Youngstown State plays its nearest Horizon League opponent in a key battle as the conference slate reaches the midway point on Wednesday at Robert Morris. Tipoff against the Colonials is set for 6 p.m. at the UPMC Events Center, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, 570 WKBN and iHeartRadio.
Gameday Info
Youngstown State at Robert Morris
  
Game Preview
The Penguins and Colonials are both coming off losses and will be looking to keep pace in a logjam in the conference standings. Green Bay is 10-0 in the 20-game Horizon League schedule, and YSU and RMU are two of five teams with either three or four conference losses. Youngstown State is 13-6 overall and 6-3 in Horizon League play, while Robert Morris is 12-6 and 5-4.
YSU will be looking to respond from a 61-52 loss at home to IU Indy on Saturday in a game where the Penguins outshot the Jaguars from the field but were outscored from the 3-point line, the free-throw line, off turnovers and from offensive rebounds. IU Indy held a one-point lead at halftime, and it outscored the Penguins by four points in both the third and fourth quarters.
Even with the disappointing loss, YSU has won six of its last eight games and has already surpassed its overall win total from the 2024-25 season. The Penguins are also one victory from matching their conference win total from last season, which was the first under head coach Melissa Jackson. YSU is currently third in the league standings, a half-game behind Northern Kentucky and a game ahead of Robert Morris and Cleveland State, its two opponents this week.
Casey Santoro, a sixth-year transfer point guard, is YSU's top scorer this season with 12.5 points per game. She scored 14 points and recorded her 300th career assist in the last game against IU Indy. She's had the same four players — Danielle Cameron, Sarah Baker, Sophia Gregory, and Erica King — alongside her in the starting lineup every game this season, and those four players average between 8.9 and 11.0 points per game. As a team, YSU is averaging 68.3 points per game, which ranks third in the conference and is an 8.6-point improvement from last season. Defensively, the Penguins lead the league in blocks, field-goal percentage defense and 3-point field-goal percentage defense.
A Win Would…
- Give the Penguins a 14-6 record, which would be their best mark through 20 games since the 2022-23 team started 15-5. YSU would be 14-6 or better for the seventh time in the last 14 seasons.
- Give YSU a 7-3 record in Horizon League play, which would be its best start since 2022-23. The Penguins have been 7-3 or better six times since the 2012-13 campaign.
- Improve YSU's record on the road to 7-3 this season.
- Snap a two-game slide against Robert Morris.
- Give head coach Melissa Jackson her 98th career win, her 26th at Youngstown State, and her third career victory over Robert Morris.
Milestone Watch
- Sarah Baker needs 25 points to reach 300 in her career.
- Danielle Cameron is 16 points shy of 200 in her career.
- Sophia Gregory is one assist shy of 100 in her career. She is also three field goals away from reaching 200.
- Casey Santoro is five steals from 100 in her career.
A Glimpse at the Guins
Team Notes
- YSU is in its second season under head coach Melissa Jackson. The Penguins are 13-6 overall and 6-3 in Horizon League play, and they have already surpassed last season's win total.
- The Penguins finished 7-13 in league play last season, and they were 3-6 through nine games. They didn't collect their sixth league win until after they started 5-12.
- The Penguins posted an incredible 3.86 team GPA in the fall semester. YSU has had one of the top 25 GPAs in the country in 14 of the past 15 seasons.
- YSU has used the same starting lineup of Sophia Gregory, Erica King, Sarah Baker, Danielle Cameron and Casey Santoro in every game. Gregory is the only one in the group who started more than eight games last season.
- While 73% of YSU's roster consists of returners, only Gregory and King played in more than 10 games and averaged at least 14 minutes per game for YSU in 2024-25.
- Seven different Penguins have scored at least 18 points in a game this season.
- The Penguins are shooting 43.9% from the field, which ranks third in the Horizon League and is 6.1% better than last season.
Player Notes
Brooke Adkins has played 89 minutes over the last six games after playing 32 over YSU's first 13 contests... Sarah Baker is averaging 11.0 points and has reached double figures in six of her last eight games... Danielle Cameron is averaging 9.2 points with a team-high 38 3-pointers... Baker missed YSU's final 22 games of 2024-25, and Cameron missed the last 29... Sophia Gregory was the Horizon League Freshman of the Year in 2024-25 and was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League First Team... She ranks third in the HL with 7.8 rebounds per game and 10th with 2.6 assists per game... Paulina Hernandez leads the Horizon League and ranks 34th in the nation with 1.8 blocks per game... Erica King has already surpassed her freshman totals in points, assists, steals and rebounds... Bella Samz is the longest-tenured Penguin, now in her third season with the program... Casey Santoro, a sixth-year senior transfer point guard, leads the team in points, assists and minutes.
Scouting Robert Morris
- Robert Morris is 12-6 overall, 7-2 at home and 5-4 in Horizon League play entering Wednesday's contest against the Penguins. RMU has alternated between wins and losses over its last eight contests dating back to a 79-29 win over Point Park on Dec. 19. Last week, the Colonials beat IU Indy 80-70 in Moon Township on Thursday and fell 68-61 at Cleveland State on Sunday.
- Four Division I transfers who are 5-foot-11 or taller lead the Colonials in the scoring column, and guard Aislin Malcolm headlines the group with 13.1 points per contest. The transfer from Pitt also leads the Colonials with 27 3-pointers and 65 free-throw attempts, and she ranks second on the squad with 46 assists. Myriam Traore, a transfer from Siena, is averaging 10.4 points, and Cal State Fullerton transfer Eva Levingston is the top rebounder with 6.0 per contest.
- As a team, RMU ranks second in the Horizon League in field-goal percentage defense at .366 and second in rebounding margin at plus-4.6. RMU leads the conference and ranks eighth in the country in free-throw percentage at .793 while averaging 13.6 made free throws per game.
Series History and Matchup Notes
Overall: Youngstown State leads 24-10
Home: 14-3 // Away: 10-7 // Neutral: 0-0 // Jackson (career): 2-2
Current Win Streak: 2 by Robert Morris
- Youngstown State and Robert Morris have played 34 times, and YSU has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the schools located approximately 60 miles apart. The Penguins have won seven of the 11 encounters since the Colonials joined the Horizon League in 2020-21, and they won six straight meetings between the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons. RMU has won three of the last four contests.
- The teams played 14 times between 1983 and 1996, and they played just four times between 1996 and 2014. Two of YSU's wins since the series was rekindled have come in overtime, and the victory at the UPMC Events Center on Jan. 20, 2022, came in the final second when former Colonial Megan Callahan hit a go-ahead 3-pointer for the Penguins.
Last Season at Robert Morris
Robert Morris shot at least 50% in each of the final three quarters and made 10 3-pointers in a 76-53 victory over Youngstown State on Feb. 26, 2025, at the UPMC Events Center. The Penguins jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and trailed just 15-12 after the opening quarter, but a 13-0 run to start the second period allowed the Colonials to seize control.
Jewel Watkins scored 18 points to lead YSU, while Sophia Gregory added 13 points and six rebounds, and Abby Liber finished with 10 points and nine boards. Gregory and Haley Thierry scored on YSU's first two possessions, and Xoe Rosalez hit an early 3, but Robert Morris scored 13 of the next 15 points to go up 15-9. The big run in the second quarter put the Colonials ahead 28-12, and their advantage was 35-19 at halftime.
Recapping IU Indy
Game Summary
Youngstown State had three players score in double figures but dropped a 61-52 decision to IU Indy on Saturday inside Zidian Family Arena. Danielle Cameron scored all 16 of the Penguins' second-quarter points by hitting five straight 3-pointers and adding a free throw as YSU trailed just 26-25 at halftime. IU Indy outscored the Penguins in each of the final two quarters to come away with the road win.
Casey Santoro finished with 14 points and surpassed 300 career assists, and Sarah Baker added 10 points. Cameron's five triples highlighted a strong first half, but the Penguins were held to one field goal over a five-minute stretch late in the third quarter. IU Indy converted all 11 free-throw attempts and held small edges in points off turnovers and offensive rebounds that proved decisive.
Notes
- IU Indy held edges of 18-13 off turnovers, 24-16 in the paint, 11-8 on second-chance points and 12-7 in transition. The Jaguars also made the most of their free-throw attempts by going 11-for-11, while Youngstown State was an uncharacteristic 9-for-18. The Penguins came into the game shooting 72.4% from the free-throw line.
- Danielle Cameron helped the Penguins go 5-for-8 from the 3-point line in the second quarter, but they were 2-for-11 combined in the other three quarters.
- Brooke Adkins played 20:34, her most in a Horizon League game. She finished 2-for-3 from the field and made her first 3-pointer since the season opener against Thiel.
- Sarah Baker scored 10 points on an efficient 5-for-9 shooting. Including the game at Wright State, Baker averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting a league-best 64% from the field over two games.
- Hayden Barrier scored two points in 16:36, which was her second-highest playing tie in conference play.
- Cameron had a quarter to remember in the second, making five straight attempts from beyond the arc from the 7:54 mark until 2:02 remained. Cameron's five 3-pointers were a career high and matched Casey Santoro's five 3s against UMass as the most by a Penguin in a game this season.
- Paulina Hernandez finished with two blocks, marking the fifth time in the last six games that she's had multiple blocks.
- Santoro went over 300 career assists in the second quarter during Cameron's three-point barrage. Santoro finished with 14 points, seven of which came at the free-throw line.
Up Next
Youngstown State returns home to welcome Cleveland State to Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center on Sunday at 1 p.m. It will be Alumni Day for the YSU women's basketball program and Kids Day, presented by Raising Cane's & Austintown Bounce.
