Youngstown State faces its first road challenge of the 2025-26 season on Friday with a trip to North Dakota. The Penguins and Fighting Hawks will play at 8 p.m. Eastern at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D., and the game will be broadcast live on Midco Sports+, 1390 WNIO and iHeart.com.
Gameday Info
Game Preview
This was meant to be a return trip to complete a home-and-home series with YSU and North Dakota, but last season's scheduled contest was canceled due to a power outage on Youngstown State's campus that started approximately 30 minutes before tip. The Penguins and Fighting Hawks had their 2025-26 season openers go off as planned earlier this week with contrasting results against opponents at different levels of competition. YSU earned a 104-33 victory over Division III Thiel on Monday, North Dakota fell 91-47 at Minnesota from the Big Ten on Tuesday.
The favorable margin in Youngstown allowed all 12 Penguins to play at least seven minutes and score at least three points. Transfers Casey Santoro and Paulina Hernandez both scored 14 points in their YSU debuts, and seven players finished with between nine and 14 points. Faith Burch, one of the program's two seniors along with Santoro, posted a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Preseason All-Horizon League First-Team honoree Sophia Gregory finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and six assists. The performances by Hernandez, Burch and Santoro were aligned 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.
In addition to the transfers, YSU welcomed back Sarah Baker, Danielle Cameron and Ashlynn Van Tassell, who missed most or all of last season with lower-body injuries. Baker, a three-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week before her injury, and Cameron were in the starting lineup. Sophomore Erica King scored nine points in her ninth career start as YSU featured three new starters in the backcourt.
A Win Would...
- Be YSU's first against North Dakota.
- Give YSU its first victory over a current Summit League member since 2001.
- Snap a six-game skid against non-conference opponents away from Beeghly Center dating back to Dec. 9, 2023.
- Give Head Coach Melissa Jackson her 86th career win, her 14th at Youngstown State, and her first overall victory against the Fighting Hawks.
Milestone Watch
- Faith Burch is eight points shy of 400 for her career.
- Sophia Gregory needs six points to reach 300 for her career, and she is 17 rebounds away from 250.
- Erica King needs 21 points to reach 200 for her career.
- Casey Santoro is 11 assists away from 250 in her career. She is also approaching 1,000 career points with 919 in her career.
Scouting North Dakota
Roster | Schedule | Stats
North Dakota dropped its season opener 91-47 at Minnesota on Tuesday evening. It was the program's first game under head coach Dennis Hutter, who was elevated from the position of associate head coach in March.
The Fighting Hawks return seven players from last year's squad that finished 12-19 overall and 6-10 in Summit League play. The group of nine newcomers includes five transfers, four of whom played at the Division I level in 2024-25. Ava Miller, a transfer from USC Upstate, led North Dakota with 11 points at Minnesota.
Senior center Walker Demers was named to the Summit League Preseason Second Team as UND's top returning scorer and rebounder from last season. North Dakota was picked to finish seventh in the preseason Summit League poll.
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 North Dakota are meeting on the hardwood for the first time in program history on Friday. The teams were scheduled to open the 2024-25 season in Youngstown on Nov. 4, 2024, but the game was canceled due to a power outage on campus that began approximately 30 minutes before tip.
While North Dakota competes in the Summit League and Youngstown State is a Horizon League member in basketball, both schools' football teams are both members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. YSU fell 35-17 at the Alerus Center to the Fighting Hawks on Oct. 11.
YSU vs. Summit League Teams: Youngstown State is 19-8 all time against teams that are currently in the Summit League. The Penguins were members of the Mid-Continent Conference, which is now the Summit League, for nine seasons from 1992-93 through 2000-01 before moving to the Horizon League. YSU is 14-3 all-time against Kansas City and 5-5 against Oral Roberts, which were members of the Mid-Con at the same time as the Penguins. Youngstown State won the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament three times in its nine seasons in the conference, and it won the regular season championship in five consecutive seasons from 1994-95 through 1998-99.
Uncharted territory: Youngstown State will be in uncharted territory for the program as it travels to Grand Forks. The Penguins have never played a game in North Dakota or any of its bordering states. In fact, the closest YSU has played is Green Bay, a Horizon League school located approximately 600 miles away.
Recapping Thiel
Game Summary
Seven Penguins scored at least nine points as the Youngstown State women's basketball team opened the 2025-26 season with a 104-33 win over Thiel on Monday. Transfers Casey Santoro and Paulina Hernandez each scored 14 points, and Danielle Cameron added 12 in her return from injury. Faith Burch posted a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, while Sophia Gregory, Erica King and Brooke Adkins chipped in nine apiece. The 104 points were YSU's most since a 106-point outing against Chicago State in 1998 and the eighth-highest total in program history. All 12 Penguins scored as YSU shot 51.4%, forced 34 turnovers and outrebounded Thiel 57-21.
Notes
- YSU played its opening game in front of more than 2,000 area students as part of the 12th Annual School Day Kids Game presented by Chick-fil-A Tiffany Square Plaza.
- YSU won for the 10th time in its last 14 season openers while extending its winning streak against non-Division I teams to 31 games dating back to 1990.
- Five players set new career highs in scoring against the Tomcats. Paulina Hernandez, a transfer from Cleveland State, scored 14 points while going 6-for-9 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free-throw line to tie for game-high honors. Danielle Cameron scored 12 points in her first career start and her first appearance since a season-ending lower-body injury on Nov. 12, 2024, and Hayden Barrier had a career-high eight points. Brooke Adkins scored nine points while Ashlynn Van Tassell scored four in their collegiate debuts.
- The 104 points were YSU's most since scoring 106 against Chicago State on Jan. 5, 1998, and the eighth-highest total in program history. The 71-point margin of victory was the third-largest in school history and the largest since Dec. 29, 1990.
- All 12 players on YSU's roster scored at least three points, and no Penguin played more than 21 minutes.
- YSU recorded 24 steals, and 10 players had at least one steal. That was the fifth-highest total in program history and the most in a game since Jan. 8, 1998.
- Three of Thiel's tallest players were inactive because they are members of the volleyball team, and the Penguins took advantage of the size advantage by outrebounding the Tomcats by 37. YSU scored 56 points in the paint, and it converted 26 offensive rebounds into 28 second-chance points.
Up Next
Youngstown State will play at No. 23 Michigan State on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
