February 2004

Penguins Fall To Panthers, 59-51
Saturday, February 28 2004
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Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team fell to 4-23 overall and 2-14 in the Horizon League after dropping a 59-51 decision UW-Milwaukee (16-11, 12-4 Horizon League) on Saturday evening on Senior Night at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins were within six points at halftime, but UW-Milwaukee opened the second half on a 15-7 run to take a 14-point lead at the 9:36 mark. The Panthers scored six of the first eight points of the half and, after a Hanek jumper for YSU, went on a 7-0 run to take a 43-29 lead with 11:09 remaining.
YSU got within seven points at the 1:27 mark on a Devin Novak 3-pointer, but would not get any closer.
In the first half, the Penguins and Panthers battled through four ties and four lead changes before UW-Milwaukee gain the advantage for good. The Penguins led 8-6 with 14:26 remaining after two free throws from Hanek, but Kiley Johnson hit a 3 to give UWM a 9-8 lead. Forsythe tied the game with a free throw at the 13:10 mark, but the Panthers scored the next four points to take a 13-9 lead. YSU did not get closer than two the rest of the contest.
UWM went ahead by eight with 1:23 remaining in the half, but a jumper from Olmstead with just under a minute remaining sliced the deficit to six points.
UWM senior Maria Viall led all scorers with 21 points and Johnson came off the bench to add 11 for the Panthers.
YSU was led by junior Tara Fleming with nine points while juniors Cathy Hanek and Jessica Olmstead each added eight points.
No. 9-seeded Youngstown State will face No. 8-seeded Wright State in the play-in game of the 2004 Horizon League Championship on Tuesday, March 2, in Dayton, Ohio. Time has yet to be determined.
 
 
Penguins Fall At Detroit, 75-40
Friday, February 27 2004
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Detroit, Mich. – The Youngstown State women’s basketball team fell to 4-22 overall and 2-13 in the Horizon League after dropping a 75-40 decision to Detroit (13-13, 10-6 Horizon League) on Thursday evening at Calihan Hall.
Trailing 15-10 midway through the first half, Youngstown State cut the Detroit advantage to one, 15-14, after two free throws from junior Tara Fleming and a fast-break layup by freshman Ashlee Russo at the 8:59 mark.
Detroit scored the next 18 points over the next 5:58, to take a 33-14 advantage, closed out the half outscoring the Penguins, 24-2, for a 39-16 halftime edge, and did not allow another YSU field goal before the intermission.
In the second stanza, the Titans shot a blistering 52.4 percent from the floor and outscored YSU, 36-24.
The Titans shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the floor and became the first team to accomplish that feat against the Penguins this season.
Senior Devin Novak led the Penguins with nine points off the bench, connecting on 3-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc.
Youngstown State closes out the regular season against UW-Milwaukee, Saturday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is slated for 5:15 p.m. as the first part of a women’s and men’s basketball doubleheader.
 
 
YSU Drops Heartbreaker to UWGB in OT, 69-64
Saturday, February 21 2004
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Youngstown -- Junior Jen Perugini scored a season-high 23 points and recorded her first double-double with 11 rebounds, but the Youngstown State women's basketball team (4-21, 2-12) suffered a tough overtime loss to UW-Green Bay (19-6, 12-2), 69-64 on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center.
With 1:56 remaining in the second half YSU reclaimed the lead for the first time since the 13:24 mark in the first half with two Ashley Russo free throws to give the Penguins a 55-54 lead. The Phoenix would sneak back 57-55 on a three point play from Abby Scharlow. Russo converted on two more free throws with 24 seconds remaining to force the game into overtime.
In overtime at the 1:31 mark YSU leapt to a 64-61 lead on a Fabianova 3-pointer and two jumpers from Perugini. Scharlow answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 64-64 with 1:16 remaining. UWGB increased their lead to 68-64 with a jumper from Scharlow and a steal and layup by Natalie Berglin.
In the first half the Penguins jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with the help of two Perugini jumpers and a pair of free throws, but the Phoenix answered back by exploding on a 16-4 run led by Mary Kulenkamp and Berglin to give them a 20-13 advantage at the 7:45 mark. UW-Green Bay headed into the locker room at halftime with a 31-23 lead.
Perugini led the Penguins in the first half with 11 points and six rebounds. The Phoenix shot 41 percent while the Penguins shot 32 percent.
For the game YSU shot 41.4 percent, including 54.5 percent in the second half, but shot just 61.9 percent from the free throw line, converting on just 13-21 shots.
YSU visits Detroit Thursday, Feb. 26 at 4:30 p.m.
 
 
Perugini Leads Penguins Past Wright State, 54-42
Friday, February 13 2004
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Fairborn, Ohio – Youngstown State junior Jen Perugini scored a season-high 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field to lead the Youngstown State women's basketball team to its first Horizon League victory of the season with a 54-42 win over Wright State on Thursday evening at the Nutter Center.
YSU improves to 3-20 overall and 1-11 in the Horizon League while Wright State falls to 6-16 overall and 3-9 in the Horizon League.
Wright State jumped out to an 8-4 lead over the first seven minutes, but the Penguins utilized a 13-2 run, sparked by Perugini, over the next seven minutes to take a 17-10 lead, which they would never relinquish.
With the Penguins leading 19-15 at the intermission, Wright State would trim the deficit to one, 19-18, after a 3-pointer by Angie Ott at the 18:34 mark. A Perugini layup and a 3-pointer by Barb Fabianova extended the Penguin cushion to six points, 24-18, at the 15:51 mark.
After the team's exchanged 3-pointers, a 3-point play by Perugini, a jumper from freshman Kristy Gaudiose, who finished with 13 points, five assists and four steals, and two charity shots from Nicole Neila gave the Penguins a 10-point advantage with 12:17 remaining.
The Penguins would push its advantage to 13, 43-30, after a Perugini trey and a Fabianova jumper, at the 7:18 mark, but Wright State would cut the deficit down to seven points, 47-40, with 3:28 left.
Gaudiose would score YSU's last five points to seal the victory.
Youngstown State held Wright State to 30.2 field goal percentage while the Penguins shot 33.9 percent, including 44 percent after halftime. YSU also out-rebounded the Raiders, 44-36.
YSU visits Butler, Saturday, at 2 p.m. at Hinkle Field House.
 
 
Loyola Staves Off Penguin Comeback in 55-54 Win
Sunday, February 8 2004
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Youngstown -- For the second straight game the Youngstown State women's basketball made a valiant second-half comeback and came up short as the Penguins fell to the Loyola Ramblers 55-54 at Beeghly Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Penguins trailed 50-37 with 10:28 remaining but tied the contest at 52-52 with 2:29 remaining before Loyola pulled away at the end.
Jessica Forsythe and Barb Fabianova finished with 10 points to lead YSU (2-20, 0-11 Horizon League) while Marquise Hanser and Ciara Henderson paced the Ramblers (9-12, 4-6) with 11 points.
YSU climbed out to an early 6-1 lead after a hook shot from Tara Fleming, but Loyola countered with a 17-5 run to take an 18-11 lead with 10:33 remaining.
The Penguins tied the game at 18 with 5:10 remaining by scoring seven unanswered points and holding the Ramblers scoreless for nearly six minutes. Forsythe and Kristy Gaudiose ignited the run with back-to-back jumpers, then Jen Perugini hit two free throws and Ashlee Russo added one. Loyola, however, scored the next five points and outscored YSU 10-5 for the remainder of the half to take a 28-23 lead at the break.
The Ramblers scored the first seven points of the second half to go up 10 with 19:16 remaining and extended its lead to 36-25 on a 3-pointer from Paige Harris. YSU trimmed the lead down to 40-35 on a Cathy Hanek 3-pointer, but Loyola scored eight straight to take a 48-35 at the 12:01 mark.
After the teams traded buckets, YSU went on a 15-2 run to tie the game at 52 on a free throw from Nicole Neila. The Ramblers regained the lead as Meskhenet Lands made a fast-break layup with 1:51 remaining. Hanser added a free throw with 40 ticks on the clock, but Forsythe sank two free throws with 21 seconds remaining.
Henderson missed the front-end of a one-and-one with 13 seconds remaining to give YSU a final chance, but Hanek's 3-point desperation attempt with one second left fell short.
Loyola outshot YSU 40 percent to 35 percent, but the Penguins held the advantage in rebounds with a 39-29 margin.
The women will travel to Wright State on Thursday to take on the Raiders at 7:05 p.m.
 
 
Loyola Staves Off Penguin Comeback in 55-54 Win
Sunday, February 8 2004
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Youngstown -- For the second straight game the Youngstown State women's basketball made a valiant second-half comeback and came up short as the Penguins fell to the Loyola Ramblers 55-54 at Beeghly Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Penguins trailed 50-37 with 10:28 remaining but tied the contest at 52-52 with 2:29 remaining before Loyola pulled away at the end.
Jessica Forsythe and Barb Fabianova finished with 10 points to lead YSU (2-20, 0-11 Horizon League) while Marquise Hanser and Ciara Henderson paced the Ramblers (9-12, 4-6) with 11 points.
YSU climbed out to an early 6-1 lead after a hook shot from Tara Fleming, but Loyola countered with a 17-5 run to take an 18-11 lead with 10:33 remaining.
The Penguins tied the game at 18 with 5:10 remaining by scoring seven unanswered points and holding the Ramblers scoreless for nearly six minutes. Forsythe and Kristy Gaudiose ignited the run with back-to-back jumpers, then Jen Perugini hit two free throws and Ashlee Russo added one. Loyola, however, scored the next five points and outscored YSU 10-5 for the remainder of the half to take a 28-23 lead at the break.
The Ramblers scored the first seven points of the second half to go up 10 with 19:16 remaining and extended its lead to 36-25 on a 3-pointer from Paige Harris. YSU trimmed the lead down to 40-35 on a Cathy Hanek 3-pointer, but Loyola scored eight straight to take a 48-35 at the 12:01 mark.
After the teams traded buckets, YSU went on a 15-2 run to tie the game at 52 on a free throw from Nicole Neila. The Ramblers regained the lead as Meskhenet Lands made a fast-break layup with 1:51 remaining. Hanser added a free throw with 40 ticks on the clock, but Forsythe sank two free throws with 21 seconds remaining.
Henderson missed the front-end of a one-and-one with 13 seconds remaining to give YSU a final chance, but Hanek's 3-point desperation attempt with one second left fell short.
Loyola outshot YSU 40 percent to 35 percent, but the Penguins held the advantage in rebounds with a 39-29 margin.
The women will travel to Wright State on Thursday to take on the Raiders at 7:05 p.m.
 
 
Penguins' Rally Falls Short in Loss to Cleveland State
Friday, February 6 2004
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Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team cut a 16-point deficit down to one with just over four minutes remaining, but the Penguins could not get over the hump as they dropped a 56-51 decision to the Cleveland State Vikings on Thursday evening.
Cathy Hanek led the Penguins with 15 points while Tara Fleming finished with nine. Ashley Schrock paced the Vikings with 13 points and Maria Rickards finished with 11.
The Vikings (10-10, 7-2 Horizon) outshot YSU 34 percent to 30 from the floor and 71 percent to 44 percent from the charity stripe.
Cleveland State outscored YSU 6-2 through the first 4:30 of the second half to take a 32-18 lead, but back-to-back jumpers from Fleming and Nicole Neila cut the deficit to 10. After Kim Neidermeyer hit a 3 for the Vikings, Perugini scored five straight points to get YSU within eight with 12:01 remaining.
With Cleveland State ahead 39-30 at the 8:44 mark, Hanek caught fire and scored eight points in less than four minutes and Fleming hit a jumper to get the Penguins within one at 45-44 with 4:03 remaining.
Rickards hit a 3 to put the Vikings up by four, but Ashlee Russo countered with two free throws to get YSU within two. Four straight free throws from Erin Martin increased the lead to six, but a Perugini 3 cut the lead to 52-49. The Vikings hit four late free throws to keep the Penguins behind for the final tally.
Cleveland State scored 18 points off of 14 Penguin turnovers and outrebounded YSU 25-18 in the first half, but only held a 10-point advantage at the end of the first stanza.
The Vikings got off to a quick start and forced YSU to turn the ball over on its first four possessions to take an early 4-0 lead. Fleming put the Penguins board with a layup at the 17:57 mark, but Cleveland State scored seven unanswered points and held YSU scoreless for more than four minutes to take an 11-2.
Hanek hit a 3-pointer with 13:44 remaining to get the Penguins within six with 13:44 remaining, but the Vikings went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-point lead at the 9:24 mark. Cleveland State increased its lead to 26-10 at the 3:54 mark after a 3-pointer from Erin Martin, but YSU held the Vikings scoreless for the rest of the half while scoring six points to cut the lead to 10 at the break.
The Penguins will play host to Loyola as part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's team on Saturday. Tipoff with the Ramblers is set for 5:15 p.m.