Youngstown State travels to the state capital for the first time in 17 years on Saturday as it plays nationally-ranked Ohio State in Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center. Tipoff against the No. 11/8 Buckeyes is set for 11 a.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO, iHeart and B1G+.
Gameday Info
A Glimpse at the Guins
- The Penguins head to Columbus with a 6-4 overall record and riding the high of winning twice last week to begin Horizon League play. With final exam week in the rearview mirror, YSU now takes on unbeaten Ohio State, its highest ranked opponent since 2012.
- Youngstown State led for the final 26 minutes in a 66-50 home win over Milwaukee last Wednesday to open Horizon League play. Saturday's game at Northern Kentucky had a much different path but the same result for the Penguins, who outscored the Norse 21-5 in the fourth quarter to win 56-47. That gave YSU its first win away from home this season, and it allowed the Penguins to start 2-0 in league play for the fifth time in the last seven years.
- YSU has 10 newcomers on its 14-player roster under first-year head coach Melissa Jackson, who has spent the last 16 years in Northeast Ohio. Columbus native and senior transfer Jewel Watkins (Whitehall-Yearling HS) is the Penguins' leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, and newcomers Faith Burch (16 points, 13 rebounds) and Sophia Gregory (11 points, 13 rebounds) both had double-doubles in the win at NKU. Sarah Baker, who missed the game against the Norse, has been named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week three times in the first five weeks.
- Senior Haley Thierry is one of four returners on the squad, and she gets the opportunity Saturday to play against her twin sister, Taylor, a senior for the Buckeyes. The Thierry sisters played together at the Laurel School and helped the Gators reach the semifinals of the state tournament their senior year in 2021. Malia Magestro, a fifth-year senior for the Penguins, returned from a four-game absence to score six points and record five assists against NKU.
- Youngstown State leads the Horizon League in scoring defense allowing just 54.6 points per game, a mark that also ranks 32nd nationally. YSU also ranks among the top three teams in rebounding margin, turnover margin, blocks, steals, and field-goal percentage defense.
Youngstown State at Ohio State
A Win Would...
- Give YSU a 7-4 overall record and a 2-2 mark in true road contests.
- Be YSU's first over Ohio State.
- Be YSU's first over a team from the Big Ten since it beat Michigan 75-66 in Youngstown on Dec. 8, 1990.
- Give YSU its first win over a top-25 opponent since beating No. 23 Green Bay 60-56 on Feb. 19, 2005.
- Give YSU its first win over team from a Power Four conference since it won 64-55 at Pitt on Nov. 13, 2018.
- Give Head Coach Melissa Jackson her 79th career win and her seventh at Youngstown State.
Milestone Watch
- Faith Burch needs two field goals to reach 100 for her career.
- Malia Magestro is four points away from tying Alison Smolinski's total of 1,061 career points for 22nd in program history.
- Haley Thierry needs 10 assists to reach 100 for her career. She is 19 points from 250 in her career.
- Jewel Watkins is 10 points shy of 850 in her career.
Scouting the Buckeyes
- Ohio State is 9-0 this season, and only two of its games have been decided by fewer than 20 points. The Buckeyes beat Cleveland State 104-69 in the sesaon opener, and they have beaten No. 21 Illinois (83-74) and Ball State (80-48) during its current four-game homestand. Ohio State is currently ranked eighth in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and it is 11th in the Associated Press Poll.
- The Buckeyes rank third in the country in turnover margin at plus-13.11 per game, and they are fifth nationally in steals per game (14.8) and sixth in turnovers forced (26.6). Ohio State is averaging 87.4 points per game offensively, which is 10th nationally.
- Ohio State is the defending Big Ten regular-season champions, and it brought in five freshmen and two significant transfers to add to the returning group that helped the Buckeyes win 26 games and earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season. Oregon transfer Chance Gray has made 28 3-pointers and is averaging 16.2 points, and returner Cotie McMahon is averaging 16 points. In total, five Ohio State players are averaging more than 11 points per game.
Series History and Matchup Notes
Overall: Ohio State leads 3-0
Jackson: 0-0 // Home: 0-0 // Away: 0-2 // Neutral: 0-1
Current Win Streak: 3 by Ohio State
- Ohio State leads the all-time series with Youngstown State 3-0, and the teams are playing for the first time in almost 17 years to the date. YSU's last meeting with the Buckeyes came on Dec. 17, 2007, and the other meeting between the programs with the Penguins at the Division I level came on Dec. 20, 2002. YSU and Ohio State first played at the Ohio Association of Intercollegiate Sports for Women (OAISW) Tournament in 1979 in Akron.
Playing Ohio State in Other Sports
- While YSU is playing Ohio State in women's basketball for the first time since 2007, the Buckeyes are becoming a regular opponent across the Penguins' contingent of teams. The men's basketball team played at Schottenstein Center on Nov. 11, and the softball team will play the Buckeyes this spring on March 19.
- From the 2022-23 academic year through 2024-25, the Penguins and Buckeyes will have played in baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, football, women's lacrosse and softball.
Jim Tressel Connection
- Jim Tressel was Youngstown State's head football coach from 1986-2000 and led the Penguins to four Division I-AA (FCS) National Championships. He went on lead Ohio State to the National Championship in 2002 and six Big Ten titles. Tressel went on to have a highly-successful stretch as Youngstown State's President from 2014-23.
- Between his time at Ohio State and his presidency at YSU, Tressel served as executive vice president for Student Success at the University of Akron for two years. During Tressel's two years at Akron, current YSU head coach Melissa Jackson was an assistant coach with the Zips.
- On Episode 18 of Tressel's "It's All About the Team" podcast where Jackson shared her Five Core Values, Tressel revealed that his tie with Jackson goes back much further in a roundabout way than their time at Akron. Tressel said one of the first people he met upon being hired as YSU's Head Coach in 1986 was Al Oldenburg, who worked with Wilson Sporting Goods. Oldenbug is the grandfather of Drew Jackson, who is Melissa Jackson's husband.
YSU vs. Big Ten and Power Five Opponents
- Big Ten: YSU is 1-13 all-time in games played against Big Ten opponents with the win coming against Michigan on Dec. 8, 1990, at Beeghly Center. All time, the Penguins are 1-1 against Michigan, 0-1 against Minnesota, 0-3 versus Indiana and Ohio State, and 0-5 against Penn State. Youngstown State's last game against a Big Ten opponent was at Penn State on Nov. 15, 2022.
- Power Four Teams: Youngstown State has played a team currently in a Power Four conference in 16 of the last 17 years (since playing Ohio State in 2007-08) with the lone exception being 2020-21. Eight of those 16 contests have come against Pitt, and YSU has beaten the Panthers twice – in 2012-13 and 2018-19. YSU is playing a Big Ten team for the fifth time in the last nine seasons.
YSU Against Ranked Opponents
- Saturday's game presents a rare challenge for the Penguins to take on an opponent ranked in the top 10 in the country. Ohio State is currently ranked eighth in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and it is 11th in the Associated Press Poll.
- YSU's last contest against a team ranking 11th or higher was against fellow Horizon League member Green Bay on Feb. 18, 2012. On that day, the Penguins took the Phoenix to overtime in a 77-72 loss in Youngstown. YSU's last victory over a ranked team was when it beat Green Bay 60-56 on Feb. 19, 2005, when the Phoenix were ranked 23rd.
- The last time YSU played a team ranked in the top 10 in either poll was when it played No. 6 Penn State in the opening round of the 1999-2000 NCAA Tournament.
- Recently, YSU played at No. 12/15 Indiana on Dec. 15, 2019, and the Penguins trailed just 41-38 at halftime before the Hoosiers pulled away in the second half for a 93-56 victory.
Storylines
Thierry vs. Thierry
- Saturday's game will be the first time that the fraternal twins of Youngstown State's Haley Thierry and Ohio State's Taylor Thierry will play basketball against each other in a team setting. The sisters are expected to have a large fan section at Schottenstein Center with family flying in from Florida and Louisiana joining family and friends from Ohio.
- Haley Thierry has played 78 games in her Penguins career, and her best season came in 2023-24 as a junior when she made 15 starts and led the team with 37 steals. In interviews this week, Haley has said that she takes great pride on the defensive side of the ball and that Taylor, who is listed at five inches taller, has a wide array of offensive tools at her disposal.
- As teammates at the Laurel School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Haley and Taylor helped the Gators reach the semifinals of the state tournament as seniors in 2021.
- The Thierry sisters come from an accomplished athletic family. Their father, the late John Thierry, was the 11th overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft and played nine seasons in the league as a defensive lineman. Their mother Elin played volleyball at Oklahoma.
Homecoming for Watkins
- Saturday's contest also serves as a Homecoming for YSU senior Jewel Watkins, who is a Columbus native and a graduate of Whitehall-Yearling High School.
- Watkins is in her first season at Youngstown State, and she leads the Penguins in scoring at 14.1 points per game. She has started every game at the "3" position, and she has made a team-high 20 3-pointers.
- Before coming to YSU, Watkins played her first two collegiate seasons at Coppin State and the 2023-24 campaign at Charlotte. She scored 628 points over two seasons at Coppin State and was a Second Team All-MEAC honoree as a sophomore.
Up Next
- Youngstown State will briefly step back into Horizon League play on Wednesday by hosting Detroit Mercy at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. Tipoff against the Titans is set for 6:30 p.m.
