizon League Player of the Week award of the season. She ranks among the top three players in the conference in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage, double-doubles, steals and blocks, and she is among the top 15 players in the country in double-doubles, rebounding and field-goal percentage.
- 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. The Penguins are on pace to set a new school record for assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.15, and their 16.6 assists per game is the highest mark since 1997-98.
- On the perimeter, three Penguins guards – Malia Magestro, Megan Callahan and Shy - are averaging at least 8.1 points and rank among the top 11 in the Horizon League in 3s per game. All three are averaging career highs in points and assists per game. Dena Jarrells ranks third in the Horizon League with 3.84 assists per game, and the Penguins are 10-2 with her in the starting lineup.
- Callahan enters Friday's game with 993 points across her six-year career at Robert Morris and Youngstown State. She had 528 in four years as a Colonial, and she has 465 points in her two seasons as a Penguin.
- 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 169, and his .573 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.
- 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 58-17 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season for a .773 winning percentage, and it is 33-7 in its last 40 games on Rosselli Court.
Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information
- 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 6 p.m. on Friday.
- Promotions
- Hot Dog Wally Happy Hour: $2 hot dogs
- YSU Student T-Shirt Giveaway and first 100 YSU Students receive a Chick-fil-A SandwichÂ
- Burgan Real Estate Putt for Tuition-One lucky YSU student will have the chance to win free tuition for a year!
- AAA Card BOGO Ticket Game: Tickets are buy one, get one free for fans presenting their AAA card
Youngstown State vs. Milwaukee
A Win Would...
- Improve YSU's overall record to 19-7 this season and its Horizon League record to 13-4.
- Be YSU's fourth straight victory over Milwaukee.
- Allow YSU to win 13 Horizon League games for just the third time ever (2018-19 and 2021-22).
- Improve YSU's home record to 13-2
- Be Head Coach John Barnes' 326th career victory and his 170th at YSU.
Scouting the Panthers
- Milwaukee is 8-16 overall and 6-10 in HL play as it makes the trip to Youngstown. The Panthers have lost six of their last seven games dating back to when YSU beat them 61-51 on Jan. 22. One of their wins was an impressive 59-52 triumph over Green Bay on Dec. 1.
- Milwaukee ranks in the top half of the conference in scoring defense, blocks and assists. The Panthers average 58.6 points offensively while surrendering 62.6 points defensively. Opponents average 1.4 more 3-pointers and 2.5 more free throws per game than the Panthers.
- Kendall Nead leads UWM in scoring at 11.4 points per game, and Emma Wittmershaus is averaging 10.5 points. Megan Walstad ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and blocks (1.13 bpg).
Series History
Overall: Milwaukee leads 31-20
Barnes: 13-7 • Home: 11-13 • Away: 8-18 • Neutral: 1-0
Current Win Streak: 3 by Youngstown State
- Milwaukee holds a 31-20 advantage in the all-time series with YSU, but the Penguins have won 15 of the last 22 encounters dating back to the 2012-13 season. YSU has won eight of the last 10 meetings at Beeghly Center, and it has won two straight at the Klotsche Center, which is where four of those last five meetings have been contested. The Penguins had a string of tough setbacks from 2017-21 in Milwaukee, losing by four in 2017, by one at the buzzer in 2018, by three in overtime in 2019, by five in 2020 and by nine in the conference tournament in 2021.
- Eleven of the last 17 meetings with UWM have been decided by six points or fewer, and only three final margins since February 2015 have been double digits.
- Youngstown State and Milwaukee have become rivals in the Horizon League Tournament as the teams have eliminated each other in three of the last five seasons. YSU ousted Milwaukee in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, and the Panthers ended the Penguins' season in 2020-21.
Recently vs. Milwaukee
- This Season (at Milwaukee – Jan. 22, 2023): Youngstown State endured a defensive battle and a slow start to outlast Milwaukee 61-51 on Jan. 22 at the Klotsche Center. YSU had just three points in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the game, but Megan Callahan's 3-pointer sparked a 10-0 run that flipped a 9-3 deficit into a 13-9 lead. After that burst, YSU remained ahead or was tied the rest of the afternoon. Milwaukee tied the score twice in the third period, and the Penguins' advantage was 53-51 with 70 seconds left. Lilly Ritz scored two of her game-high 20 points to push the lead to 55-51, and YSU made six free throws in the final 16 seconds for the final tally.
- Last Season at YSU (Dec. 2, 2021): YSU outscored Milwaukee 22-11 in the third period and played tough defense throughout in a 58-50 win at Beeghly Center. YSU's lead was 15-14 at halftime before the Penguins scored 43 points in the second half. Milwaukee had 36 points in the second half, but a 21-2 YSU run in the second half was too much to overcome. YSU, playing without leading scorer and rebounder Lilly Ritz, led by double digits the entire fourth quarter until Milwaukee's Alyssa Moore hit a 3 at the final horn. The Penguins trailed 14-6 after Milwaukee's second possession of the second period, but the Panthers didn't score for the final 8:52 of the half. Paige Shy made three 3s in the second half and finished with a team-high 16 points.
Feb. 17 in YSU History
- YSU is 8-6 in 13 previous games played on Feb. 17, and it is playing Milwaukee in Youngstown on the date for the third time. In 2019, the Penguins beat the Panthers 67-47 to win their 20th game of the 2018-19 season. Alison Smolinski went 6-for-7 from 3-point range in a 21-point effort on her senior day. Milwaukee beat YSU 76-70 in Beeghly Center on Feb. 17, 2007.
- Two Penguins have scored 30 points in games played on Feb. 17. Kristi Echelberry had 30 in 1992, and Wanda Grant scored 30 in 1979.
Recapping Detroit Mercy
Game Summary
Lilly Ritz scored 26 points and helped Youngstown State fight through nine ties and 15 lead changes for a 72-67 victory over Detroit Mercy on Saturday at the Beeghly Center. Ritz made eight of her last 10 attempts from the field, and YSU went on a 19-5 run midway through the second half that proved to be the difference in the game. After Detroit Mercy took a 52-50 lead at the 9:24 mark of the fourth quarter, Megan Callahan's three-point play 19 seconds later sparked a 12-0 run for the Penguins over a span of two minutes. YSU did not trail again in the contest.
Notes
- Points off turnovers were heavily in YSU's favor at 17-2. The Penguins were plus-six in turnover margin, and they scored 17 points off of Detroit Mercy's 17 turnovers. Earlier last week, YSU outscored Oakland 24-8 off turnovers.
- The Penguins battled through 15 lead changes, which was the most in one of their games this season, and nine ties (second most). YSU led for just 58 seconds in the first quarter, 3:11 in the second quarter and 1:12 in the third as Detroit Mercy answered frequently when YSU would take the lead.
- Paige Shy tied her season high with eight rebounds while matching her career high with four steals. She also had at least three assists for the fourth straight game, and the senior forward has multiple assists in 12 of her last 14 games. Shy provided one of the biggest sequences in the game when she jumped a pass into the post for a steal and hit a 3 in transition that gave YSU a 56-52 lead and forced a Titans timeout.
- Lilly Ritz scored at least 20 points for the 50th time in her career. She scored 16 of her points against the Titans in the second half.
- Malia Magestro tied her career high with seven rebounds to go along with her nine points. Magestro has scored in double figures 13 times, and she's had nine four times.
- Megan Callahan scored 16 points, which tied for her third-highest total of the season. She has reached double figures in 12 of YSU's 16 Horizon League contests.
- Shy, Ritz and Megan Callahan combined for 34 of YSU's 42 points in the second half.
- Mady Aulbach found the scoring column for the for the sixth straight contest and contributed four points. She did not commit a turnover for the fifth straight game.
- Detroit Mercy had the best free-throw percentage by an opponent this season at .929 (13-for-14). YSU was 15-for-22 at the charity stripe.
- Emma Trawally Porta's 21 points tied for the most by an opposing player this season. She also had three blocks and seven rebounds in the contest while going 8-for-11 from the field.
Up Next
Youngstown State will host Green Bay on Sunday in the final regular season game in Beeghly Center. Tipoff against the Phoenix will be at 1 p.m., and seniors Megan Callahan, Lindsey Mack and Lilly Ritz will be celebrated before the contest.
