Youngstown State concludes its four-game homestand and begins its 2024 schedule this Wednesday by hosting Oakland at Beeghly Center. Tipoff against the Golden Grizzlies is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeart, ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

Gameday Info

YSU vs. Oakland

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
  • Pete Air Freshener giveaway, courtesy of Jimmy Johns, ASECU and WFMJ
  • Veterans Appreciation Game presented by NECA-IBEW

A Glimpse at the Guins

• The Penguins finished 2023 with an exciting 58-56 victory over IUPUI on New Year's Eve. The largest lead for either team in the contest was four, and Shay-Lee Kirby made two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining with the score tied at 56. Emily Saunders scored a game-high 19 points and matched her career-high with four blocks.
• The Penguins have an opportunity to go 2-1 against Horizon League opponents during this homestand and get back to .500 on Rosselli Court in conference play. YSU lost 82-68 to Wright State on Friday before its 58-56 victory over IUPUI on Sunday.
• Even with its 1-3 start to the Horizon League schedule, YSU is one of five teams with one win or fewer in the standings.
• Youngstown State ranks second in the Horizon League in scoring defense at 58.9 points per game. Six of the Penguins' nine losses have come when they've allowed 65 points or fewer, and they have dropped four games by six points or less. YSU is averaging 58 points offensively, which is the bottom mark in the conference.
• Forward Emily Saunders leads the Penguins with 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in her first season as a starter collegiately. She leads the Horizon League with a .644 field-goal percentage and 1.9 blocks per game. Saunders is one of six fifth-year seniors on the team.
• 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. The Penguins were picked to finish third in the league's preseason poll despite losing their top two scorers.
• 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 32-14 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.
• 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 62-24 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. Oakland

A Win Would

• Improve YSU's overall record to 6-9 this season and its Horizon League record to 2-3.
• Be the Penguins' third straight over Oakland.
• Allow YSU to split its four-game homestand
• Give YSU a 5-4 record in Beeghly Center.

Milestone Watch

• Mady Aulbach is four field goals shy of 100 in her career, and she's 10 rebounds away from 300 in her career.
• Dena Jarrells needs nine assists to reach 350 in her career.
• Shay-Lee Kirby is 11 assists and 11 steals shy of 100 of each in her career.
• Lindsey Linard needs 12 rebounds for 100 in her career.
• Malia Magestro is four rebounds from reaching 250 in her career. She is also 23 points away from 800 in her career.
• Paige Shy is three 3s from 150 in her career, and she needs 18 assists to reach 200.

Scouting the Golden Grizzlies

• Oakland is 5-6 overall and 1-2 in Horizon League play following an 89-79 victory over Northern Kentucky on Friday. The Golden Grizzlies had dropped games to Purdue Fort Wayne (84-66) and Detroit Mercy (66-55) to begin their conference schedule.
• The Golden Grizzlies are averaging 76.6 points per game offensively, which leads the league. The 89 points against the Norse on Friday was their fourth-highest total of the season behind 122 vs. Madonna, 110 against Cleary, and 91 at Akron. Oakland ranks third in the conference with 8.1 3-pointers per game, and they are shooting 33.6% from long distance.
• Defensively, Oakland is averaging 13.1 steals per game and is plus-8.3 in turnover margin, which both rank eighth in the country. It has recorded at least nine steals and forced at least 21 turnovers in every game except contests at Michigan State and Michigan. However, teams are shooting 44.2% against the Golden Grizzlies, which is at the bottom of the Horizon League.
• Individually, four Oakland players are averaging at least 10.5 points per game. Markyia McCormick, a Detroit Mercy transfer, has made a team-high 24 3-pointers, and she and Preseason All-League First-Team selection Brooke Quarles-Daniels are both averaging 12.5 points. Quarles-Daniels is leading the conference with 2.6 steals per contest.

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: Youngstown State leads 17-15
Barnes/Nicolais Era: 14-9 • Home: 8-9 • Away: 8-6 • Neutral: 1-0
Current Win Streak: 2 by Youngstown State

• Youngstown State holds a slim 17-15 edge in the 31-game history of the series that dates back to the 1998-99 season. Oddly, each team has a better record on the road in the series than on their respective home floors. YSU is 8-9 against the Golden Grizzlies at Beeghly Center, and Oakland has won six of the last nine meetings in Youngstown. The Penguins have won five straight at the Athletics Center O'rena, and they are 8-6 on the road in the series.
• The programs were both members of the Mid-Continent Conference for three seasons from 1998-99 through 2000-01, and they have been members of the Horizon League together since 2013-14. YSU has a 14-9 edge since Oakland joined the league.
• Coach Glover at Oakland: YSU assistant coach Malika Glover began her collegiate career at Oakland. She played for the Golden Grizzlies for two seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12 before transferring to Northern Kentucky to finish her career from 2012-13 through 2014-15. She played under former Oakland head coach Beckie Francis.

Last Meeting

Feb. 9, 2023 – at Youngstown State

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 Feb. 9, 2023. 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.

Recapping IUPUI

Game Summary

Shay-Lee Kirby made two go-ahead free throws with 1.4 seconds left, and Youngstown State emerged from a close battle for a 58-56 victory over IUPUI on Sunday.

The largest lead for either team was four points in the game, and YSU's four-point margin came at 55-51 when an offensive rebound by Paige Shy led to an Emily Saunders basket with 2:43 remaining. That was YSU's final field goal, and the Penguins' final three points came from the free-throw line.

Shy later drew a charge with 35.4 seconds left that led to a Dena Jarrells free throw that gave YSU a 56-53 lead. IUPUI's Jaela Johnson hit a 3-pointer 11 seconds later to tie the score, and Kirby was fouled on the right wing with 1.4 seconds left. She calmly made both attempts, and Shy stole the inbounds pass to seal the win.

Saunders finished with a game-high 19 points while adding nine rebounds and four blocks in 25 minutes of action. Jarrells made three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points, and Magestro posted a solid stat line of nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Both teams struggled shooting as YSU shot 31% from the field while IUPUI hit on 30% of its attempts. The Penguins made one fewer 3-pointer but outscored the Jaguars by three at the free-throw line. IUPUI missed 11 of its 26 free-throw attempts.

Notes

• The Penguins earned their first victory over IUPUI since beating the Jaguars 75-73 on Dec. 28, 2019. Jen Wendler was YSU's starting center that day, and Mady Aulbach played 26 minutes off the bench as the two were true freshmen. YSU had beaten every other Horizon League team at least twice since then.
• Dena Jarrells made the 300th field goal of her career.
• Emily Saunders secured her 200th career rebound. She has 89 of those 200 rebounds in 14 games this season.
• Mady Aulbach did not find the scoring column, but she had a season-high six rebounds and three assists, and she caused multiple tie-ups that switched the possession arrow.
• Lindsey Linard tied her carer high with two blocks.
• Malia Magestro had a wide-ranging stat line of nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and a block. The five assists and one block tied her career highs.
• Emily Saunders scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds while matching her career high with four blocks. It was the third time in the last four games that the fifth-year senior has blocked four shots.
• Paige Shy offset a cold-shooting night by tying her career high with four steals and grabbing five rebounds. She had a team-high three offensive rebounds, and two of them led to points. Her third offensive carom resulted in a jumper by Saunders that gave Youngstown State a 55-51 lead with 2:43 remaining.
• The Penguins made 18 free throws on 24 attempts, which were both highs against a Division I opponent this season. In the first three games of the homestand, YSU is 41-for-50 (82%) from the free-throw line.
• YSU tied its season highs with 42 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
• The Penguins were whistled frequently for fouls for the second straight game. The Penguins committed 19 infractions, which led to 26 free-throw attempts for the Jaguars. YSU had 24 fouls that resulted in 31 attempts from the line against Wright State.
• The Penguins committed just 12 turnovers, which was its lowest in a game this season. The Penguins forced 15 turnovers, and they outscored the Jaguars 15-4 off of turnovers.

Up Next

Youngstown State will play its next three games on the road, starting with a contest at Cleveland State on Saturday. Tipoff against the Vikings at the Wolstein Center is set for 1 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+