Youngstown State fights for its first Horizon League tournament championship and its first NCAA Tournament berth in 26 years on Tuesday against Green Bay. The title tilt in the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship between the top-seeded Phoenix and the No. 2 Penguins at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis will start at noon, with live coverage on ESPN2, 570 WKBN and iHeartRadio.com.
Gameday Info
Youngstown State vs. Green Bay
Game Preview
The Penguins are in the championship game for the first time in their 25 years in the Horizon League, and they'll take on a perennial contender that has won the conference tournament 18 times. With an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line, YSU is looking to return to the Big Dance for the first time since appearing three times in five years from 1996 through 2000 as members of the Mid-Continent Conference, which is now the Summit League.
Youngstown State showed its grit once again on Monday, rallying from a seven-point second-half deficit to beat third-seeded Cleveland State 60-55 in the semifinals. The Penguins beat the Vikings for the third time this season and emerged victorious in the Horizon League semifinals for the first time in six tries. YSU outscored its Northeast Ohio rivals 25-15 in the fourth quarter, and Danielle Cameron hit a 3-pointer with 22.3 seconds remaining to put the Penguins up 57-55. It was her third triple in the quarter, and YSU was 5-for-6 from long distance collectively over the final seven minutes.
Youngstown State is now 24-8 overall, tying for the second-highest win total in program history. YSU has won 12 more games than it did last season, which was the first under head coach Melissa Jackson. The Penguins have won 11 of their last 12 and have the league's longest active winning streak at seven games.
Heading into the semifinals, only four teams in the country had improved their win total from last season more than YSU, and the improvement has been driven by defense and balanced scoring. The Penguins lead the conference and rank in the top 30 nationally in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense, 3-point field-goal percentage defense and blocks per game. Offensively, six players average between 7.3 and 12.2 points per game. Casey Santoro, a sixth-year point guard who was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team, leads YSU in points and assists and paces the conference in minutes. Four underclassmen have joined Santoro in the starting lineup in every game — Sophia Gregory, the league's Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team pick, All-Freshman Team selection Sarah Baker, Erica King and Cameron.
A Win Would…
- Send the Penguins to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1999-00 season when they were members of the Mid-Continent Conference (now the Summit League). YSU has played in the NCAA Tournament in 1996, 1998 and 2000 and beat Memphis in an opening-round game in 1998.
- Give the Penguins a 25-8 record and just their second season ever with at least 25 wins. The most recent season with 24 wins was 2021-22, when they went 24-7. The school record for wins is 28, set in 1997-98.
- Extend YSU's winning streak to eight games, its longest since an 8-0 start to the 2021-22 season.
- Give head coach Melissa Jackson her 109th career win, her 37th at Youngstown State and her first career victory over Green Bay.
Milestone Watch
- Sarah Baker is 11 rebounds shy of 200 for her career.
- Danielle Cameron is three points away from 300 career points. Her next field goal will be the 100th of her career.
- Sophia Gregory needs one assist to reach 150 in her career.
- Casey Santoro is five points away from 1,300 and three assists away from 350.
A Glimpse at the Guins
Team Notes
- YSU is in its second season under head coach Melissa Jackson. The Penguins have 12 more wins overall and had eight more league victories compared to 2024-25. As of March 6, only four teams in the country had improved their win total more.
- The Penguins posted an impressive 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 is one of eight teams in the country to have used the same starting lineup in every game — Sophia Gregory, Erica King, Sarah Baker, Danielle Cameron and Casey Santoro. Gregory is the only player 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.
- YSU leads the Horizon League and ranks in the top 30 nationally in scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense. It also ranks in the top five in the HL in scoring offense and field-goal percentage.
Player Notes
Sarah Baker is averaging 11.6 points and has reached double figures in 16 of her last 21 games... A Horizon League All-Freshman Team selection, she ranks third in the HL in field-goal percentage and owns YSU's freshman scoring record (372)... Danielle Cameron leads the League with 2.1 3-pointers per game and is averaging 9.0 points... She has made more 3s than any other freshman in program history (66)... Hayden Barrier is averaging 13.1 minutes, up from 6.3 last year... Sophia Gregory was the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and a Second-Team All-HL selection... She ranks in the top eight in the HL in rebounds, blocks, assists and steals, and she is one of five players in the country averaging at least 10 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and one block per game.... HL Sixth Player of the Year Paulina Hernandez leads the HL and ranks 27th in the nation with 57 blocks, the third-most in school history... Erica King has 162 more points and 55 more assists than she had as a freshman... Bella Samz is the longest-tenured Penguin and is in her third season at YSU... Second-Team All-HL honoree Casey Santoro leads YSU in points and assists and leads the HL in minutes.
YSU's Horizon League Tournament History
- Youngstown State is playing in the Horizon League Championship game for the first time since joining the conference in 2001-02. Before beating Cleveland State on Monday, the Penguins were 0-5 in the Horizon League semifinals. YSU is playing in a tournament championship game for the first time since appearing in six straight Mid-Continent Conference championship games from 1995 through 2000.
- YSU is 3-2 all-time as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, going 1-1 in 2012-13, 0-1 in 2021-22 and 2-0 so far this season.
- The Penguins are 0-5 against Green Bay in the Horizon League Tournament. Two of those games were played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, and the other three were played in Green Bay.
Scouting Green Bay
- Green Bay is the top seed in the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship after going 17-3 in conference play during the regular season. The Phoenix is 24-8 overall and has beaten Detroit Mercy 81-57 and Purdue Fort Wayne 73-48 on its way to the title game.
- Three Phoenix players were recognized as All-Horizon League honorees, including Player of the Year Jenna Guyer. Guyer leads Green Bay with 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and has made a team-best 52 3-pointers. Second-team selection Maddy Skorupski has team highs of 67 steals and 148 assists, and third-team pick Meghan Schultz is averaging 12.7 points and shooting 56.3% from the field.
- Green Bay ranks just behind YSU in the Horizon League in scoring defense with 58.9 points per game, and the Phoenix is third in the circuit in scoring offense with 69.1 points per contest. Green Bay commits the fewest turnovers per game in the league at 13.0 per game, and it also tops the league in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Series History and Matchup Notes
Overall: Green Bay leads 52-6
Home: 3-23 // Away: 3-27 // Neutral: 0-2 // Jackson (career): 0-4
Current Win Streak: 8 by Green Bay // Last 10 Meetings: Green Bay leads 9-1
- Horizon League Tournament: Green Bay leads 5-0
- Green Bay has won 52 of the 58 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 58 contests have been in league play or in a conference tournament.
- While Green Bay has a hold on the all-time series, YSU has closed the gap recently, particularly in the last 15 meetings. The Penguins are 3-12 in the last 15 encounters, including a two-point loss in the semifinals of the 2019 Horizon League Championship and two double-overtime setbacks. The four meetings in Coach Melissa Jackson's tenure have been low-scoring, with the teams averaging a combined 56.5-48.8 score and neither team reaching 60 points.
Penguin Connection: Green Bay sophomore Gracie Grzesk is the daughter of YSU Athletics Hall of Famer Liz Hauger Grzesk. Hauger Grzesk is a Mahoning Valley native who played for the Penguins from 1993-97 and was the 1996-97 Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year. She later served as an assistant coach at YSU from 1999-2002.
This Season vs. Green Bay
Game 1 – Dec. 7, 2025 – at Green Bay
Game Summary
Youngstown State built an early lead but came up short in a 56-47 loss at Green Bay on Dec. 7 at the Kress Center. The Penguins led by as many as seven in the opening quarter before foul trouble and a decisive free-throw advantage helped the Phoenix take a three-point halftime lead and pull away with a 17-point third quarter.
Casey Santoro scored 17 points to lead YSU, while Sophia Gregory added eight. Green Bay's Meghan Schultz finished with 22 points and eight rebounds as the Phoenix held a 34-16 edge in the paint and went 13-for-16 at the free-throw line. Youngstown State shot 34.5% from the field, which was slightly below Green Bay's 36.4%.
Notes
- Offensively, YSU recorded its lowest totals of the season in free throws and free-throw attempts, and Casey Santoro was the only Penguin to reach double figures.
- Green Bay was whistled for just seven fouls, fewer than any other opponent this season.
- The Penguins led 15-8 in the first quarter, and they led 21-17 with 6:40 left in the second. They were held to two points over the next 8:32 as Green Bay surged ahead for a 33-23 lead. YSU got within four at 35-31 with 5:44 left in the third period but managed just one more field goal over the next 9:10.
- Santoro made her 150th career 3-pointer, going 3-for-6 from long distance in the game.
- Sophia Gregory was 2-for-2 from 3-point range, making two in a game for the first time her career.
- Meghan Schultz's 22 points were the most by an opposing Horizon League player against the Penguins this season. She helped the Phoenix own a 34-16 scoring advantage in the paint.
Game 2 — Feb. 7, 2026 – at Youngstown State
Game Summary
Youngstown State came up just short in a 54-51 loss to Horizon League-leading Green Bay on Feb. 7, 2026, inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
YSU led 51-46 with just over three minutes remaining, but Green Bay's Jenna Guyer scored the final eight points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.9 seconds left. Erica King's potential game-tying 3 at the buzzer went off the back of the rim.
Sarah Baker led all scorers with 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting and added seven rebounds and three assists. King finished with 12 points, while Sophia Gregory had nine points and a career-high five blocks. Casey Santoro posted nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Notes
- The Penguins held Green Bay to four points from the 4:13 mark of the third quarter until Guyer scored eight points in the final 3:04 of the fourth. The Phoenix scored 21 points in the first quarter and 25 points over the next 23 minutes.
- Dating back to the 2018-19 season, this was the fourth time the Penguins lost to the Phoenix by one possession or in double overtime.
- YSU shot 54.8% inside the arc but was 5-for-29 from 3-point range.
- Youngstown State was just 2-for-2 from the free-throw line for the second time this season against Green Bay. In the two meetings, the Phoenix outscored the Penguins 22-4 at the free-throw line and had a 29-4 edge in attempts.
- YSU forced Green Bay into 15 turnovers, two more than its average coming in.
- YSU's starting five combined for all 51 points, and four starters played more than 36 minutes.
Recapping Cleveland State
Game Summary
Youngstown State rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Cleveland State 60-55 in the semifinals of the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship at Corteva Coliseum. The Penguins outscored the Vikings 25-15 in the final period behind 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range to erase a five-point deficit entering the quarter.
Danielle Cameron led YSU with 16 points, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter, while Erica King added 13 points and Sophia Gregory contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.
Cleveland State led 40-35 after three quarters and pushed its advantage to 46-42 with 6:34 remaining. Cameron hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 9-0 run, which concluded with a Casey Santoro triple at the 3:24 mark. After the Vikings briefly went ahead 55-54 with 35.5 seconds left, Cameron drilled a corner 3 with 22.3 seconds remaining that proved to be the game-winner. Santoro and Cameron added three free throws to seal the victory.
Notes
- The Penguins were 4-for-21 from 3-point range entering the fourth quarter but went 5-for-7 in the final period. The Vikings were 0-for-8 from long distance in the second half.
- YSU was plus-6 in turnover margin and outscored the Vikings 18-10 off turnovers.
- The Penguins won for the fifth time this season when trailing entering the fourth quarter.
- Cameron broke YSU's program record for most 3-pointers in a season by a freshman. She is up to 66 this season, passing Maddie Schires' previous mark of 65 set in 2019-20.
- Sophia Gregory grabbed her 500th career rebound while finishing with nine rebounds in the contest. Gregory had 11 points, two blocks and four assists, including on Cameron's go-ahead 3-pointer with 22.3 seconds remaining.
- Erica King surpassed 500 career points with her 13-point outing. She has scored in double figures in eight of her last 11 games.
- Casey Santoro secured her 500th career rebound while grabbing five in the contest. She scored eight points and had six assists for the second straight game. Santoro increased her made free throws total to 104 this season, the most by a Penguin guard since 1999.
