The Youngstown State women's basketball team will begin the 2012-13 season at Pittsburgh on Friday in a special School Day Game that will begin at 11 a.m. at the Petersen Events Center. The game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and sportsradio1390.com.
This will be the 38th season of YSU women's basketball and the third under head coach Bob Boldon. Boldon made his Division I head coaching debut at Pittsburgh two years ago in a contest that the Penguins lost 78-58. The . game was tied at 46 with 16 minutes remaining before Pitt scored 17 straight points and held Youngstown State without a field goal for 11 minutes. The Penguins are 20-17 all-time in season openers, and they'll be looking to stop an eight game skid in lidlifters. This will be the earliest start to a season in school history.
YSU returns six letterwinners from last year's team that finished 10-20. The Penguins were 10-11 but lost their last nine contests, six of which that were decided by five points or fewer. Despite the record, YSU continued to show progress under Boldon, who inherited a squad that went 0-30 three seasons ago. YSU's scoring margin has improved by 22.9 points over the last two seasons, which is the best mark in the country. There are six active newcomers and a redshirt freshman on this year's squad, and Boldon's recruiting efforts focused on getting more athletic to get defensive stops down the stretch. Senior Brandi Brown is a two-time second-team All-Horizon League selection and averaged 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds last season.
YSU's next game will be at Buffalo on Nov. 13. It will be another day game starting at noon.
#YSUWBB Summary
YSU is in its 38th season of women's basketball in 2012-13 and its third under head coach Bob Boldon.
YSU will play the 1,000th game in its history against Green Bay on Jan. 19.
Senior Brandi Brown is a preseason all-league pick after being a second-team honoree the past two seasons.
YSU averaged 64.6 points last season, an 18-point improvement from two years ago. It was also YSU's best scoring average since 2001-02.
YSU had four shooters rank in the top five in 3-point field-goal percentage during conference play.
A Win Would
Give YSU its first win over a team currently in a BCS conference since 1997-98 (West Virginia).
Be YSU's first over Pittsburgh and first over a team currently in the Big East since 1991.
Snap a seven-game losing streak in season openers for YSU.
Snap a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Looking at the Opponent
Series With Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh leads the all-time series with Youngstown State 13-4 and has won the last five contests against the Penguins. The teams played in three straight years from 2008-10, but they hadn't played prior to that since 2000. Pitt won the 2008 and 2009 meetings by an average of 54.5 points, but the teams were tied with 16 minutes to go in the meeting two years ago in head coach Bob Boldon's debut. Pitt eventually won that game 78-58. YSU's last win in the series was 82-74 at home on Dec. 5, 1991.
Last Five Games vs. Pittsburgh
Dec. 18, 1999 at Pitt: L, 51-67
Dec. 19, 2000 at YSU: L, 67-86
Nov. 29, 2008 at Pitt: L, 42-99
Dec. 2, 2009 at YSU: L, 37-89
Nov. 12, 2010 at Pitt: L, 58-78
Series record: Pittsburgh leads 13-4
YSU's record at Pittsburgh: 2-8
Winning streak: 5 by Pittsburgh
Last YSU win: Dec. 5, 1991 (82-74)
Last YSU win at Pitt: Dec. 22, 1990 (75-62)
Scouting Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh returns three starters and eight players from last season's squad that finished 8-22 overall and 0-16 in Big East play. Sophomore guard Brianna Kiesel is the top returning scorer at 13.6 points per game, and she was the only player to start all 30 games last year. Agnus Berenato is in her 10th season as head coach at Pitt.
Last Time vs. Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh scored 17 straight points midway through the second half to win 78-58 and turn away an encouraging effort from Youngstown State in the 2010-11 season opener on Nov. 12.
YSU's Bojana Dimitov turned in her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Brandi Brown scored 20 points. Brittany Thomas led four Panthers in double figures with 18 points.
Although the final margin was 20, the score was tied at 46-46 with 15:30 remaining. That's when Pitt scored 17 straight and held YSU without a field goal for more than 11 minutes.
What's Fresh
Brown Earns Preseason Honors
YSU senior Brandi Brown was voted Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League in a poll of the conference's coaches, women's basketball sports information contacts and a media member from each market. Brown ranked seventh in the league in scoring and sixth in rebounding last year with 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She was a second-team all-conference selection at the end of last season.
Brown was also honored by CollegeSportsMadness.com. The website named her Preseason Fourth-Team All-American on the All-High Major Teams list as well as Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League.
A Look at the Newcomers
In addition to six returning players from last year's squad, there are nine newcomers on this year's team. Ashley Lawson is coming off a redshirt year, and she's joined by fellow freshmen guards Taylor Hvisdak, Shar'Rae Davis, Amanda Barger and Brooke Gardner, and freshman forward Kelsea Newman. Junior Karen Flagg is a 6-foot guard/forward who is eligible immediately, and Division I transfers Janae Jackson and Latisha Walker must sit out the season. Davis, Flagg and returner Liz Hornberger are all in the mix to play point guard.
Replacing Two Starters
Youngstown State will have to find two players to step into starting roles this season with the departure of Kenya Middlebrooks and Macey Nortey. Middlebrooks made a Horizon League-best 2.5 3-pointers per game last season and ranked second for YSU in scoring. Nortey started 101 games in her career and led the Horizon League in assist-to-turnover ratio last year. No current player on YSU's team has started a game at point guard in college.
Brown Looking for Special Senior Year
Forward Brandi Brown is hoping to make her senior year at Youngstown State a special one, both as an individual and as a team. Brown has been a Second-Team All-Horizon League pick in each of her last two seasons. The California native averaged 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds last year as a junior, and she had a monster sophomore year in averaging 19.9 points and 9.2 rebounds. Brown has scored 1,417 points and grabbed 874 rebounds in her first three seasons. She has a chance to break YSU's career records for rebounds and free throws, and she will likely finish in the top three in points.
Trying to Snap Season Opener Streak
YSU has lost seven straight season openers dating back to a 76-59 win at Saint Louis on Nov. 19, 2004. Since then, the Penguins have lost at Robert Morris, to Cincinnati, at Buffalo, at Kent State, at Elon, at Pittsburgh and at West Virginia. In fact, YSU has lost by double digits in its opener four straight times. Still, YSU is 20-17 all-time in season openers.
Team Background
Looking at the Big Picture
It's hard to ignore the improvements that the program has made in just two years under head coach Bob Boldon. Right before Boldon's arrival, YSU went 0-30 in 2009-10 and lost games on average by 25.8 points. Only two Horizon League games that season had a final margin fewer than 10 points. In 2011-12, YSU's scoring margin was minus-2.9, a 22.9-point improvement from two years ago. That was the best improvement in the country. The Guins won 10 games last year – more than the previous three years combined.
Competitiveness Shows Growth
Although YSU finished 4-14 in Horizon League play, it had a one-possession game with under a minute left in regulation against each team it lost to. Seven of the Penguins' final 10 losses were by five points or fewer. Two were in overtime to Wright State, the third-place team in the conference, and league champion Green Bay. The Phoenix was ranked 11th in the nation when YSU lost to it in overtime. Another tough loss came on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to fifth-place Butler. YSU also lost an overtime game to UIC, which finished fourth in the conference standings.
YSU Sixth in Academic Top 25
Youngstown State boasted the sixth-highest team grade-point average in the country during the 2011-12 academic year to earn a spot on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. The Penguins posted a team GPA of 3.550 during the 2011-12 academic year. YSU was 17th in 2010-11.
Lots of 3-Pointers
Youngstown State ranked fifth in the country last season with 9.2 3-pointers per game. The Penguins averaged 10.4 3-pointers during league play and 10.8 at home. YSU set school and Horizon League records for 3-pointers made in a season last year with 275. The Penguins also attempted a school and conference-record 828 3-pointers. In conference play, YSU shattered the previous record for makes with 188 3-pointers, 58 more than the previous record. YSU's 16 3-pointers at Loyola tied a conference record.
YSU Had Top Scoring Bench
Youngstown State possessed the top scoring bench in the Horizon League last season. The Penguins' reserves averaged 19.5 points per game, which was 3.2 points more than second-place Butler. YSU outscored its opponent's bench 14 times in 18 conference games and 22 times in 30 overall contests.
YSU Picked Eighth in League Poll
YSU was tabbed to finish eighth in the preseason Horizon League poll of coaches, SIDs and media. Green Bay was picked first with 241 total points. YSU was 13 points behind sixth-place UIC in the poll.
Horizon League Preseason Poll
Team (First Place Votes) Total Points
Green Bay (25) 241
Detroit (2) 210
Wright State 191
Loyola 152
Cleveland State 123
UIC 90
Milwaukee 85
Youngstown State 77
Valparaiso 46
Brown, Schlegel Among League's Best Returning Frontcourt Duo
Senior Brandi Brown and redshirt sophomore Heidi Schlegel are arguably the Horizon League's top returning frontcourt duo this season. The pair combined to average 25.6 points and 13.9 rebounds last season – Brown averaged 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds and Schlegel contributed 9.7 points and 4.6 boards. The 25.6 combined scoring average is the best among returning frontcourt duos, and the 13.9 rebounds ranks second.
Touvelle's Many 3s in Two Years
Junior Monica Touvelle made 78 3-pointers in her first two seasons at YSU. That is the second-most in school history for a player heading into her junior year. Touvelle already 13th in school history in career 3-pointers, and her .364 shooting percentage from distance is seventh-best. She made 53 3-pointers last year at a 40.2 percent clip. That was one make shy of the sophomore record.
Day Games a Regularity
Youngstown State opens the season with four straight games that will start at 2 p.m. or earlier. The Penguins play at 11 a.m. at Pittsburgh to start the season and follow that up with a noon game at Buffalo, a 12:05 p.m. contest against Bryant and a 2 p.m. game at Miami (Ohio). The Penguins will play at least 12 games this season that will start before 5 p.m.
Upcoming Milestones
Brandi Brown is 52 points from moving into eighth place on the career scoring list and 55 points from seventh.
Brandi Brown is 26 rebounds away from 900 for her career.
Brandi Brown is eight free throws from moving into fourth place on YSU's career list.
Brandi Brown is 26 rebounds from 900 for her career and 32 from moving into fourth place on YSU's career list.
Liz Hornberger is 10 points from 200 for her career.
Monica Touvelle is 20 points from 300 for her career.
