Youngstown State will try to send its seniors off on a high note and build momentum for the postseason as it hosts Cleveland State on Saturday in the regular-season finale. Tipoff against the Vikings is set for 2 p.m., and the game from Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and ESPN+. YSU will recognize seniors Malia Magestro, Haley Thierry and Jewel Watkins before their final regular-season contest on Rosselli Court.

Gameday Info

• When: Saturday, March 1, 2025 | 2 p.m.
• Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
• Watch: ESPN+ | espn.com | International Stream
• Listen: 1390 WNIO | iHeart.com
• Stats: SIDEARM Stats
• Social: Instagram | X | Facebook

Tickets, Promotions & Fan Information

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

• Advance tickets for Saturday'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 1 p.m. on Saturday.
• Promotions
  • Senior Day
  • Team Picture Giveaway courtesy of McDonald's and 21 WFMJ
  • Veterans Appreciation Day presented by NECA-IBEW. All active and retired military personnel can receive up to four complimentary tickets by presenting a valid military ID at the Athletic Ticket Office prior to gameday

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Youngstown State went 2-1 in its three-game road stretch to keep its chances alive to host a first-round game in the 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. The Penguins need a victory and some help elsewhere in the standings to clinch a top-eight seed in the tournament and a first-round contest at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
• The Penguins are currently the ninth seed as the regular season enters its final day on Saturday with five teams having either six or seven conference victories.
• YSU swept its road trip at Detroit Mercy and Oakland last week before falling 76-53 at Robert Morris on Wednesday. The Colonials made 10 3-pointers in the game and outscored the Penguins 20-7 in the second quarter to gain control.
• Watkins, a transfer who is one of 10 newcomers on the team, leads the Penguins and ranks among the top five players in the Horizon League with 14.8 points and 2.2 3-pointers per game. She is one of three YSU guards to score more than 400 points since it joined the Horizon League in 2001-02.
• Sophia Gregory, one of seven freshmen on the roster, is the reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Week and a serious contender to be named the conference's Freshman of the Year. She leads all conference freshmen in points, rebounds, blocks and steals per game. Gregory has five double-doubles and has scored in double figures in seven of her last eight games.
• Magestro and Thierry headline YSU's returners, and they join Watkins as the program's three seniors in 2024-25. Magestro ranks 13th in the conference in scoring and leads the Penguins in assists (2.4 ap3), and she ranks among the program's top five all-time in career games, starts and minutes. Thierry has started the last three games and has been a huge spark since mid-December.
• Melissa Jackson, the ninth coach in program history, is spending her 17th consecutive season in Northeast Ohio. The first-year Penguin has the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Akron history from her five seasons leading the Zips from 2018-19 through 2022-23.
• With three season-ending injuries and other players dealing with bumps and bruises, YSU has used seven different starting lineup combinations this season. Ten of the 14 players on the roster have started at least once this season.
• YSU is 46-35 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 75-33 on Rosselli Court since the start of the 2018-19 campaign. YSU is 8-6 on its home floor in 2024-25.

Youngstown State vs. Cleveland State

A Win Would...

• Give YSU a 12-18 overall record, a 7-13 mark in Horizon League contests and a 9-6 record on its home floor.
• Allow the Penguins to split the regular-season series with Cleveland State.
• End a five-game slide against Cleveland State.
• Give Head Coach Melissa Jackson her 84th career win, her 12th at Youngstown State and her first overall victory against the Vikings.

Milestone Watch

• Sophia Gregory is one block away from breaking YSU's freshman record. She is currently tied with Jen Perugini (Pair-uh-JEE-nee), who had 30 in 2001-02.
• Abby Liber is 20 rebounds shy of grabbing 200 for her career.
• Malia Magestro needs 10 steals to reach 100. She is 31 points away from 1,300, which would move her up to 13th on YSU's career scoring list.
• Haley Thierry needs 23 rebounds to get to 300 in her career.
• Jewel Watkins needs three more assists to reach 100 in her career, and she is three steals shy of 100. She's also approaching 500 career rebounds, needing eight to reach the milestone.

Scouting the Vikings

• Cleveland State has secured the third seed in next week's 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. The Vikings enter the final day of the regular season with a 23-7 overall record and a 14-5 mark against the conference. CSU has series splits against Northern Kentucky, Oakland and Purdue Fort Wayne with one-possession losses to each, and the Vikings lost twice to Green Bay.
• The Vikings rank second in the Horizon League in both scoring offense and scoring defense, averaging 75.3 points while surrendering 59.5. They lead the league and rank 10th in the country with a .476 field-goal percentage, and they rank 16th in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.360). Additionally, CSU ranks sixth in the country with 16.73 points per game coming from the free-throw line.
• Four players have started all 30 games for Cleveland State, and they each average at least 10.7 points per game. Guard Mickayla Perdue leads the conference with 19.8 points per game, and forward Jordana Reisma averages 15 points while ranking second in the country with a .676 field goal percentage. Destiny Leo ranks 11th in the country with 82 3-pointers, and Sara Guerreiro's versatility is displayed by her third-place ranking in the league in rebounding and assists.

Series History and Matchup Notes

• Youngstown State has played Cleveland State more than any other program in its history and owns a 45-39 record against the Vikings in a series that dates back to Jan. 19, 1976. The Northeast Ohio rivals have played each other at least once in all 50 seasons of YSU's intercollegiate program.
• The series is tied 9-9 since the 2016-17 season, and YSU is 14-13 against the Vikings going back to 2012-13. Most recently, the Penguins won the final decision of the two-game set in 2020-21 and swept the regular season in 2021-22 for a three-game winning streak. The Vikings have won the last five meetings and are looking to sweep the regular-season series for the third straight year.
• Burch and Jackson: Youngstown State redshirt junior Faith  Burch spent the first three years of her collegiate career at Cleveland State before transferring to YSU. The Warren, Ohio, native redshirted in 2021-22, and she was part of 59 wins with the Vikings during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns. YSU head coach Melissa Jackson spent the 2023-24 season at Cleveland State as an assistant coach before being named the leader of the Penguins on March 14, 2024, two days after CSU played in the Horizon League Championship.

Last Time vs. Cleveland State

• Youngtown State battled on the road at Cleveland State on Jan. 23 but couldn't make enough shots in a 67-53 loss to the Vikings at the Wolstein Center.
• Jewel Watkins scored a team-high 15 points, and Haley Thierry scored 10 off the bench for the Penguins. Sophia Gregory grabbed a team-best nine rebounds and distributed a career-best six assists.
• YSU jumped out to a 9-2 lead with 6:28 left in the first quarter, but it was held to 11 points the rest of the half. The Vikings went on a 15-3 run in the second period as they built a 32-20 lead at halftime, and they scored 11 straight points early in the third to extend their lead.
• YSU made seven 3s in the game, and six different Penguins made at least one. The Vikings went 18-for-20 from the free-throw line and had a 12-point edge on foul shots.

Recapping Robert Morris

Game Summary

Robert Morris shot at least 50% in the final three quarters and made 10 3-pointers to beat Youngstown State 76-53 on Wednesday at the UPMC Events Center.

YSU led 7-2 less than three minutes into the game, and it trailed just 15-12 after the first quarter. Katelyn Chomko hit three 3-pointers for the Colonials during a 13-0 run to start the second period, and the margin was double digits the rest of the night.

Jewel Watkins scored 18 points to lead the Penguins, while Sophia Gregory scored 13 and Abby Liber added 10. Liber also contributed nine rebounds to just miss her first career double-double.

Noa Givon had 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals for Robert Morris. Chomko finished with 15 points on five 3-pointers, and RMU had four players total reach double figures.

Haley Thierry and Gregory scored on YSU's first two possessions, and Xoe Rosalez's 3-pointer at the 7:10 mark gave the Penguins a 7-2 lead. RMU scored 13 of the next 15 points to go up 15-9, and a Watkins 3-pointer with 1:20 on the clock closed the gap to 15-12.

The margin remained three for nearly three minutes before the Colonials went on their run. RMU scored on five straight possessions, and Chomko's third 3-pointer followed two offensive rebounds and put the Colonials ahead 28-12. Chomko added another 3 to finish 4-for-4 from long distance in the quarter, and RMU led 35-19 at the break.

Gregory's three-point play with 7:39 left in the third made the score 41-27, and that's as close as YSU got in the second half.

Watkins scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half, and Gregory had 11 of her 13 in the final 20 minutes.

Notes

• RMU made 10 3-pointers, which was the most by an opponent this season. Eight was the previous high, set by Northern Kentucky. The Colonials were 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in the second period when they outscored the Penguins 20-7.
• RMU's 19 assists tied for the most by an opponent.
• YSU did not block a shot for just the third time this season.
• Katelyn Chomko's five 3s tied for the most by an opposing player this season.
• Sophia Gregory became the fifth freshman in program history to grab at least 200 rebounds, joining Brandi Brown (318 - 2009-10), Jen Perugini (239 - 2001-02), Holly Seimetz (232 - 1978-79) and Wanda Grant (231 - 1977-78).
• Gregory tied Perugini's school record for most blocks by a freshman with 30. She also became the 10th Penguin regardless of class to record at least 30 blocks and 30 steals in the same season.
• Gregory scored 13 points, reaching double figures for the sixth time in the last seven games.
• Abby Liber attempted a career-high 11 field goals while scoring 10 points. It was her first game in double figures since she also had 10 points and nine rebounds against Mercyhurst on Nov. 19. Liber played 34 minutes against the Lakers, and she needed less than 19 minutes to achieve 10 points and nine rebounds on Wednesday.
• Erica King played 17 minutes, her most in a game in February.
• The Colonials held Malia Magestro scoreless for the first time this season on just one field-goal attempt.
• Xoe Rosalez attempted a career-high eight field goals. She matched her career high with two 3s, and she scored at least five points for the third straight game. That is her longest streak of five-point games this season.
• Bella Samz posted two assists for her fourth game with multiple assists in the last six contests.
• Haley Thierry had three assists, and she has had at least three in seven of YSU's last nine games. She also made her fourth 3-pointer in the last six games after having three in her first 21 contests.
• Jewel Watkins was fouled nine times in the game, which was five more times than any other player. She finished 8-for-9 from the free-throw line in her 18-point night. Watkins went 2-for-6 from 3-point range to extend her streak of games with at least one 3 to 18.

Up Next

• Youngstown State will play in the opening round of the 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday. The location, opponent and tip time for YSU's contest will be announced on Saturday at the conclusion of the league's five-game slate.