| Penguins Fall to James Madison, 79-62, at FAU Thanksgiving Classic Championship |
| Sunday, November 28 2004 |
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| Boca Raton, Fla. -- Youngstown State senior Jen Perugini scored a team-high 17 points but the Penguins (2-2) fell, 79-62, to James Madison (2-1) in the championship game of the FAU Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday evening. Perugini and YSU senior Barb Fabianova were named to the All-Tournament Team. JMU jumped out to an early 15-6 lead at the 13:38 mark but the Penguins rattled off nine straight points to tie the game at 15-15 with 11:58 to go. The Penguins regained the lead, 19-17, after a layup by Aliyah Sabree but the Dukes answered with four straight points to retake a 21-19 advantage with 8:51 left. Youngstown State held a two-point lead, 25-23, at the 7:13 mark but the Dukes outscored the Penguins, 18-6, to close out the half and take a 41-31 at the intermission and never looked back. YSU sophomore Kristy Gaudiose added a season-high 10 points for the Penguins on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor. Youngstown State visits Bowling Green, Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. in Bowling Green, Ohio |
| Penguins Hold On to Defeat Florida Atlantic, 71-58 |
| Sunday, November 28 2004 |
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| Boca Raton, Fla. -- After squandering a 20-point first-half advantage and 16-point halftime lead, the Youngstown State women's basketball team (2-1) held off Florida Atlantic (0-3), 71-58, in the first round of the FAU Thanksgiving Classic on Friday evening. YSU senior Jen Perugini recorded her third straight double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds while classmate Barb Fabianova poured in a season-high 20 points including 4-of-8 shooting from behind the 3-point line. The Penguins owned a 46-30 lead with 15:46 remaining following a Fabianova layup, but the Owls ran off 16 straight points over the next five minutes to tie the game, 46-46. The Owls took the lead for the first time 16:15 mark of the first half on Shontavia Williams' layup with 4:40 remaining in the game. YSU freshman Jessica Schloemp converted two free throws with 3:44 to go to give the Penguins the lead for good. After taking the lead, 55-54, courtesy of Schloemp, the Penguins outscored the Owls, 16-4, to close out the game. Fabianova scored seven points, including a 3-pointer, and senior Cathy Hanek, who finished with 13 points, added five points during the final 3:02. Hanek also scored 11 points in the second half. In the first half, the Penguins jumped out to an enormous 20-point advantage, 29-9, with 8:45 remaining in the half. Florida Atlantic, however, held the Penguins without a field goal for nine minutes and chipped away to cut the YSU advantage to 10 points, 33-23. The Penguins, though, replied with two 3-pointers by Perugini, who scored 17 first-half points, with 32 seconds left and another by Fabianova with nine seconds left to head into the lockerroom with a 39-23 lead. The Penguins face James Madison in the FAU Thanksgiving Classic Championship on Saturday at 7 p.m. |
| Penguins Fall to Bobcats, 85-79 |
| Wednesday, November 24 2004 |
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| Youngstown, Ohio – Youngstown State senior Jen Perugini scored a career-high 26 points and added 17 rebounds while classmate Barb Fabianova poured in 17 points, but the Penguins (1-1) suffered a disappointing 85-79 loss to Ohio (2-0) on Tuesday evening at Beeghly Center. The Penguins and Bobcat battled through flurry of eight ties and three lead changes before the Bobcats held a two-point halftime advantage, 43-41. After Perugini tied the contest at 36-36 with two free throws, OU’s Tiffany Byrd drained a three-pointer to give the Bobcats a three-point lead 39-36 with 2:44 remaining in the first stanza. Ohio extended its lead to six points with 1:07 to go but two free throws by Perugini, who scored 17 first half points, and a layup by freshman Lauren Branson with 23 seconds remaining capped the scoring before halftime. Ohio pushed its halftime advantage to five points, 46-41 after a jumper by Elizabeth Brown at the 19:11 mark. Youngstown State, though, quickly tied the game after a Perugini jumper and a three-pointer by Cathy Hanek with 18:06 remaining. OU scored eight straight points to a take a 54-48 advantage at the 15:34 mark but the Penguins again rallied to cut the Bobcat advantage to two points. Perugini hit a jumper and junior Aliyah Sabree converted two free throws and a layup with 13:41 to go. Youngstown State, however, would not get any closer as the Bobcats extended its lead to 12 points at the 7:28 mark. The closest YSU would get was a four-point deficit, 83-79, with six seconds remaining. Ohio out-rebounded the Penguins, 61-53, including 30 offensive rebounds which led to 28 second-chance points. The Penguins take on Florida Atlantic, Friday, at 7 p.m. in Boca Raton, Fla., at the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Classic. |
| Penguins Beat St. Louis in Season Opener, 76-59 |
| Saturday, November 20 2004 |
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| St. Louis, Mo. -- Youngstown State senior Jen Perugini had a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds to help lead the Penguins to a 76-59 win over Saint Louis on Friday night at Bauman-Eberhardt Center. Senior Barb Fabianova chipped in 14 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Ashlee Russo contributed 11 points. The Billikens jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first half, but at the 15:50 mark the Penguins went on a 8-0 run on two Perugini jumpers to take the lead 8-5. However, Saint Louis' Ava Smith hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 8. Midway through the half, YSU went on a 15-4 run highlighted by two lay ups from junior Aliyah Sabree and a pair of 3-pointers by Fabianova to pull away with the lead 28-19 at the 4:20 mark. The Penguins headed into the locker room with a 32-26 lead. The Billikens came out of the second half and trimmed the deficit to four on a lay up from Yanique Javois and a pair of free throws from Marquita McFarland, but YSU capitalized on a Fabianova lay up and four free throws made by Cathy Hanek and Tara Fleming to take a 43-30 lead at the 14:20 mark. At the 8:45 mark the Penguins took their biggest lead of the game 56-41. The Penguins finished the last seven minutes of the game by connecting on 13 of 15 free throws. The Penguins shot 46.2 percent for the game, and 78.1 percent from the free throw line. Head Coach Tisha Hill said she was happy with the way her team pulled together. "We executed the game plan. We were really looking to go inside to our posts and they stepped it up," she said. "We did a good job executing on the offensive end by knocking down shots." The Penguins return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 23, when they play host to Ohio at 5:15 p.m. at the Beeghly Center. |
| Penguins Hold Off Premier All-Stars, 74-70 |
| Saturday, November 13 2004 |
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| Youngstown, Ohio -- Youngstown State senior Barb Fabianova drilled four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Penguins to a 74-70 victory over the Premier All-Stars in an exhibition game on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins scored the first 10 points of the game by connecting on four of the first five shots of the game, including seven points from senior Cathy Hanek and a 3-pointer from Ashlee Russo. Both Hanek and Russo finished with 12 points for the Penguins. The All-Stars quickly trimmed the Penguins' advantage to two points, 11-9, with 14 minutes remaining but Youngstown State scored the next 10 points to take a 21-9 lead at the 13:02 mark. Fabianova sank two free throws from an All-Stars' technical foul and buried two 3-pointers to spark the Penguins during that span. The Penguins led by as many as 13 points 10:43 remaining in the first half but allowed the All-Stars to rally and take a 41-40 lead at halftime. The second half featured six lead changes and three ties before the Penguins were able to hold on for the victory. YSU sophomore Kristy Gaudiose hit a 3-pointer at the 9:56 mark to give the Penguins a 60-57 advantage but a 3-point play by the All-Stars at the nine minute mark tied the game at 60-60. Junior Michelle Holmes, who scored seven points and grabbed eight rebounds, converted a 3-point play with 8:43 left to give the Penguins the lead for good. Fabianova, who scored 10 points in the second half, drilled her fourth trey of the game to give Youngstown State a four-point advantage, 66-62, with 7:49 remaining. After the All-Stars cut the lead to two points, 70-68, at the 5:16 mark, both teams went scoreless over the next 2:37 before junior Aliyah Sabree's layup gave YSU another four-point cushion, 72-68, with 2:39 to go. The All-Stars again cut the Penguins' lead down to two, 72-70, at the 1:24 mark but Russo's steal and two free throws with 18 seconds left sealed the Penguin win. Senior Jen Perugini collected a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Penguins open the 2004-05 season against Saint Louis, Friday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo. |
| Penguins Ink Five during Early Signing Period |
| Saturday, November 13 2004 |
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| Youngstown, Ohio – Youngstown State women’s basketball head coach Tisha Hill Friday announced that Monique Godfrey, Ashley Pendleton, Toni Roscoe, Megan Snorf, and Velissa Vaughn have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their education and basketball careers at Youngstown State University. “I am extremely excited about our 2005 class,” Hill said. “We are continuing to improve and set the groundwork for the future success of our program. By surrounding our players with the incoming talent in this class, I am very confident we will continue to see exciting Penguin Basketball in the years ahead.” Godfrey, 5-foot-8 guard from South Euclid Regina High School, helped Regina to two Ohio state championships in 2002 and 2003 and a regional runner-up finish last season. “Monique is no stranger to success coming from a strong high school program in Regina,” Hill said. “She is able to create and score and will certainly bring an uptempo style of play to our program.” Pendleton, a 6-foot forward from Farrell, Pa., is considered one of the top 50 seniors in Western Pennsylvania and led Farrell High School to a 20-win season in 2003-04. “Ashley will give us more athleticism inside,” Hill said. “She is a strong rebounder and has a nose for the ball at all times. “ Roscoe, a 5-foot-8 guard from Pittsburgh, Pa., and Carlynton High School, earned three letters at Carlynton and was named all-section and all-WPIAL. She also helped Carlynton to a WPIAL Class AA championship in 2004 and a runner-up finish in 2003. Roscoe averaged 15 points per game last Carlynton. “Toni has a good touch outside,” Hill said. “She can really knock down the shots when you need them.” Snorf, a 6-foot-2 post from Northmont High, averaged 12.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, and shot 60 percent from the field. “Megan has a tremendous work ethic and attitude,” Hill said. “She is a competitor. She will add size and strength to our post play." Vaughn, a 5-foot-8 guard from Clairton, Pa., was a four-year letterwinner at Clairton High School and set the school record for assists. She also helped Clairton to the 2001-02 WPIAL championship. “Velissa is able to create and score with quickness from the perimeter,” Hill said. “She enjoys the open court and is very fun to watch.” |
| Four Seniors Tabbed Team Captains |
| Saturday, November 6 2004 |
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| Youngstown, Ohio -- Youngstown State women's basketball Head Coach Tisha Hill announced that seniors Barb Fabianova, Tara Fleming, Cathy Hanek and Jen Perugini have been named team captains for the 2004-05 season. Fabianova, who missed much of her sophomore and junior seasons due to knee surgery, averaged 3.7 points 1.7 rebounds per game last season in 19 games. Fleming, who is one of the Horizon League's top shot blockers, ranks third all-time at YSU with 81 career blocks. Last season, she ranked second in the Horizon League with 1.54 blocks per game. Hanek, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, led the Penguins in scoring last season with 9.1 points per game. The fifth-year senior is also one of the top 3-point shooters in school history with 102 career 3-pointers, which ranks seventh all-time. Perugini, the 2002 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, averaged 6.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season and needs just 187 more points to become the 16th player in school history to record 1,000 career points. The Penguins host the Premier All-Stars in an exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. in Beeghly Center. |