- Youngstown State starts a road-heavy February by making its longest trip of the Horizon League schedule this week to Wisconsin. The swing in the Badger State starts at Green Bay at 7 p.m. Eastern, and the contest from the Kress Center will be broadcast live on ESPN+, 1390 WNIO and iHeart.
Gameday Info
A Glimpse at the Guins
- The Penguins will play five of their seven games this month away from Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center, and the challenging month begins against a team vying for the conference's regular-season title. The Phoenix are 19-5 overall and 12-1 in league play, which is one game behind YSU's previous opponent, Purdue Fort Wayne. The Penguins fell 79-56 to the Mastodons on Jan. 29, and they were the lone league team not in action over the weekend.
- As the calendar flips to February, YSU is one of seven teams within 2.5 games of each other in the standings. Oakland is in fourth place with a 6-6 record, and Wright State and IU Indy are tied for ninth at 4-9. The Penguins are 9-13 overall and 4-8 in conference play.
- This is a much different-looking team than the 2023-24 Penguins squad that saw its season end at the Kress Center in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. YSU has 10 newcomers on the team under first-year head coach Melissa Jackson.
- Senior Jewel Watkins, one of those 10 newcomers, leads YSU and ranks sixth in the conference in scoring at 14.5 points per game. She also ranks third in the circuit with 2.3 3s per game, and she routinely defends the opposing team's top wing.
- Sophia Gregory should be among the favorites to be considered the Horizon League Freshman of the Year. She leads all conference freshmen in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals per game, and she is second in assists per game and field-goal percentage.
- Malia Magestro, one of four returners and in her fifth season at YSU, is two 3-pointers shy of becoming the fifth Penguin to make 200 triples in a career. She made her 100th career start last week against Purdue Fort Wayne.
- Despite giving up 79 points to the 'Dons last week, YSU's strength remains its defense in this first season under Jackson. Youngstown State leads the Horizon League in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.304), and it ranks second in blocks per game (3.5) and rebounding margin (plus-2.8). The Penguins also rank among the top five in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and turnovers forced.
- Jackson, the ninth coach in program history, 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.
- 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 44-30 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 75-31 on Rosselli Court since the start of the 2018-19 campaign. YSU is 8-4 on its home floor in 2024-25.
Youngstown State vs. Green Bay
A Win Would...
- Give YSU a 10-13 overall record, a 5-8 mark in Horizon League contests and a 1-8 record in true road games this season.
- Snap a five-game losing streak to the Phoenix.
- Be YSU's second win at the Kress Center in its last four tries.
- Give Head Coach Melissa Jackson her 82nd career win, her 10th at Youngstown State and her first over Green Bay.
Milestone Watch
- Faith Burch is three assists from 50 in her career.
- Malia Magestro needs two 3-pointers to become the fifth Penguin to reach 200. She is also 18 points from 1,200 in her career.
- Haley Thierry is six points shy of 300 in her career.
- Jewel Watkins is eight free throws from making her 200th. She needs 10 more assists to reach 100 in her career.
Scouting the Phoenix
- Green Bay has won 12 straight games, and it is 19-5 overall and 12-1 in Horizon League play entering Thursday's game. The Phoenix are one game behind Purdue Fort Wayne in the conference standings, and Green Bay's last loss was 67-66 in Fort Wayne on Dec. 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 14.4 points per game, and second-leading scorer Maddy Schreiber returned to the lineup last week after missing a month and a half. Green Bay has two players ranking among national leaders. Callie Gehnke ranks sixth in the country with a .473 3-point field-goal percentage, and Bailey Butler ranks among the top 30 in assist-to-turnover ratio and total assists.
- As a team, Green Bay ranks among the top 10 teams in the country with a 1.49 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, lead the conference in scoring defense allowing 57.6 points per game, and they are third in scoring offense at 67.6 points per contest.
Series History and Matchup Notes
Overall: Green Bay leads 49-6
Jackson: 0-0 // Home: 3-22 // Away: 3-25 // Neutral: 0-2
Current Win Streak: 5 by Green Bay
- Green Bay has won 49 of the 55 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 55 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 12 meetings. The Penguins are 3-9 in the last 12 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
Youngstown State had two freshmen reach double figures and played well enough defensively to win, but the Penguins had too many long scoring droughts in a 58-50 loss to Green Bay on Jan. 9 at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins scored two points over a 10-minute stretch in the first half, and the Phoenix build a 14-point lead with 3:53 left in the second quarter. YSU was unable to get closer than six points the rest of the contest. The Penguins went scoreless for more than four minutes in the first quarter, four minutes to start the second quarter and nearly six minutes at the beginning of the fourth.
Sophia Gregory scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, and Erica King scored 12 to lead the Penguins. YSU shot 42.6% overall, just under Green Bay's 44.2%, and it limited its turnovers over the final 30 minutes after having nine in the first period. YSU forced Green Bay into a season-high 19 turnovers. The Phoenix came into the game ranking among the top 10 teams in the country in fewest turnovers per game at 11.8 per contest.
Recapping Purdue Fort Wayne
Game Summary
Jewel Watkins scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and the 16th time this season, but Youngstown State couldn't keep up with Purdue Fort Wayne's scoring pace in a 79-56 loss to the Mastodons on Jan. 29 at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
Watkins led three Penguins in double figures, and she was joined by freshmen Sophia Gregory (12) and Erica King (11). Gregory was also one of three Penguins to grab at least eight rebounds, and the freshman forward added three assists and three blocks.
Sydney Freeman scored a team-high 22 points to lead the Mastodons to their 14th consecutive victory.
The teams were a combined 3-for-16 from the field over the first five minutes as Purdue Fort Wayne led 5-3, but the visitors went on a 10-2 run to close the period to take a 15-5 advantage.
YSU was within eight in the final minute of the second period before the Mastodons scored five quick points before the buzzer to go up 35-22. Purdue Fort Wayne then opened the second half by scoring nine of the first 12 points to boost its lead to 44-25. The Penguins battled back with a 12-2 run keyed by a 3-pointer by Malia Magestro and a three-point play by Gregory to trim the deficit to 46-35 at the 2:48 mark. The 'Dons led 54-39 heading into the fourth, and, although the Penguins shot 47% from the floor in the final quarter, Purdue Fort Wayne went 5-for-6 from beyond the arc and outscored YSU 25-17 to close out the game.
Notes
- YSU was 2-for-14 from the field in the first period as it scored five points. That tied for the Penguins' lowest-scoring opening quarter this season.
- PFW's 79 points were the most by a Horizon League opponent against the Penguins this season.
- YSU attempted a season-low six free throws, and it converted five of those six tries. There were just 20 fouls called in the game. YSU's 11 fouls resulted in 16 free-throw attempts for the Mastodons, while PFW's nine fouls resulted in six free-throw attempts for the Penguins. The nine fouls were the fewest by an opponent this season.
- After going 1-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, YSU was 3-for-5 in the second and 6-for-15 over the final 30 minutes.
- The Penguins held the Mastodons to two 3-pointers on 13 attempts through the first three quarters. The league leaders then went 5-for-6 from long distance in their 25-point fourth quarter.
- Youngstown State had three players grab at least eight rebounds in the contest. Haley Thierry led all players with nine, while Faith Burch and Sophia Gregory each grabbed eight.
- Burch was held below five points for the first time since the game against Towson on Nov. 30. She had scored at least five points in 13 consecutive contests.
- Gregory blocked three shots, her most against a Division I opponent this season. She has had five blocks in her last two games, and she now ranks third in the conference this season with 1.1 blocks per game.
- Erica King scored 11 points off the bench for her first game in double figures since the contest against Green Bay on Jan. 9. King was efficient, going 3-for-3 on two-point attempts, 1-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
- Malia Magestro went 2-for-5 from 3-point range and at least two 3s for the fifth time in the last six games. In the six most-recent contests, Magestro is 16-for-33 (48.5%) from beyond the arc.
- Thierry grabbed at least seven rebounds for the third straight game, and she played a season-high 35 minutes. She led the Penguins in minutes for the first time this season.
- According to Her Hoop Stats, Jewel Watkins' 21 field goal attempts tied for the most by a Penguins' guard since 2009-10. She joined Nikki Arbanas (2018), Jenna Hirsch (2014) and Boki Dimitrov (2009) as guards with 21 field goal attempts in a game over the last 16 seasons.
- Watkins was 3-for-8 from beyond the arc to extend her streak of games with a 3-pointer to 11 games. She has made multiple 3s in nine of those 11 contests.
Up Next
- Youngstown State will finish its road trip at Milwaukee on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and 1390 WNIO.
