| Intense First-Half Performance Not Enough in Loss to UIC |
| Friday, January 30 2009 |
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| Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team put forth an intense first-half effort, but UIC stole the momentum in the waning minutes of the frame and used a big second half to beat the Penguins 57-42 on Thursday night at the Beeghly Center. YSU trailed just briefly in the first half and led by 10 on two occasions. However, the Flames scored the final nine points to cut a 27-17 deficit to one at the break. UIC scored on its initial possession of the second half to grab the lead and never trailed the remainder of the game. In the second half, YSU struggled to find the basket. The Guins shot 13.3 percent from the field making 4-of-30 shots and were outscored 31-15. UIC hit 11-of-26 from the field (42.3 percent). The Flames shot just 35.7 percent (10-of-28) in the first half. The Penguins showed tenacity on the boards outrebounding the Flames 57-42. Senior Kelsey Gurganus had a team-high 11 points while UIC's Jessie Miller had a game and career-high 26 points. Miller was 10-of-17 from the field, including a 6-of-9 effort from behind the 3-point arc. They were the only two players to reach double figures for the contest. The loss drops the Penguins to 2-17 overall and 0-8 in the Horizon League. With the victory, UIC improves to 11-7 and 5-3. YSU clung to a 27-26 halftime lead after leading by as many as 10 on two occasions in the opening period. It was the second time that the Guins led at the break this season (Akron on Dec. 20). In the first half, Youngstown State shot 40 percent making 10-of-25, but misfired on its final four attempts from the field and committed two turnovers in its last six possessions. YSU played just seven players in the opening half with just Macey Nortey and Tiara Scott coming off the bench because of injuries. Gurganus had the hot hand making four field goals, including two 3-pointers to score 10 points. Steadily the Penguins took control of the contest in the first 15 minutes. UIC's last lead in the opening half was 9-8 with 15:05 remaining. YSU led 13-12 at the 11:53 mark before scoring five straight points in nearly a five minute span to lead 18-12. After Miller drained a 3-pointer to get the within three, YSU reeled off seven straight points. Gurganus started the spurt with a 3-pointer at the 6:27 mark. Jaquetta Westley made two free throws and Gurganus concluded the run with a layup. Miller's layup cut the deficit to 25-17 before Macey Nortey answered with two free throws as the Guins held a 27-17 advantage with 3:32 left in the half. The Flames scored the final nine points, including two 3-pointers by Miller to get within one at halftime. The Penguins play host to Loyola on Saturday at the Beeghly Center. Tipoff is set for 4:35 p.m. and is the first game of a men's-women's doubleheader. |
| Alexander's Hot Hand Not Enough as Penguins Fall at Detroit, 73-50 |
| Sunday, January 25 2009 |
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| Detroit, Mich. -- Freshman guard Camisha Alexander scored a career-high 15 points in her first start, but her hot hand was not enough to carry the Youngstown State women's basketball team in a 73-50 defeat at Detroit on Saturday afternoon. Alexander was 5-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc in 20 minutes, and Kelsey Gurganus added eight points and five assists. Detroit went on runs of 11-0 and 19-1 in the first half as it built a 44-31 lead at halftime. The Penguins could not make a second-half surge as they were held to 30.4 percent from the floor in the period. They hit 44.0 percent in the first half, and the Guins were 7-for-16 from the 3-point arc from the game. The Titans converted on 43.6 percent from the field and made 21-of-27 from the free-throw line. They outscored YSU by 21-7 at the line, 36-14 in the paint, 23-7 off turnovers and 20-2 in second-chance points. Chanica Hall scored a game-high 19 points to lead Detroit, Sandi Brown scored 14 and Heather Hatter had 13. Brown and Hall had four steals apiece as the Titans collected 13 as a squad. Brown added 14 rebounds as the Titans held a 38-21 edge on the glass. Alexander surpassed her career-high in the first 10 minutes and hit on her first three 3-point attempts. She scored 15 of YSU's 31 points in the opening half by going 5-for-6 from the floor. The other 10 players who saw time in the first half shot a combined 6-for-19 as the Penguins shot 44 percent. The Penguins actually outshot Detroit 44 percent to 43.8 percent, but the Titans outscored the Penguins by 11 at the free-throw line and 22-4 in the paint. The Titans also held a 14-5 edge in points off turnovers and 14-0 in second-chance points in the opening period. After Hall scored the opening bucket, Alexander hit back-to-back treys and Tiara Scott hit a jumper to give the Guins an 8-2 lead. Detroit then scored 11 straight points and held YSU scoreless until Macey Nortey's jumper at the 13:09 mark made the score 13-10. YSU trailed just 23-21 at the 8:35 mark on Kelsey Gurganus' jumper, but YSU was held without a field goal for the next seven minutes as Detroit went on a 19-1 run and built a 42-22 lead with 1:53 remaining in the half. YSU was able to close out the half on a 9-2 run to make the deficit 44-31 at the break. Youngstown State will play host to UIC and Loyola in a pair of doubleheaders next week. The Penguins and Flames will open the week on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. |
| Hot Shooting Vikings Down Penguins, 80-51 |
| Saturday, January 17 2009 |
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| Youngstown -- Cleveland State shot a blistering 56.1 percent and held the Youngstown State women's basketball team to 31.3 percent as the Vikings defeated the Penguins 80-51 on Saturday at the Beeghly Center. The Vikings shot 52 percent in the first half to build a 31-18 lead at the break, and they shot 59.4 percent to score 49 second-half points. Cleveland State, which improved to 9-8 overall and 3-2 in the Horizon League, also shot 53.8 percent in Youngstown last season. The Penguins dropped to 2-14 and 0-5. Senior Kelsey Gurganus scored a season-high 13 points to lead YSU. Nikita LaFleur grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Kailey Klein scored 16 of her game-high 23 points in the first half to lead Cleveland State. Shawnita Garland added 18 points, and Jessica Roque had 11 points and nine assists. The Penguins opened the second half on a 10-5 run and trailed 36-28 after Tiara Scott's fast-break layup at the 17:19 mark. Cleveland State then scored 19 of the next 20 points to go up 55-29 and never looked back. A similar drought hurt the Penguins in the first half. YSU trailed just 13-11 after LaFleur's bucket at the 13:49 mark. Cleveland State then scored the next 10 points and held the Penguins to one field goal in the next 13 minutes. YSU connected on 7-of-30 shot attempts (23.3 percent) in the first half while Cleveland State hit at a solid 52 percent clip by making 13-of-25 from the field. YSU owned a slight 19-16 advantage on the boards, including 10-3 bulge on the offensive glass. Cleveland State hit its first five shots of the game and led 6-0 on back-to-back treys by Klein. The Guins got on the scoreboard when Gurganus connected on a 3-pointer, and they trailed 13-5 before scoring six straight points to get within a basket on a LaFleur jumper at 13:49. However, that's as close the Penguins would get the rest of the contest. Cleveland State's biggest lead of the opening half was 31-16 with 2:39 remaining in the first half. Tiara Scott made the final basket of the opening frame to get YSU within 31-18 at the break. The Penguins are back on the road on Thursday when they visit Wright State. Tipoff at the Nutter Center is set for 5:30 p.m. |
| LaFleur Named U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week |
| Friday, January 16 2009 |
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| Youngstown -- Youngstown State senior Nikita LaFleur has been named the U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week ending Jan. 11, the league announced Thursday. LaFleur, a forward from Scarborough, Ontario, nearly averaged a double-double during the week with 54 points and 28 rebounds in three games. She posted back-to-back double-doubles against Milwaukee and Green Bay on Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 and now has five this season. LaFleur scored a career-high 25 points behind a perfect 10-for-10 effort from the field and grabbed 14 rebounds against the Phoenix. She also scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds against the Panthers. LaFleur leads the Horizon League in field-goal percentage (.583) and rebounding (8.9 per game). She is also the only player in the nation this season to go at least 10-for-10 from the field in a game. LaFleur maintains a 3.44 grade-point average in psychology. The Penguins will play host to Cleveland State on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. The game is one of five "dollar days" at Beeghly Center where general admission tickets and select concession items are $1 apiece. |
| LaFleur's Career Game Not Enough In Loss to Green Bay |
| Saturday, January 10 2009 |
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| Youngstown -- Senior Nikita LaFleur scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, but a strong second-half run by Green Bay proved to be the difference as the Phoenix beat the Youngstown State women's basketball team 62-42 on Saturday at the Beeghly Center. LaFleur set a school record making all 10 of her field-goal attempts. The previous best in school history was a 9-for-9 effort by Kristi Echelberry set against Chicago State on Jan. 5, 1995. LaFleur was also 5-of-10 from the free-throw to eclipse her previous career best of 24 points, which she set earlier this year against Weber State. The Penguins hung tough with Green Bay for the first 26 minutes before a spurt proved to be too much to overcome. YSU trailed 36-35 before the Phoenix scored 12 consecutive points during the decisive stretch. UWGB used an overall 16-2 run to build a 52-37 lead with 6:18 remaining in the game. At the 13:55 mark, YSU pulled within one on a LaFleur basket. The Penguins had a chance to grab the lead but Jaquetta Westley missed a 3-pointer. UWGB missed its initial shot on the ensuing possession only to grab the offense rebound. Kati Hartly drained a 3-pointer to start the Phoenix's spurt. While the Phoenix built its lead, YSU turned the ball over five times, missed two shots and missed two free throws. Westley's basket at 7:33 stopped the drought while getting the Penguins within 48-37. However, from that point on the Guins could not get any closer than 12 points. Leading the way for Green Bay (11-3 overall and 3-0 in the Horizon League) was Kayla Tetschlag who scored 16 points. She was one of four players to score in double figures for UWGB. For the game, YSU (2-13 and 0-4) shot 34.8 percent (16-of-46), but made just 5-of-24 second-half attempts. UWGB shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55). LaFleur (18 points) and Scott (seven) were the only two Penguins to score in the first half. In fact, both players shot a combined 11-of-11 from the field, LaFleur was 8-for-8 and Scott was 3-of-3, while the rest of the team went 0-of-11. Of the 25 points for the Guins, 22 came in the paint. YSU got off to an impressive start scoring eight of the games' first 10 points to lead 8-2 just two-and-a-half minutes in. Scott scored the first bucket, while LaFleur followed with the next six points. UWGB answered with nine straight points to go ahead 11-8 on a Kayla Tetschlag jumper at the 14:03 mark. Two LaFleur free throws ended the Phoenix run. Green Bay led by six on three occasions in the opening stanza, the last coming at the 9:09 mark, 21-15 on a 3-pointer by Cleste Hoewisch. The Penguins regained the lead 25-23 scoring 10 of the next 12 points when LaFleur's converted eighth basket in the opening period. From that point Green Bay closed the half on an 8-0 run to lead 31-25 at the break. In the opening half, UWGB shot 40 percent (12-of-30), but hit just 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. YSU held a 19-14 edge on the boards. The Penguins are off until next Saturday when they play host to Cleveland State. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center is set for 2:05 p.m. The contest is final Dollar Day women's basketball contest of the campaign. |
| LaFleur, Scott Pace Penguins in 72-60 Loss to UWM |
| Friday, January 9 2009 |
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| Youngstown -- Senior forwards Tiara Scott and Nikita LaFleur each finished double-doubles and the Youngstown Sate women's basketball team put forth a solid all-around effort, but Milwaukee was still able to come away with a 72-60 victory on Thursday night at the Beeghly Center. LaFleur scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Scott had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Jaquetta Westley added 14 points while freshman Macey Nortey contributed 11. It is the first time the Penguins have four players reach double figures in scoring this season. YSU (2-12 overall and 0-3 in the Horizon League) stayed within striking distance for most of the contest despite never leading against the Panthers (6-7, 1-1). In the second half the Penguins were within 48-43 on a Nortey basket at the 13:40 mark before UWM scored the next five points to pull in front 53-43. YSU kept things close for the next seven minutes trailing 55-49 following LaFleur's made free throw with 7:31 left. But UWM scored nine of the next 11 points to lead 64-51 with 4:43 remaining. From that point on the closest the Guins could get was 66-56 on Kenya Middlebrooks' only point of the game. It marked the first time since Feb. 1, 2003, that two Penguins posted double-doubles (Jessica Forsythe and Jen Perugini) in the same game. YSU had more second-chance points (14-13) and more points in the paint (28-18) while the Panthers connected on more 3-pointers (7-2). For the game, the Guins shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) while Milwaukee converted 25-of-53 attempts (47.2 percent). The Penguins also reached the 60-point mark for the fourth time in 2008-09. UWM's Traci Edwards finished with a game-high 21 points to score her 2,000th-career point. Edwards' eight rebounds also put her over 1,000 for her career. Three other Panthers finished the game scoring in double digits. YSU played one of its best offensive first halves of the season to keep things tight trailing just 36-32 at halftime. Leading the way was Westley who scored 12 points while LaFleur added 11. Scott grabbed seven rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, to go along with five points. UWM built a seven-point advantage in the first five minutes of the game before the Guins pulled within three points, the last time at 18-15 with 10:23 left in the half. The Panthers scored the next six points to go ahead 24-15 at the 9:19 mark. However, Westley answered by scoring the next five points, including a 3-pointer, to cut the deficit to 24-20. UWM scored six consecutive points to take its biggest lead of the half at 30-20. After trailing 32-22 with 5:10 remaining, YSU scored eight straight points to climb within 32-30 on a Scott basket with 1:48 remaining. An Edwards jumper made the score 34-30 in favor of Milwaukee, before Westley converted two free throws. The Panthers were able to extend the halftime advantage to four on two Ashley Imperiale free throws with two-tenths of a second on the clock. YSU shot 41.4 percent (12-of-29) while the Panthers made one more field goal to shot 44.8 percent. Both teams had 18 rebounds and were 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. The Penguins return to action on Saturday when they play host to preseason league favorite Green Bay. Tipoff is set for 4:35 p.m. as the first game of a doubleheader with the YSU men. |
| Strong Second Half Not Enough as Penguins Fall at Butler |
| Tuesday, January 6 2009 |
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| Indianapolis, Ind. -- A solid second half was overshadowed by a cold-shooting first half for the Youngstown State women's basketball team as it fell 84-50 at Butler on Monday evening. The Penguins shot 39.4 percent in the second half, but were outshot 51.4 percent to 20.7 percent in the first half as it trailed 42-14 at halftime. YSU forced Butler in 21 turnovers, which was nearly six more than its average coming in. The Penguins had eight steals in the game and have had at least six swipes in six straight games. Nikita LaFleur scored a game-high 14 points for YSU in 23 minutes. Indianapolis native Kelsey Gurganus added nine points in front of a large gathering of friends and family, and Jaquetta Westley also scored nine. Lade Akande had 13 points to lead Butler and moved into second place on Butler's all-time scoring list in the contest with her first bucket at the 15:56 mark. She now has 1,530 points in her four years. Brittany Bowen added 12 for the Bulldogs. Butler outscored YSU 33-15 off turnovers despite committing one more turnover. The Bulldogs also had a 44-30 edge in the paint. The Penguins shot 20.7 percent in the first half while Butler shot 51.4 percent en route to building a 42-14 lead. After Gurganus' bucket tied the score at 2-2 with 19:21 remaining, YSU went scoreless for more than nine minutes as Butler scored 17 straight. LaFleur's bucket at the 10:10 mark ended the run, but Butler scored the next seven points and never led by less than 20 the rest of the way. Chloe Hamilton and Akande scored seven points apiece in the first half to lead Butler. Youngstown State opens up a three-game homestand against Milwaukee on Thursday at 5:15 p.m.. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's basketball team. |
| Penguins Fall at Valparaiso in Horizon League Opener |
| Sunday, January 4 2009 |
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| Valparaiso, Ind. -- Valparaiso shot 51.8 percent and held Youngstown State to a season-low 23.7 percent in an 86-43 victory on Saturday in the Horizon League opener for both teams. Tiara Scott scored 13 points while Jaquetta Westley had nine to lead YSU. Ashley Varner scored 14 points to lead four Crusaders in double figures. Valpo had a balanced offense as seven different players scored at least eight points. The Crusaders outscored the Penguins 40-20 in the paint and hit seven more 3-pointers. YSU took better care of the basketball than recent contests, committing its second-lowest turnover total of the year with 15. The Penguins outshot the Crusaders 82.4 percent to 69 percent from the free-throw line. Valparaiso went on a 13-0 run early in the first half and never looked back as it built a 43-20 halftime lead. The Crusaders shot 51.7 percent and scored 22 points in the paint in the opening period. YSU was held to 26.7 percent in the first half. Westley scored the first five points for YSU, which gave the Penguins a 5-3 advantage. Valpo then hit on seven of its next nine from the field while YSU missed six straight shots. Scott's jumper with 10:50 left cut the margin to deficit to 16-11, but Valpo went on a 19-4 run to seize a 35-15 edge at the 4:34 mark. Westley and Scott had seven points apiece for the Penguins in the first half while Varner led all scorers with 11. Starting point guard Macey Nortey and center Nikita LaFleur got into early foul trouble for YSU. Nortey played nine minutes in the first half while LaFleur, the Horizon League's top rebounder entering the contest, played just four minutes. Valpo held a 25-11 edge on the glass in the opening period. YSU will stay on the road to battle Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Monday at 7 p.m. |
| Late Flurry Comes Up Short as Guins Fall at Toledo, 69-61 |
| Thursday, January 1 2009 |
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| Toledo, Ohio -- Youngstown State scored 22 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes to cut a 22 point deficit to six, but the Penguins came up just short in falling 69-61 at Toledo on Tuesday at Savage Arena. The Penguins trailed 61-39 with 4:55 remaining before outscoring the Rockets 22-8 the rest of the way. Jaquetta Westley scored a career-high and game-high 20 points to lead the Penguins. Kelsey Gurganus scored seven of her nine during the rally, and Nikita LaFleur notched her third double-double of the year with 11 points and 12 rebounds. YSU went on two 6-0 runs and an 8-0 run during the rally and got within 65-59 on LaFleur's put-back with 52 seconds remaining. Naama Shafir hit two free throws for Toledo to up the margin to eight, and LaFleur's bucket with 24 seconds left got the difference back to 67-61. The Rockets hit two more free throws with five seconds remaining for the final tally. "We're very happy with our effort tonight," YSU head coach Cindy Martin said. "We left every ounce of our energy today on the court, and I've never seen a team look so happy in the locker room after a loss. We're not happy that we lost, but we're happy about how far we came in the game and how far we've come overall. I think our team is ready for conference play." Shafir was one of four Rockets in double figures, scoring 11 points to go along with her seven assists. Allie Clifton had 15 to lead Toledo, and Tanika Mays had 10 points and 11 rebounds. YSU trailed 31-23 at halftime but scored the first five points to get within 31-28. After Toledo went back up by eight, Rachael Manuel's bucket at the 13:47 mark got the Penguins within four points at 37-33. From that point, Toledo went on a 24-6 run to take a 61-39 lead with 4:58 remaining. Tiara Scott hit a layup with 4:36 remaining to kick-start YSU's offense, and the Penguins went on to hit six straight from the field and eight of their final 13. YSU shot 58.3 percent in the second half and outrebounded Toledo 37-32. Toledo hit six of its final eight shots in the first half and kept YSU's top two scorers to a combined three points to build a 31-23 lead at the break. Westley scored all of her 10 first-half points in-a-row for the Penguins in a 5 1/2-minute span. Her second 3-pointer at the 7:36 mark cut Toledo's margin to 17-16. The Rockets answered by scoring five straight and led 22-16 on Jessica Williams' trey with 5:36 left. Scott was held out of the final 16:14 of the first half after she picked up two quick fouls. The Penguins will play Valparaiso in their Horizon League opener on Saturday at 2:35 p.m. |