Scouting Report

• Youngstown State begins a key road stretch that will have a large effect on the final standings when it plays at Detroit at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeartRadio and ESPN 3.
• Saturday's game will be the first of a three-game road trip and a stretch where the Penguins play four out of five on the road.
• YSU and Detroit are two of six Horizon League teams that have won four or five conference games.
• Although the Guins were 7-3 at this juncture of the league slate last year, they can pull even in terms of who they've beaten and where they've won with a win at Calihan Hall.
• The Penguins have lost five of their last six road contests, including an 85-82 decision at Oakland on Jan. 24. That loss at the O'rena is one of three league games the Penguins have lost by one possession. Another is a 59-58 setback at Beeghly Center to Detroit on Feb. 28.
• Youngstown State has surpassed its win total from all of last season with at least seven games remaining. YSU has won at least 15 games for the third straight season after winning 14 or fewer in each of the previous 12 seasons.
• The Penguins are 27-14 overall since the start of Horizon League play in 2013-14, and they are 26-16 in conference games since the start of league play in 2012-13.
• Youngstown State ranks fourth in the country in free-throw percentage at 77.9 percent. It also leads the Horizon League in 3-point field-goal percentage (.359) and ranks second in field-goal percentage (.425).
• Heidi Schlegel became the seventh player in school history to reach 1,500 career points and 700 career rebounds last Saturday against UIC. In Horizon League games, Schlegel leads the circuit in field-goal percentage while ranking second in rebounding and fourth in scoring. She's making a strong case to be the first Penguin in 15 years to earn first-team all-conference honors in back-to-back seasons.
• Nikki Arbanas set YSU's record for 3-pointers by a freshman by making her 42nd on Wednesday. In league play, she's second in the conference in 3-pointers per game and 3-point percentage.

A Win Would...

• Give YSU at least 17 wins in its first 24 games for the second time in the last three years.
• Allow YSU to snap a six-game losing streak at Calihan Hall and a 10-game losing streak in Michigan dating back to Feb. 14, 2008.
• Be YSU's 28th in its last 42 games.

On This Date

• Youngstown State is 8-3 all time on Valentine's Day, which includes a 62-59 win at Detroit in 2008. That was the Penguins' last win at Calihan Hall. YSU scored 55 points or fewer in each of its three losses.
• Wanda Grant had one of the top individual performances in school history on Feb. 14, 1981, against Eastern Kentucky. The Youngstown native had 41 points and 24 rebounds against the Colonels in a 80-76 victory. That was one of two 40-20 peformances in school history; Brandi Brown had the other on March 2, 2013.

Scouting Detroit

• Detroit is coming off a 76-68 win at UIC on Wednesday that improved its record to 9-13 overall and 4-5 in Horizon League play. The Titans have won four of their last seven games.
• The Titans have three players averaging at least 12 points, but they are tied for last in the Horizon League at 65.1 points per game. Rosanna Reynolds is the scoring leader at 15.9 points per contest, an average that ranks sixth in the conference. Reynolds is tied for the league lead in 3-pointers per game, and she and Titan Haleigh Ristovski are the top two in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Series with Detroit

• The Youngstown State-Detroit series has been dominated by the home team. The Penguins are 12-6 against the Titans at Beeghly Center, and Detroit holds a 14-3 advantage at Calihan Hall. Detroit leads the overall series 20-15 and has beaten YSU six straight times in the Motor City.
• YSU won five straight meetings in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, but the Titans swept the Penguins in each of the next three seasons. The teams have split each of the last three seasons.
• The Penguins led the Titans 35-19 at halftime on Jan. 28 at Beeghly Center before allowing Detroit to rally for a 59-58 victory. YSU missed its first 10 shots in the second half, and Detroit scored the first 14 points of the period.

Recapping Oakland

• Youngstown State scored 14 straight points near the end of the first half and shot 76 percent in the second half to beat Oakland 76-54 on Wednesday evening at Beeghly Center.
• After starting 2-for-11 from the field, the Penguins made 10 of their last 20 shots in the first half and went 19-of-25 in the second half. YSU was just as strong on the defensive end, holding the high-powered Oakland offense to 54 points, its lowest output in conference play.
• YSU trailed 19-14 after 13 minutes when Nikki Arbanas sparked the 14-0 run that put the Penguins up 28-19. Oakland got within three points four times early in the second half. Morgan Olson's three-point play at the 12:16 mark put YSU up by double digits for good, and a Heidi Schlegel bucket with 4:28 left pushed the lead past 20 for the first time at 68-47.
• YSU finished the game making 55.4 percent overall from the field and going 8-for-17 from 3-point range. The Penguins had a sizeable 37-20 edge in rebounding and limited the Golden Grizzlies to one offensive rebound. The Penguins outscored Oakland 44-18 in the paint.

Quick Notes

• YSU had 14 points in the first 13:38 of the game and 62 points in the final 26:22.
• Nikki Arbanas set YSU's freshman record for 3-pointers in a season by making her 42nd with left in the second half.
• YSU scored 44 points in the paint, its highest output against a Division I opponent this season.
• The Penguins were plus-12 in points off turnovers after being minus-10 in the first meeting.
• YSU held Oakland's top scorers, Olivia Nash and Elena Popkey, to just 10 points. They were averaging 27.2 points combined coming into the game.