As it continues to jostle for position in the Horizon League standings, Youngstown State begins a three-game road stretch at IU Indy on Sunday. Tipoff at The Jungle is set for 1 p.m. with live coverage on ESPN+, 1390 WNIO and iHeartRadio.

Gameday Info

Youngstown State at IU Indy

• When: Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026 | 1 p.m.
• Where: The Jungle | Indianapolis, Ind.
• Watch: ESPN+ | espn.com
• Listen: 1390 WNIO | iHeart.com
• Stats: SIDEARM Stats
• Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Game Preview

The Penguins head to Indianapolis coming off back-to-back nailbiters to conclude a three-game homestand. YSU fell 54-51 to Green Bay on Feb. 7 as the Phoenix hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.9 seconds left. The Penguins missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer in that game, but they converted at the buzzer on Wednesday against Robert Morris on a shot that was ranked No. 4 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays. After RMU went ahead 53-51 with 0.4 seconds left, Danielle Cameron threw a perfect alley-oop pass from the sideline to Sophia Gregory, who converted mid-air near the right block. YSU went on to beat the Colonials 69-62 in overtime to remain in second place in the conference standings.

Youngstown State is 18-8 overall and 11-5 in Horizon League play with four games remaining in the regular season. In a seven-day span, YSU has to play at IU Indy and Northern Kentucky, teams it lost to at home, and at Purdue Fort Wayne, which it beat by four in Youngstown. All three opponents are among six teams that have between five and eight conference losses in the jumbled standings. YSU has six more overall wins and four more conference victories compared with 2024-25, which was the first under head coach Melissa Jackson.

Defense and balanced scoring have been YSU's strengths this season. The Penguins lead the conference and rank in the top 35 nationally in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense, 3-point field-goal percentage defense and blocks per game. Offensively, the Penguins average 66.9 points and rank second in the league in scoring margin at plus-9.9.

Sixth-year senior point guard Casey Santoro leads Youngstown State with 12.2 points per game, and she's also YSU's leader in assists and minutes. She is one of five Penguins to start all 26 games, and she's surrounded in the starting group with underclassmen who all average at least 9.0 points. Redshirt freshman Sarah Baker is averaging 11.8 points and has scored in double figures in nine straight games, and sophomore Erica King is averaging 10.1 points.

A Win Would...

• Give the Penguins a 19-8 record, their best mark through 27 games since 2021-22. YSU would be 19-8 or better for just the fifth time since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02.
• Give YSU a 12-5 Horizon League record, its best mark through 17 games since 2022-23. it would be just the fourth time since joining the HL that the Penguins would have at least 12 conference wins.
• Improve the Penguins' road to 9-4 this season.
• Snap a three-game overall losing streak to IU Indy and an eight-game skid at The Jungle.
• Allow YSU to split the regular-season series with the Jaguars.
• Give head coach Melissa Jackson her 103rd career win, her 31st at Youngstown State and her first career victory over IU Indy.

Milestone Watch

• Sarah Baker is 27 points away from 400 in her career.
• Danielle Cameron is six points away from 250 in her career. She is also 10 3-pointers away from tying YSU's freshman record for 3s.
• Erica King needs 18 points to reach 450 in her career.
• Casey Santoro has 500 career rebounds in her sights, needing 29 more. She needs three free throws to make the 300th of her career.

A Glimpse at the Guins

Team Notes

• YSU is in its second season under head coach Melissa Jackson, who recorded her 100th career victory on Jan. 31. The Penguins have six more wins overall and four more league victories compared to 2024-25.
• The Penguins posted an incredible 3.86 team GPA in the fall semester. YSU has had one of the top 25 team 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 this season. Gregory is the only player in the group who started more than eight games last season, and Santoro is the only upperclassman.
• 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. Players who appeared in 10 games or fewer at YSU last season have scored 67.1% of the Penguins' points.
• YSU leads the Horizon League and ranks in the top 35 nationally in scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense. It also ranks in the top six in the HL scoring offense and field-goal percentage.

Player Notes

Sarah Baker is averaging 11.4 8oints and has reached double figures in nine straight games and in 13 of her last 15... She ranks second in the Horizon League in field-goal percentage... Danielle Cameron ranks second in the Horizon League with 2.1 3-pointers per game and is averaging nine points... Baker missed YSU's final 22 games of 2024-25, and Cameron missed the last 29... Hayden Barrier is averaging 14.3 minutes, up from 6.3 last year, despite missing the last three games... Sophia Gregory was the HL Freshman of the Year in 2024-25 and was named to the Preseason All-League First Team... She ranks in the top 10 in the HL in rebounds, blocks, assists and steals... Paulina Hernandez leads the HL and ranks 40th  in the nation with 1.7 blocks per game... Erica King has 92 more points and 43 more assists than she had as a freshman... Bella Samz is the longest-tenured Penguin, now in her third season with the program... Transfer point guard Casey Santoro leads the team in points and assists, and she leads the Horizon League in minutes.

Scouting IU Indy

• IU Indy is 11-13 overall, 7-8 in Horizon League play and 9-4 at The Jungle heading into Sunday. The Jaguars have won three straight games and five of their last seven since their 61-52 win at YSU on Jan. 17. Their two losses during that stretch were by a combined eight points.
• Nevaeh Foster is the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week after averaging 19.5 points in two wins last week. She leads IU Indy for the season with 12.8 points per game and 41 3-pointers. Hailey Smith is the Jaguars' top rebounder with 6.2 per contest, and she leads the team with 45 steals and 51 assists.
• IU Indy ranks sixth in the country with 23.6 free-throw attempts per game and 17th nationally with 15.8 makes per game. The Jaguars lead the Horizon League in steals and turnovers forced per game, and they are second in turnover margin and third in offensive rebounds per game.

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: IU Indy leads 17-11
Home: 6-7 // Away: 4-9 // Neutral: 1-1 // Jackson (career): 0-3
Current Win Streak: 3 by IU Indy

• IU Indy holds a 17-11 lead in the all-time series dating back to the 1998-99 season when both schools were members of the Mid-Continent Conference. YSU left the Mid-Con for the Horizon League in 2001-02, and IU Indy joined the Penguins in the Horizon League in 2017-18. YSU is 6-7 at home and 1-1 on neutral floors in the series, and it is 4-9 in road contests.
• The teams split the season series in the first three years that IU Indy was in the Horizon League, and IU Indy won seven straight games in the series before the Penguins won two of the three contests in 2023-24. The Jaguars swept the season series in 2024-25, and they have won eight straight meetings at The Jungle dating back to Feb. 8, 2018.

Penguin Ties: IU Indy head coach Kate (Schrader) Bruce was an assistant on Bob Boldon's staff at Youngstown State from 2010-13. Jaguars assistant coach Mary Evans joined the staff at YSU in 2012-13, when the Penguins went 23-10 and won a game in the Women's NIT. Both followed Boldon to Ohio University in 2013-14.

Last Time vs. IU Indy

Youngstown State had three players score in double figures but dropped a 61-52 decision to IU Indy on Jan. 17 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.

Recapping Detroit Mercy

Game Summary

Sophia Gregory scored at the buzzer to force overtime, and Youngstown State pulled away in the extra period to defeat Robert Morris 69-62 on Wednesday night.

Trailing 53-51 with 0.4 seconds remaining, the Penguins executed a sideline out-of-bounds play where Danielle Cameron found Gregory for a mid-air catch and release to tie the game. Youngstown State, which outscored the Colonials 18-12 in the third quarter, opened overtime with an 8-1 run to seal the comeback.

Sarah Baker led the Penguins with 21 points. Gregory recorded a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, scoring 10 of her points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Notes

• The buzzer-beater at the end of regulation was featured as the No. 4 play on SportsCenter's Top 10, and Scott Van Pelt led with it during his "Good Things That Happened" segment.
• Youngstown State made a season-high 23 free throws, outscoring the Colonials 23-10 at the line. RMU was whistled for 26 fouls and had four players—three of them starters—foul out. YSU was 10-for-10 from the line in overtime.
• YSU was plus-nine in turnover margin and outscored the Colonials 12-6 off turnovers. The Penguins had five more field-goal attempts and 14 more free-throw attempts with their extra possessions.
• Each team had 40 rebounds, a significant difference from the first meeting when Robert Morris held a 44-22 advantage on the glass.
• Sarah Baker scored in double figures for the ninth straight game, finishing with a game-high 21 points. She was 8-for-14 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line while surpassing 20 points for the second time in her career. Baker went over 300 points for the season, becoming the seventh Penguin to score at least 300 as a freshman.
• Danielle Cameron made YSU's only two 3-pointers of the game, and she made multiple 3s for the 17th time in 26 games this season.
• Sophia Gregory grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds — nine more than any RMU  player and 11 more than any teammate — and scored 15 points to record her third double-double of the season. Gregory added three blocks, giving her eight in the last two games.
• Erica King scored 12 points to reach double figures for the fifth straight contest.

Up Next

Youngstown State will play twice on the road in three days next week with games at Northern Kentucky and Purdue Fort Wayne. The trip will start at NKU on Thursday at 6 p.m.