Youngstown State takes on a ranked opponent from the Big Ten Conference for the second straight season as it prepares to face No. 24/RV Michigan State on Wednesday. Tipoff at the Breslin Center, is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on B1G+, 570 WKBN and iHeart.com.
Gameday Info
Game Preview
The Penguins are 2-0 heading into their first game in East Lansing,. Mich., in program history. The two wins have come in quite different fashion as YSU cruised to a 104-33 home victory over Division III Thiel on Nov. 3 and rallied for a 65-58 at North Dakota on Friday. In the most recent victory over the Fighting Hawks, Youngstown State trailed by as many as 13 points early in the second quarter before a 16-0 burst in the third and a 16-4 run to end the game propelled the Penguins to victory.
An influx of new contributors has been key to YSU's two victories. Redshirt freshman Sarah Baker led YSU in scoring in Grand Forks with 16 points, and she went on to be named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week. Baker, who played in nine games before a season-ending injury in 2024-25, won the award for the fourth time in her career. Division I transfers Paulina Hernandez and Casey Santoro, a junior and sixth-year senior, respectively, scored in double figures for the second straight game and are the Penguins' top two scorers. Redshirt freshman Danielle Cameron, who missed the final 29 games of 2024-25, is averaging 10 points to give the Penguins four players who were either not on last season's roster or inactive by fall finals week averaging double figures.
Preseason All-Horizon League First-Team and reigning conference Freshman of the Year honoree Sophia Gregory is averaging 11 rebounds and 3.5 assists to go along with 6.5 points, and fifth-year senior post Faith Burch is averaging 6.5 points and 9.0 rebounds. Their contributions, alongside the early efforts of Baker and Hernandez, align with second-year Head Coach Melissa Jackson's preseason comments that YSU's posts are its strength this season, prompting some adjustments to offensive schemes.
Michigan State is also 2-0 with an average margin of victory of 49.5 points against Mercyhurst and Eastern Michigan. The Spartants start the season with six straight home games.
A Win Would...
- Give the Penguins a 3-0 record to start the season.
- Be YSU's first victory against Michigan State.
- Be YSU's first win over a Big Ten opponent since beating Michigan 75-66 on Dec. 8, 1990, in Youngstown.
- Give YSU its first win over a top-25 opponent since defeating No. 23 Green Bay 60-56 on Feb. 19, 2005.
- Mark YSU's first vcitory over a Power Four conference oppponent since a 64-55 win at Pitt on Nov. 13, 2018.
- Give Head Coach Melissa Jackson her 87th career win, her 15th at Youngstown State, and her first overall victory against the Spartans.
Milestone Watch
- Faith Burch is six points shy of 400 for her career.
- Sophia Gregory needs two points to reach 300 for her career, and she is seven rebounds away from 250.
- Erica King needs 18 points to reach 200 for her career.
- Casey Santoro is six assists away from 250 in her career. She is also approaching 1,000 career points with 932 in her career.
Scouting Michigan State
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Michigan State has averaged 108.5 points per game in its two lopsided victories to begin the season. The Spartans beat Mercyhurst 125-39 on Nov. 4, and they topped Eastern Michigan 92-60 on Sunday at the Breslin Center. The Spartans are ranked 24th in this week's Associated Press Top 25 Poll and received votes in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
The Spartans return a pair of All-Big Ten honorees in seniors Grace VanSlooten and Theryn Hallock, who are both averaging 16.5 points in fewer than 23 minutes per game. VanSlooten is one of 50 players who was named to the 2025-26 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List Presented by AXIA Time.
Michigan State is opening the season with six straight home games, a stretch that will conclude against Horizon League member Oakland. Through two contests, the Spartans have set program single-game records for most points (125) and fewest turnovers (three) and are outscoring opponents by an average of 49.5 points.
Series History and Matchup Notes
- Overall: First meeting
- Home: 0-0 // Away: 0-0 // Neutral: 0-0 // Jackson (career): 0-0
- Current Win Streak: None
Youngstown State and Michigan State are meeting in women's basketball for the first time in program history. YSU's men's basketball team has played at the Breslin Center twice, most recently in 2016, and the Penguins' football team played at Spartan Stadium earlier this season on Sept. 13.
Davidson Returns to Breslin: YSU assistant coach Courtney Davidson is a Michigan State alumna who played during a four-year stretch of national prominence for the Spartans from 2004-05 through 2007-08. Michigan State was the national runner-up her freshman year, advanced to the Elite Eight her sophomore year and appeared in the Sweet 16 her junior year. The Spartans then advanced to the finals of the WNIT her senior season in 2008. Davidson was the recipient of the Sixth Man of the Year Award as both a sophomore and junior and finished her career with 379 points and 181 assists. Davidson joined her 2004-05 teammates for a 20-year anniversary celebration at Spartan Stadium on Oct. 11.
Coaching Familiarity: While YSU head coach Melissa Jackson has never faced Michigan State, she is familiar with Spartans head coach Robyn Fralick from their time in the Mid-American Conference. Jackson led Akron for five seasons while Fralick was at Bowling Green, and the Zips were 7-3 against the Falcons during that span.
YSU vs. Big Ten Teams: YSU is 1-14 all-time in games played against current Big Ten opponents with the win coming against Michigan (75-66) on Dec. 8, 1990, at Beeghly Center. All time, the Penguins are 1-1 against Michigan, 0-5 against Penn State, 0-4 versus Ohio State, 0-3 against Indiana and 0-1 versus Minnesota. YSU is facing a Big Ten opponent for the fourth time in the last five seasons, playing Penn State (2021-22, 2022-23) and Ohio State (2024-25) prior to this season.
YSU vs. Power Four Opponents: Youngstown State has played a team currently in a Power Four conference in 17 of the last 18 years (since playing Ohio State in 2007-08) with the lone exception being 2020-21. Eight of those 17 contests were against Pitt, and YSU has beaten the Panthers twice – in 2012-13 and 2018-19. The Penguins are facing a Big Ten team for the sixth time in the last 10 seasons.
Recapping North Dakota
Game Summary
Youngstown State used a decisive 16-0 third-quarter run to rally past North Dakota 65-58 on Friday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Trailing 40-27 early in the third, Hayden Barrier sparked the surge with five straight points, and Paulina Hernandez's 3-pointer with 5:12 left gave YSU its first lead since the opening two minutes of the game. Sophia Gregory's jumper capped the run, turning a seven-point halftime deficit into a 49-45 advantage. After North Dakota regained the lead early in the fourth, YSU held the Fighting Hawks to four points over the final 8:53. Danielle Cameron's 3-pointer at the 2:35 mark put the Penguins ahead for good, and Casey Santoro sealed it at the line by going 6-for-6 in the final 30 seconds. Sarah Baker scored 16 points, Santoro added 13 with nine rebounds, and Hernandez tallied 11.
Notes
- The Penguins snapped a six-game road skid against nonconference opponents dating back to Dec. 9, 2023. YSU also beat a current Summit League team for the first time since 2001.
- The Penguins trailed by 12 points twice in the second quarter and by as many as 13 more than three minutes into the third period. That was YSU's largest deficit overcome in a victory since rallying from 18 down at Northern Kentucky on Feb. 24, 2023.
- YSU was 8-for-23 from 3-point range, while North Dakota was 8-for-35.
- The Penguins won for the first time under head coach Melissa Jackson when being outscored in the paint. They were 0-17 in such occurrences entering the contest, and the Fighting Hawks held a slim 20-18 advantage.
- YSU was plus-seven in turnover margin and outscored the Fighting Hawks 23-13 off turnovers. Hayden Barrier had three steals, bringing her total to seven this season after she recorded one as a true freshman.
- Sarah Baker tied her career high with 16 points, matching the 16-point effort she had against Milwaukee on Dec. 4, 2024. That was her final contest of her true freshman season as she missed the final 22 games with a lower-body injury.
- Sophia Gregory grabbed 10 rebounds for her second consecutive contest in double digits.
- Paulina Hernandez made the first three 3-pointers of her career, finishing 3-for-5. She was 0-for-2 in her first 56 career games heading into the contest. Hernandez also blocked two shots for the second straight game.
- Casey Santoro nearly recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Santoro has one career triple-double, which she posted while playing at Kent State in 2021-22.
Up Next
Youngstown State will host Bucknell at 2 p.m. on Sunday inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. Fans will receive a YSU schedule magnet, and all general admission tickets will be $5 for STEM Day. Fans who bring a canned good to benefit the YSU Pantry Drive will receive a ticket voucher for a free general admission ticket for a future game, and it will be a Veterans Appreciation Game, presented by NECA IBEW.
