The Youngstown State women's basketball team will have the tough task of slowing down a hot Loyola team on a quick turnaround as it plays the Ramblers on Saturday at noon Eastern. The game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO, iHeartRadio and the Horizon Leagues Network.

The Penguins are coming off a 73-69 home win over Cleveland State on Thursday in which they rallied from an eight-point deficit. Senior forward Brandi Brown had one of the best games of her career in willing the Penguins to victory. She scored 21 of her season-high 33 points in the second half and added 11 rebounds for her 18th double-double of the campaign. Monica Touvelle scored all 13 of her points in the second half as the Penguins outscored the Vikings 45-36 in the period. YSU suffered a setback on the injury front, though, as top bench player and Sixth Player of the year candidate Heidi Schlegel suffered a knee injury in the second half. She made the trip to Chicago but will not play. That leaves YSU with two healthy posts in Brown and Karen Flagg. YSU is 4-0 without Schlegel this year.

With Thursday's win, Youngstown State improved to 18-6 overall and 8-3 in Horizon League play. The 18 wins account for one fewer than the previous four seasons combined and are the most since 1999-2000. YSU also matched its highest win total in conference games since joining the Horizon League in 2001. YSU currently sits one game ahead of Detroit in second place in the league standings.

Since YSU beat Loyola 75-38 in Youngstown on Jan. 26, the Ramblers have won five of six contests with the lone loss coming by three points to league-leading Green Bay. Loyola beat Detroit 91-81 on Thursday for its fourth straight win. Simone Law, who missed the first game against YSU, is averaging a team-high 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds. The Penguins have never won at Gentile Arena.

YSU returns home to play three games in five days, starting with UIC on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.

#YSUWBB Summary

• YSU is in its 38th season in 2012-13 and its third under head coach Bob Boldon.
• The Penguins already have their most wins in a season since 1999-2000.
• The Penguins are averaging 8.4 3-pointers per game this season, which ranks eighth in the country. They averaged 9.2 3-pointers per game last season.
• YSU is plus-7.7 in scoring margin this season. That's a 10.6-point improvement from last season and a 33.5-point improvement from three years ago.
• Opponents are scoring 56.8 points per game against YSU, the lowest since 1978-79. They averaged 67.5 points last year.
• YSU is averaging 64.5 points this season, down 0.1 points from last season.

A Win Would

• Give YSU 19 wins in its first 25 games for the first time since 1997-98.
• Be YSU's first at Gentile Arena
• Give YSU a school-record nine Horizon League victories.
• Give YSU 19 wins, matching its win total from the previous four years combined.
• Be YSU's 10th on the road, which would be its most since 1997-98.

Scouting Loyola

Loyola is coming off a 91-81 win over Detroit on Thursday, which was its fourth consecutive victory. In fact, the Ramblers have won five of their six games since losing at YSU on Jan. 26. With an 11-13 overall record and a 6-5 ledger in league play, Loyola is fourth in the conference standings. Sophomore Simone Law averages 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds. She did not play in the first meeting against YSU. Monica Albano leads the league with 3.3 3-pointers per game.

Last Time vs. Loyola

Youngstown State scored the first 12 points and 22 of the first 24 in a 75-38 victory over Loyola on Saturday at Beeghly Center.

Brandi Brown scored a game-high 24 points and added 16 rebounds for YSU, which had it's largest margin of victory ever in a Horizon League game. The Penguins led by double digits for the final 36:43.

YSU also got 12 points on four 3s from Monica Touvelle and 10 points from Heidi Schlegel. The Penguins shot a season-best 50.9 percent. Monica Albano led Loyola with 7 points.

Series With Loyola

Loyola leads the all-time series with Youngstown State 19-6 and is undefeated in 13 meetings in Chicago. Loyola won the first seven contests in the series, which started when the Penguins joined the Horizon League in 2001-02. YSU has won two of the last three contests at Beeghly Center, including 75-38 on Jan. 26.