Youngstown State begins a busy three-week stretch of Horizon League play this Thursday by hosting Green Bay at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. Tipoff against the Phoenix is set for 6:30 p.m., and the contest will be aired live on 570 WKBN, iHeart and ESPN+.

Gameday Info

• When: Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 | 6:30 p.m.
• Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
• Watch: ESPN+ | espn.com
• Listen: 570 WKBN | iHeart.com
• Stats: ysusports.com
• Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information

Tickets | Gameday & Parking Information | Visitors Guide | Promotional Schedule | YSU Mobile App - iOS - Android

• Advance tickets for Thursday's game are available online through YSUsports.com or by calling (330) 941-1978. The ticket office and gates at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center will open at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
• Promotions
  • Burgan Real Estate Welcome Back Students Night
  • YSU Student T-Shirt Giveaway and first 100 YSU Students will receive free Chick-fil-A Sandwich
  • Cooling Towel Giveaway, courtesy of Premier Bank, Medical Mutual, Complete Pest Solutions, and 21 WFMJ

A Glimpse at the Guins

• After playing just twice over the previous 17 days, YSU will play seven times in a 21-day span from Jan. 9 through Jan. 29. Five of those contests will be on Rosselli Court as the Penguins look to improve upon their 6-1 mark on their home floor.
• Youngstown State came up short in its two most recent contests, falling 65-50 at IU Indy and 74-60 at Purdue Fort Wayne. Those decisions dropped the Penguins to 2-3 in conference play, which is sixth in the standings.
• Jewel Watkins scored a game-high 18 points and made four 3-pointers in YSU's game against the Mastodons on New Year's Day. Watkins, a senior transfer who is one of 10 newcomers on the team, leads YSU with 13.5 points per game and 31 3-pointers, both of which rank among the top eight in the conference.
• Two freshmen also had big games against PFW as Erica King scored 14 points in her first start in nearly a month, and Sophia Gregory grabbed 15 rebounds. King has scored in double figures in three straight games, and Gregory's 15 boards were the most by a YSU freshman since 2010.
• With King joining the starting group, YSU used its seventh different starting lineup combination. 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 year with injuries.
• Youngstown State leads the Horizon League in scoring defense allowing 58.6 points per game. YSU also tops the circuit in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.278) and blocks per game (3.9), and it ranks among the top five in steals (fifth), rebounding margin (second), turnover margin (fourth) and turnovers forced per game (fourth).
• Melissa Jackson is in her first season as YSU's head coach. The ninth coach in program history, she 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.
• YSU is 42-25 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 has enjoyed tremendous success at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The Penguins have had a winning record at home in 11 of the last 12 seasons, and they are 73-28 on Rosselli Court since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

Youngstown State vs. Green Bay

A Win Would...

• Give YSU an 8-8 overall record, a 3-3 mark in Horizon League contests and a 7-1 ledger on Rosselli Court.
• Improve YSU's all-time record against Green Bay to 9-48.
• Snap a four-game slide to the Phoenix.
• Be YSU's first against Green Bay in Youngstown since Dec. 4, 2021.
• Give Head Coach Melissa Jackson her 80th career win, her eighth at Youngstown State and her first over Green Bay.

Milestone Watch

• Faith Burch needs 12 rebounds to reach 300 in her career. She scored her 300th career point at Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 1.
• Malia Magestro needs 18 3-pointers to become the fifth Penguin to reach 200. She is 42 points away from moving into 19th place on YSU's career scoring list.
• Haley Thierry is two points from 250 in her career, and she needs eight rebounds to grab 200.
• Jewel Watkins is three field goals shy of her 300th. She is also closing in on her 150th career 3-pointer, needing 14 to reach the milestone.

Scouting the Phoenix

• Green Bay comes to Youngstown with an 11-5 overall record and a 4-1 mark against Horizon League teams. The Phoenix have won their last four games and five of their last six since a one-point loss at Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 7.
• The Phoenix have a very veteran roster and a first-year head coach in Kayla Karius. Seven of Green Bay's top eight scorers are seniors, and the lone exception among that group is a redshirt junior. Natalie McNeal is the leading scorer with 13.3 points per game, and Green Bay has two players ranking among national leaders. Callie Gehnke ranks sixth in the country with a .479 3-point field-goal percentage, and Bailey Butler is 23rd nationally with 80 assists.
• As a team, Green Bay ranks among the top 10 teams in the country with a 1.47 assist-to-turnover ratio while turning the ball over just 11.8 times per contest. The Phoenix, who were picked seventh in the Horizon League preseason poll, rank fourth in the conference in both scoring offense (66.7) and scoring defense (60.9).

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: Green Bay leads 48-6
Jackson: 0-0 // Home: 3-21 // Away: 3-25 // Neutral: 0-2
Current Win Streak: 4 by Green Bay

• Green Bay has won 48 of the 54 all-time meetings with Youngstown State in a series dating back to Jan. 21, 1993, when both teams were members of the Mid-Continent Conference. All 54 contests have been in league play or a conference tournament.
• While Green Bay has a hold on the all-time series, YSU has closed the gap recently, particularly in the last 11 meetings. The Penguins are 3-8 in the last 11 encounters, and the losses include a two-point margin in the semifinals of the 2019 Horizon League Championship and two double-overtime setbacks. The teams split the regular-season series in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and Green Bay won both regular-season meetings in 2023-24 and eliminated YSU from last season's conference tournament.

Last Time vs. Green Bay in Youngstown

• YSU made four straight 3-pointers early in the third quarter to make a run at Green Bay, but the Penguins fell 71-59 to the Phoenix on Feb. 17, 2024, at Beeghly Center.
• It was YSU's senior day, and fifth-year senior Emily Saunders had one of the best games of her career, posting game highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• Green Bay led 17-10 at the end the first quarter and 33-19 at halftime. The lead stretched to 35-19 on the first possession of the third quarter when YSU made its charge behind four straight 3-pointers that forced a Green Bay timeout. The Penguins got as close as 35-34 after a 15-0 run, but Green Bay got its lead back to 50-41 at the end of the quarter and started the fourth on a 10-2 run.

Recapping Purdue Fort Wayne

Game Summary

Purdue Fort Wayne was hot to start both halves, and Youngstown State's women's basketball team fell 74-60 on Jan. 1 to the Mastodons at the Gates Sports Center.

Jewel Watkins scored 18 points and made four 3-pointers, which were both game highs, for YSU. Erica King scored 14 points and made three 3-pointers, and Sophia Gregory grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.

Amellia Bromenschenkel led Purdue Fort Wayne with 17 points, and five Mastodons scored at least eight points.

PFW scored on its first three possessions and built a 7-0 lead, but Youngstown State went on a 10-3 burst over the next three minutes to tie the score at 10. Watkins and King hit back-to-back 3s during the run, and Watkins' layup tied the score at the 5:17 mark. The Penguins were held scoreless for more than three minutes until King's bucket with 1:58 on the clock, and the freshman's 3-pointer 55 seconds later made the score 17-15.

Tia Morgan hit a 3 for PFW to end the quarter to up the margin to five, and she made two free throws with 3:54 left in the second quarter to give the Mastodons their first double-digit lead at 28-18. The lead grew to a dozen on PFW's next possession to conclude a 7-0 run, and YSU scored the final four points of the half. Haley Thierry's driving layup for the Penguins at the 1:57 mark accounted for the final points for either team in the half.

Purdue Fort Wayne's hot start to the second half upped its margin to 41-28, and the Mastodons scored the final seven points of the period to turn a 15-point edge into a 56-34 advantage heading into the fourth.

Watkins made three 3-pointers between the 7:16 and 5:39 marks of the fourth quarter, and YSU outscored the Mastodons 21-10 over the final six-and-a-half minutes.

Notes

• YSU had a better 3-point field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage than its opponent. Purdue Fort Wayne had eight more field goals on 14 more attempts due to being plus-19 in turnover margin.
• YSU had 26 turnovers, which led to 30 points for Purdue Fort Wayne. PFW committed just seven turnovers, and YSU scored nine points off of them. The Penguins had a season-low one steal, and they had forced at least 13 turnovers in every other contest.
• In addition to its edge in turnovers, Purdue Fort Wayne had a 44-26 scoring advantage in the paint.
• The Penguins limited to Purdue Fort Wayne to 7-of-24 on 3-point shooting. The Mastodons came into the game averaging 9.9 3s per game and shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc.
• The Penguins made eight 3s to tie for its most against a D1 opponent this season (Milwaukee on Dec. 4).
• YSU also kept Purdue Fort Wayne's top scorer, Lauren Ross, 16 points below her scoring average entering the contest. Ross was whistled for four fouls and played less than 22 minutes.
• YSU had its highest scoring fourth quarter of the season with 26 points.
• YSU lost for the first time this season when scoring at least 60 points.
• Faith Burch scored her 300th career point in in eight-point performance. Burch, coming off the bench for the second straight game, added four rebounds and a block.
• Sophia Gregory had a career-high 15 rebounds, which was the most by a Penguin in a game this season and the most by a YSU freshman since 2010. Gregory grabbed eight of the caroms on the offensive end. Only one Horizon League player has grabbed more rebounds in a game this season. Gregory added six points, three assists and a block.
• Dacia Lewandowski tied a career high with four points, which was her most against a Division I opponent. She was 1-for-1 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free throw line.
• Erica King tied her career high with three 3s in a 14-point effort. King scored in double figures for the third straight game and for the fifth time this season. She has scored at least 13 points in three of YSU's first five conference contests.
• Malia Magestro grabbed a season-high seven rebounds.
• Haley Thierry scored season-high nine points while going 4-for-4 from the field overall and 1-for-1 from 3-point range. She added three rebounds and her 100th career assist.

Jewel Watkins scored her 900th career point as part of an 18-point output. She made four 3-pointers overall, and she went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.

Up Next

Youngstown State will play at Wright State on Sunday afternoon at 2. The contest from the Nutter Center will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.