| Detroit Drops Penguins, 67-43 |
| Tuesday, December 28 2004 |
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| Detroit, Mich. – The Youngstown State women’s basketball team shot just 33 percent and committed 20 turnovers which led to 22 Detroit points and did not place a player in double figures as the Titans outlasted the Penguins, 67-43, on Tuesday evening at Calihan Hall. Detroit improves to 3-8 overall and 1-0 in the Horizon League while the Penguins fall to 6-5 overall and 1-1 in the Horizon League. “We did not play with the intensity we needed” said second-year head coach Tisha Hill. “Detroit came out and executed and successfully ran their game plan and we did not.” The Penguins built a 10-2 lead with 13:53 to go after two My’Kea Cohill free throws, but the Titans rallied with a 15-4 run to over the next five minutes to take a 17-14 advantage. Detroit continued to apply pressure and scored the next seven points to extend its cushion to 10 points, 24-14, with 5:42 remaining in the half. Youngstown State mounted comeback and cut the deficit to three points, 24-21, after two baskets by senior Barb Fabianova, who led the Penguins with nine points, and a three-pointer by Jen Perugini. After two buckets by Detroit, the Titans owned a seven-point advantage but Cathy Hanek drilled a 3-pointer to slice the Detroit lead back to four points, 28-24, with 2:10 left. Detroit, however, would score the last eight points of the half, keyed by 3-pointers by Elizabeth Krzyzek and Pasquinzo, to take a 36-24 lead into the lockerroom. Pasquinzo led the Titans with 15 points while Joanna Cooper and Katie Solner each added 10 points. The Titans forced 13 Penguin turnovers in the first half, which they capitalized into 16 points. The Penguins face Xavier (Ohio) on Friday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m. in Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Penguins Top Cleveland State in Conference Opener, 74-52 |
| Friday, December 24 2004 |
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| Youngstown -- Youngstown State put three scorers in double figures and led for more than 38 minutes to defeat Cleveland State 74-52 in the Horizon League opener for both teams on Wednesday evening at the Beeghly Center. Cathy Hanek scored a game-high 15 points while Jen Perugini finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the season. Barb Fabianova added 13 points for the Penguins, who improved to 6-4 on the campaign. After CSU's Maria Rickards hit a jumper with 18:34 remaining to counter Lauren Branson's opening layup and tie the score at two, Hanek hit a 3 that gave the Penguins the lead that they would not lose. Youngstown State jumped out to a 12-3 lead after a jumper by Tara Fleming at the 15:27 mark, but Cleveland State climbed back with a 7-0 run to get within two with 12:42 remaining. A 3-pointer from Jen Perugini then capped a 13-3 run for the Penguins that gave them a 12-point cushion with 7:08 left. But the Penguins were held to just four points over the next 5 1/2 as the Vikings inched within six after a Rickards 3 with 1:47 remaining. Two free throws from Michelle Holmes and a jumper from Hanek put the Penguins back ahead by double digits, but CSU's Robyn Hoying hit a free throw with 40 seconds remaining to cut the margin to 33-24 at the break. The Vikings got within six twice in the second half, but a 9-1 run that finished with a Holmes free throw blew the game open at 46-32 with 10:55 remaining. CSU shaved the lead to eight at the 8:28 mark on a layup by Keena Rambert, but Fabianova hit a 3 to get the lead back to 11 on YSU's next possession. The Vikings didn't get closer than 10 the rest of the way. YSU outshot the Vikings 36.7 percent to 30.9 percent and held a rebounding margin of 51-18. The Penguins also held the edge from the free throw line, converting on 22 of 26 attempts while the Vikings were just 15-of-29. Perugini and Hanek had seven points apiece in the first half to pace the Penguins while Rembert had seven for the Vikings. YSU will break until Tuesday when it travels to Detroit to take on the Titans at 7 p.m. |
| Strong First Half Leads Penguins Over Buffalo, 75-43 |
| Tuesday, December 14 2004 |
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| Youngstown -- Youngstown State shot 63 percent in the first half and used two runs to take a commanding 23-point halftime lead en route to a 75-43 triumph over the University at Buffalo Bulls on Tuesday evening at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins, who led the entire length, broke a three-point contest with a 10-0 run to take a 21-8 lead with 10:02 remaining, and used an 11-0 run later in the half to blow the game open. After BU's Allison Bennett hit a jumper at the 14:38 mark, Cathy Hanek hit a jumper off an assist from Lauren Branson to start the run. Tara Fleming then hit three straight buckets and and Hanek followed with two makes from the free throw line to give YSU a 13-point advantage. Buffalo cut the margin to 10 on Heather Turner's layup, but back-to-back 3s from Hanek sparked an 11-0 run that put the Penguins up 37-15 with 2:33 remaining. The Penguins led by as many as 37 in the second half after a Melissa Tarrant free throw capped a 7-0 run with 2:57 remaining. Barb Fabianova led all scorers with 14 points while converting on 4-of-5 attempts from behind the arc and 5-of-8 overall. Jen Perugini and Hanek each scored 12 while Kristy Gaudiose finished with a season-high 11 points. Branson also recorded a career-high 11 assists and all but one Penguin scored. Belinda Gibb led the Bulls with 10 points. The Penguins shot 51.9 percent overall and held the Bulls to a 32.1 percent effort. The Penguins also held the upper hand in rebounds at 38-29. YSU's first 22 baskets came off an assist. The Penguins will open up Horizon League play when they play host to Cleveland State on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. |
| Eastern Michigan Topples Penguins 87-62 |
| Sunday, December 12 2004 |
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| Youngstown -- Eastern Michigan (8-0) overcame a 12-point first-half deficit and shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half to defeat Youngstown State (4-4) 87-62 and remain undefeated on Saturday evening at the Beeghly Center. Trailing 32-20, EMU went on a 15-3 run over the final 4:35 of the first half to tie the score, 35-35, at halftime and outscored the Penguins 52-27 in the second half. YSU's Barb Fabianova scored 20 points in the first half by making 9-of-13 from the field, but the Eagles held the forward to just three points on 1-of-5 shooting in the second half. Fabianova finished with career-high 23 points. Senior Cathy Hanek scored 13 points and Jessica Schloemp added 10 for the Penguins while Lauren Branson posted a career-high 10 assists. Ryan Coleman scored a game-high 26 points to pace the Eagles while Annie Malatinsky and Colleen Russell each scored 13. Malatinksy entered the game averaging less than four points, and Russell was averaging less than one. Fabianova scored YSU's first seven points and after a Cathy Hanek free throw, the Penguins led 8-2 with 16:47 remaining. EMU's Ryan Coleman then hit three 3-pointers in the next 2:30 to key a 10-2 run as the Eagles took a 15-10 lead with 12:29 remaining. YSU then went on a 15-2 run to take a 25-17 advantage with 8:40 remaining. Five more points from Fabianova and a jumper from Jessica Schloemp gave the Penguins a 17-15 lead before Amy Freidenberger made a fast break layup to tie the score. Schloemp and Fabianova then hit two jumpers apiece to give YSU a 25-17 lead. Coleman connected on a 3-pointer with one second left on the shot clock coming out of a timeout to cut the lead to five, but two Fabianova jumpers and a Hanek 3-pointer gave the Penguins their largest lead of the game at 32-20 with 4:35 remaining in the opening half. Hanek hit a trey at the 17:44 mark of the second-half to give YSU a 44-41 lead, but the Eagles scored four straight points to take a 45-44 lead. Michelle Holmes hit a free throw with 17:03 remaining to tie the score, but EMU went on an 18-3 run to take a 63-48 lead with 10:05 remaining. YSU did not get closer than 13 the rest of the contest. EMU outscored the Penguins 46-16 in the paint and 34-10 in the second half. The Eagles also out-rebounded the Penguins 39-25 and grabbed 10 more offensive rebounds (16-6). The Eagles finished shooting 57.1 percent from the floor, but shot just 55.6 percent from the free throw line after missing its first eight attempts. The women will play host to Buffalo on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader with the YSU men. Tipoff at Beeghly Center is set for 5:15 p.m. |
| Second-Half Surge Leads Penguins to 61-48 Over Akron |
| Sunday, December 5 2004 |
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| Youngstown -- Youngstown State overcame a slow start and an early second-half deficit with a 24-2 run to knock off the Akron Zips 61-48 on Sunday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. Senior Cathy Hanek led all scorers with a career-high 22 points - 12 of which came during the second-half run - while fellow senior Jen Perugini tallied her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds and freshman Lauren Branson posted a career-high with 11 points. With the win, the Penguins improve to 4-3 season and have already matched their win total from last season. The Penguins held a 27-24 halftime lead, but Akron went on an 10-2 run to open the second stanza and held a 34-29 lead with 15:33 remaining. But that's when Hanek caught fire with nine of the game's next 11 points, including a four-point play that gave YSU a 35-34 lead, as the Penguins ran off 13 straight to pull ahead 42-34 with 9:47 remaining. Akron's Lindsay Hemmelgarn cut the margin to six with a layup, but Hanek's third three-pointer of the half sparked an 11-0 run that put the Penguins up 51-36 at the 7:10 mark. Akron never got closer than 10 the rest of the contest. Hemmelgarn led the Zips, who fell to 0-6 on the season, with 11 points. YSU shot 37.3 percent overall, including shooting at a 47.4 clip in the second half. The Zips were held to just 24.2 percent in the second half and finished at 30 percent on the game. Akron held the rebounding advantage 42-35. Akron scored the first four points of the game and eventually took a 10-5 lead on a Courtney Stewart jumper with 12:43 remaining. YSU then went on a 6-0 run as Lauren Branson hit a jumper in the lane to give the Penguins their first lead of the game at 11-10. The Zips reclaimed the lead on their next possession and held a 22-19 advantage with 5:40 remaining, but the Penguins closed out the half on an 8-2 run to lead 27-24. Hemmelgarn led all first-half scorers with eight points while Perugini, Barb Fabianova and Hanek each had seven for YSU. Perugini also grabbed nine rebounds. Akron shot 37 percent from the floor and was 3-for-10 from behind the arc in the first half. YSU recovered from starting out 2-for-16 from the field to shoot 31.3 percent and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The Penguins will break for final exams until Saturday when they play host to defending Mid-American Conference Tournament Champion Eastern Michigan at 4:30 p.m.. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's team. |
| Penguins Top Toledo, 53-42 |
| Friday, December 3 2004 |
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| Youngstown -- Youngstown State started both halves strong and made 11-of-14 second-half free throws to grab a 53-42 win over the Toledo Rockets on Thursday night at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins scored the first eight points of the game and used an 11-0 run early in the second half to blow open a one-point game to level their record at 3-3. The Rockets fell to 1-4 with the loss. After Crystal Young hit a 3 at the 17:57 mark of the second half to get the Rockets within one at 29-28, Cathy Hanek made three 3-pointers to spark an 11-0 Penguin run to make the score 40-28. Toledo didn't hit another field goal until Karin Hoogendam's layup at the 8:59 mark. The Rockets cut the deficit to 40-36 with 7:08 remaining, but Michelle Holmes hit four free throws to increase the margin to eight with just under six minutes to go. Toledo got within six with 2:59 remaining, but YSU hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 2:25 to thwart the comeback effort. Jen Perugini had a double-double with a game-high 14 points and 15 rebounds while Hanek had 11 points - all of which came in the second half. Danielle Bishop led the Rockets with 13 points. YSU was strong off glass, grabbing 48 boards to Toledo's 35. YSU's defense held Toledo to just a 23.3 shooting percentage on the game. The Penguins opened the game by hitting four of their first six shots to take an 8-0 lead at the 16:32 mark, but Toledo came out of a timeout and hit back-to-back 3s to get within two with 15:51 remaining. Bishop then scored the next eight points for the Rockets as they got within one at 15-14 and eventually took a 21-18 advantage with 6:25 remaining. After UT's Savannah Werner hit a free throw with 3:58 remaining that made the score 22-20, the Penguin defense held the Rockets scoreless for the rest of the half. Perugini hit a 3 with 1:50 remaining to put YSU back on top and added a jumper after two Lauren Branson free throws to make the score 27-22 at the half. Perugini led all first-half scorers with 10 and grabbed five rebounds. The Penguins will continue their five-game homestand when the play host to the Akron Zips on Sunday at 2 p.m. |