Youngstown State will try to shake off consecutive tough results when it travels to Milwaukee for a Saturday afternoon meeting with the Panthers. Tipoff at the Klotsche Center is set for 1 p.m. Eastern, and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeart, ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Gameday Info

YSU at Milwaukee

A Glimpse at the Guins

• YSU has faced the top two teams in the Horizon League standings in this three-game road stretch, and the Penguins have not been able to recover from sizeable early deficits. Youngstown State trailed 24-14 at the end of the first quarter on Thursday in Green Bay, and the Phoenix went on to lead 48-21 at halftime and win 85-47.
• Youngstown State has gone 2-3 since Horizon League play resumed after the holiday break, and a win against the Panthers on Saturday would put the Penguins right back in the middle of the conference standings. YSU is 6-11 overall, and it is tied for eighth in the standings with a 2-5 record against the league.
• Despite allowing an average of 82 points in its last two games, YSU still ranks second in the Horizon League in scoring defense at 61.8 points per game. Six of the Penguins' 11 losses have come when they've allowed 65 points or fewer, and they have dropped four games by six points or less. Offensively, YSU is averaging 56.8 points, which is the bottom mark in the HL.
• Forward Emily Saunders leads the Penguins with 11.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in her first season as a starter collegiately. She is shooting 62.7% from the field, and she leads the Horizon League with 2.2 blocks per game. Saunders is one of six fifth-year seniors on the team.
• Paige Shy made her 150th career 3-pointer in Thursday's game at Green Bay, joining teammates Shay-Lee Kirby and Dena Jarrells to reach that milestone in 2023-24.
• Five different Penguins have scored at least 20 points in a game this season, which is a first for the program since the 2017-18 campaign.
• YSU is shooting 81.5% from the free-throw line in Horizon League games, which is the best mark in the conference.
• The Penguins lead the country in percentage of field goals with an assist at 72.1%.
• YSU has nine returning letterwinners and three starters back from last year's squad that went 19-11 and tied for third in the Horizon League standings.
• 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 33-16 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.

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. Milwaukee

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's overall record to 7-11 this season and its Horizon League record to 3-5.
• Be the Penguins' third straight at the Klotsche Center.
• Give YSU four wins in its last five meetings against the Panthers.
• Allow YSU to split its Wisconsin trip.
• Be YSU's first conference road victory.

Milestone Watch

• Mady Aulbach is three field goals shy of 100 in her career, and she's five rebounds away from 300 in her career.
• Dena Jarrells needs two assists to reach 350 in her career. She is also one 3-pointer shy of 175 in her career.
• Shay-Lee Kirby is 11 assists and 11 steals shy of 100 of each in her career.
• Lindsey Linard needs two rebounds for 100 in her career.
• Malia Magestro is four points away from 800 in her career and 12 3-pointers shy of 150.
• Emily Saunders needs 15 points to reach 400 in her career.
• Paige Shy is five assists from 200 and nine points from 750.

Scouting the Panthers

• Milwaukee is 9-9 overall and 3-4 against Horizon League opponents following its 73-58 win over Robert Morris on Thursday. The contest against the Colonials was a School Day game that tipped at noon Eastern, eight hours before YSU's game at Green Bay. The Panthers have also beaten IUPUI (Dec. 3) and Northern Kentucky (Jan. 7) in conference play.
• Milwaukee ranks fourth in the conference in scoring defense allowing 62.6 points per game, and it is sixth in scoring offense at 67.9 points per contest. The Panthers are third in the circuit with a .430 field-goal percentage, and they're also third in offensve rebounds per game.
• Kendall Nead leads Milwaukee and ranks third in the conference in scoring at 16.4 points per game, and she ranks sixth in the country in total field-goal attempts with 290. Fellow guard Kamy Peppler leads the conference with 41 3-pointers,  and she ranks second in the the league with 4.7 assists per contest.  Anna Lutz ranks fourth in the league in rebounding at 7.2 caroms per contest.

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: Milwaukee leads 32-20
Barnes/Nicolais Era: 13-8 • Home: 11-14 • Away: 8-18 • Neutral: 1-0
Current Win Streak: 1 by Milwaukee

• Milwaukee holds a 32-20 advantage in the all-time series with YSU, but the Penguins have won 15 of the last 23 encounters dating back to the 2012-13 season. YSU has won eight of the last 11 meetings at Beeghly Center, and it has won two straight at the Klotsche Center.
• 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. They won 60-56 in 2022 and 61-51 in 2023 in the building.
• Eleven of the last 18 meetings with UWM have been decided by six points or fewer, and only four 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 six seasons. YSU ousted Milwaukee in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, and the Panthers ended the Penguins' season in 2020-21.

Last Meeting

Feb. 17, 2023 – at Youngstown State

Youngstown State scored 38 points in the first 15 minutes but just 16 points over the final 25 in a 75-54 loss to Milwaukee on Feb. 17, 2023, at Beeghly Center.  After the Penguins took a 38-28 lead on the Panthers at the 5:01 mark of the second period, they scored just one point over the next 12:23 of game action. Milwaukee went on a 23-1 during that stretch, and YSU trailed by double digits the rest of the way. Megan Callahan scored her 1,000th career point in an 18-point night for the Penguins, and Lilly Ritz collected her 15th double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Milwaukee went 14-for-24 on 3-point attempts, and Angie Cera was 6-for-7 on her own.

Recapping Green Bay

Game Summary

Youngstown State began its trip to Wisconsin with an 85-47 loss to Green Bay at the Kress Center on Thursday night.

The Penguins trailed just 17-12 with less than two minutes left in the first quarter, but they didn't make a field goal for nearly five minutes as Green Bay went on a 15-2 burst to go up 34-18. YSU did not make a 3-pointer from the 4:29 mark of the first period until Wisconsin native Bella Samz made her first career triple with 1:40 left in the fourth.

Abby Liber and Haley Thierry both scored 10 points off the bench to lead Youngstown State, and they went a combined 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. Paige Shy made the 150th 3-pointer of her career in the opening minute and finished with six points, and Malia Magestro scored all six of her points in the third quarter.

Jasmine Kondrakiewicz scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter for Green Bay, and she drew four fouls in the period. YSU's leading scorer Emily Saunders fouled her twice in the first 1:44 of game action, and Kondrakiewicz also drew an offensive foul on Magestro that gave the guard her second foul at the 8:02 mark. Saunders and Magestro set the rest of the half, and Mady Aulbach had three fouls in the first half.

Liber scored six points in the first quarter as YSU trailed 21-14 in the final moments before Callie Genke hit a 3 on the last possession to push Green Bay's lead to 24-14. The Phoenix then scored the first eight points of the second period, and the margin grew to 48-21 at halftime.

Notes

• Paige Shy made her 150th career 3-pointer 45 seconds into the game to give Youngstown State its only lead at 3-2 lead. The basket came on an assist from her high school teammate, Dena Jarrells.
• Shy became the third Penguin to reach 150 career 3s this season, joining Shay-Lee Kirby and Dena Jarrells.
• In addition to her milestone 3, Shy led the Penguins wth seven rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes. She played most minutes of any YSU starter.
•  Abby Liber finished with 10 points to score in double figures for the second time in her career. She scored six of those points at the free-throw line as she set a new career high with six made free throws and tied her previous high with six free-throw attempts. For the first time in her career, she was the Penguins' top scorer.
• Haley Thierry also scored 10 points and went 6-for-6 on her foul-shot attempts. Like Liber, she set new career highs for free throws made and attempted.
• Bella Samz grabbed a career-best two rebounds, and she made her first career 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
• Mackenzie Hurd set a new career high with two assists.
• The Penguins went 16-for-18 from the free-throw line in the game, and they are shooting 80.7% from the charity stripe in their last five games. YSU is shooting a league-best 81.5% from the free-throw line in its seven conference contests.

Up Next

The Penguins will begin a three-game homestand on Jan. 18 against Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:30 p.m. The three-game stretch will span the conclusion of the first half of Horizon League play and begin the second half.