Youngstown State will begin the 2025 calendar year with another trip to Indiana for a road contest at Purdue Fort Wayne. The Penguins and Mastodons will play at 7 p.m. on New Year's Day, and the Wednesday evening affair will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeart and ESPN+.
Gameday Info
A Glimpse at the Guins
- As YSU flips the calendar from 2024, it is also hoping to turn the page from a disappointing result on Saturday at IU Indy. The Penguins had a down day offensively in a 65-50 loss to the Jaguars in their first of two trips to the Hoosier State in a week's span. YSU returned back to campus Saturday night, and it left for Fort Wayne on Tuesday afternoon.
- YSU deployed its sixth different starting lineup on Saturday as Haley Thierry made her first start of the season. Ten of the 14 players on the roster have started at least once this season, and two of the four who haven't started are out for the season with injuries.
- Youngstown State leads the Horizon League in scoring defense allowing 57.5 points per game. YSU also tops the circuit in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.276), and it ranks among the top four in blocks (second), steals (fourth), rebounding margin (second), turnover margin (fourth) and turnovers forced per game (third).
- Behind the strong defense, YSU has even records of 7-7 overall and 2-2 in Horizon League play entering Wednesday's game at Purdue Fort Wayne.
- Malia Magstro moved into 20th place on YSU's career scoring list by surpassing 1,100 career points on Saturday. She scored 13 points against the Jags while making a game-high three 3-pointers. Magestro is a fifth-year senior and one of four returners on this year's squad, joining Thierry, Abby Liber and Bella Samz.
- Freshman Erica King also scored 13 points at IU Indy, and fellow freshman Sophia Gregory is averaging 8.1 points while ranking sixth in the conference with 6.6 rebounds per game.
- Transfer Jewel Watkins is the Penguins' top scorer with 13.2 points per game, and she leads the squad with 27 3-pointers. Watkins is one of 10 newcomers on first-year head coach Melissa Jackson's 14-player roster. Jackson has spent the last 16 years in Northeast Ohio, and she has the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Akron history from her five seasons leading the Zips.
- Gregory, King and Sarah Baker have each scored at least 15 points in a game this season, giving YSU a league-high three freshmen with 15-plus in a contest. Baker is a three-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week who has missed four straight games with a lower-body injury.
- YSU is 42-24 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 seven campaigns.
Youngstown State vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
A Win Would...
- Give YSU an 8-7 overall record, a 2-4 record in road games and a 3-2 mark in Horizon League contests.
- Improve YSU's all-time record against the Mastodons to 12-4.
- Snap a two-game slide in road games against Purdue Fort Wayne.
- Improve YSU's record in New Year's Day games to 2-1.
- Give Head Coach Melissa Jackson her 80th career win and her eighth at Youngstown State.
Milestone Watch
- Faith Burch is closing in on 300 career points and 300 career rebounds. She is two points from the milestone, and she is 16 rebounds shy.
- Malia Magestro needs 18 3-pointers to become the fifth Penguin to reach 200. She is 43 points away from moving into 19th place on YSU's career scoring list.
- Haley Thierry needs one assist to reach 100 for her career. She is 11 points from 250 in her career, and she needs 11 rebounds to grab 200.
- Jewel Watkins is 16 points away from 900 in her career. She is also 10 field goals shy of her 300th.
Scouting the Mastodons
- Purdue Fort Wayne's upward trend in the conference is continuing this season, and the Mastodons are 4-0 in Horizon League play with wins over Robert Morris, Green Bay, IU Indy and Wright State. The Mastodons are 9-5 overall, and they are 5-0 at home.
- Purdue Fort Wayne leads the Horizon League in scoring offense averaging 79.2 points per game, and it ranks among the top 20 teams in the country with 9.9 3-pointers per game and a .377 3-point field-goal percentage. Defensively, Purdue Fort Wayne leads the conference in turnover margin at plus-6.86, and it allows 62.6 points per game.
- PFW is a very experienced squad with eight players who are seniors or fifth-year student-athletes on its roster. All six players who have started a game for the Mastodons are seniors, and two of Purdue Fort Wayne's top three scorers are newcomers. Lauren Ross, a fifth-year senior transfer from Michigan State, ranks fourth in the country in both 3-pointers (49) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.521). She ranks second in the Horizon League in scoring at 18.6 points per game. Sydney Freeman, a Dayton transfer, is averaging 9.89 points. Returner Amellia Brommenschenkel is averaging 10.4 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds.
Series History and Matchup Notes
Overall: Youngstown State leads 11-4
Jackson: 1-0 // Home: 8-1 // Away: 3-3 // Neutral: 0-0
Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
- Youngstown State leads the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne 11-4, and the Penguins have won eight of the last 10 meetings. They have also won six straight against the Mastodons in Youngstown, and Purdue Fort Wayne has triumphed on its home court in each of the past two years. YSU has a 7-2 edge since the Mastodons joined the Horizon League in the 2020-21 season.
- The teams went nearly 10 years between meetings from 2011 to when the Mastodons joined the conference. YSU had its highest scoring output ever in a Horizon League game in a 102-60 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne when the series resumed on Feb. 5, 2021. Since then, YSU has scored in the sixties in eight straight meetings as the Mastodons have improved. Defensively, the Penguins have held Purdue Fort Wayne to 60 points or below in seven of the nine meetings since the 'Dons joined the conference.
Last Time at Purdue Fort Wayne
- Purdue Fort Wayne made 13 3-pointers to fight off Youngstown State for a 73-64 victory in the 2023-24 regular-season finale for both teams on March 2, 2024.
- Youngstown State had four players reach double figures, led by Emily Saunders' 17 points. She was joined by 10 points apiece from Shay-Lee Kirby, Paige Shy and Haley Thierry, and Dena Jarrells added nine points. Saunders added nine rebounds and six blocks.
- The Penguins scored seven of the first 10 points of the game and led 7-3 after an Abby Liber layup at the 5:49 mark of the first quarter. The Mastodons started making just one of its first six field-goal attempts and had six turnovers in the first six minutes, but Shayla Sellers hit a 3 at the 3:55 mark to spark a 9-2 run for Purdue Fort Wayne. The Mastodons led 14-9 after their first possession of the second period, and YSU was not able to take the lead again.
- The Penguins trailed just 54-53 heading into the fourth, but they didn't make a field goal for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter. Purdue Fort Wayne took advantage with a 16-2 run that gave it a 70-55 advantage with 3:11 left.
Recapping IU Indy
Game Summary
Youngstown State got off to a tough start offensively and was unable to catch IU Indy in a 65-50 loss to the Jaguars at The Jungle on Saturday.
The Penguins shot 22.2% from the field and had 14 turnovers in the first half as IU Indy built a 28-19 lead. YSU increased its point total in each quarter, but the Jaguars scored 22 points in the third period to protect their lead.
Erica King scored all 13 of her points in the second half for Youngstown State, and Malia Magestro scored nine of her 13 in the first half. Magestro made three of the seven combined 3-pointers in the game as IU Indy scored 42 points in the paint and made 15 free throws.
YSU's Sophia Gregory had a field goal at the 9:21 mark for the first bucket of the game, but the Penguins had just one more field goal the rest of the quarter. The basket was a 3-pointer by Magestro with 4:05 on the clock, which made the score 11-7. IU Indy led 15-7 at the end of the first, and YSU's defense kept the margin to a manageable 28-19 at halftime despite the Penguins going 4-for-16 from the field in the second quarter.
The Jaguars scored the first six points of the second half and led by double digits the rest of the way. After YSU's offensive pace picked up midway through the quarter to cut the deficit to 10 three times, IU Indy closed the third quarter on a 12-5 run to extend its lead to 50-33. Behind nine points from King in the fourth period, the Penguins were within a dozen three times but couldn't get any closer.
Notes
- IU Indy did the bulk of its scoring close to the basket as it outscored the Penguins 42-14 in the paint. The Jaguars' starting forwards, Faith Stinson and Alexa Hocevar, combined for 33 points while going 12-for-15 from the field.
- Stinson had a career afternoon for the Jaguars with 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
- From the outside, the Jaguars were just 2-for-16 from beyond the arc. That was the lowest 3-point total by an opponent this season.
- Haley Thierry made her first start of the season to become the 10th different Penguin to start a game this season. She played nearly 14 minutes, grabbed two rebounds and had a steal.
- Thierry's insertion into the lineup gave the Penguins their sixth different combination in the first 14 games of the season.
- Faith Burch, who left the contest against Point Park in the second half with an injury, came off the bench for the first time this season and played more than 25 minutes.
- Malia Magestro scored 13 points to increase her career total to 1,105. She is now 20th in program history in career scoring.
- Magestro scored in double figures for the seventh time this season, and it was her first time with more than 10 away from Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
- Erica King scored 13 points for the second straight contest. All 13 of her points came in the second half, and the freshman scored nine points in the fourth quarter. It was King's fourth time scoring in double figures this season, which is the most among YSU's freshmen.
- YSU had 26 rebounds, which was its second-fewest of the season ahead of only the Ohio State game.
Up Next
- After Wednesday, YSU will go a full week without competition. Its next game will be against Green Bay on Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center
