Head Coach Tisha Hill
Youngstown State Head Coach Tisha Hill is in her first season as a head coach and owns a 2-18 career record at Youngstown State. Prior to her appointment at YSU, the native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Ball State. Hill was also an assistant coach at Virginia Tech from 1997-2001, at UW-Green Bay from 1995-97, and was a graduate assistant at Indiana from 1993-95.

The Series
The Penguins and Vikings, who will meet for the 40th time, have met once already this season with the Vikings pulling out a decisive 88-54 victory at Goodman Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Penguins, however, own a 26-13 advantage in the all-time series. Cleveland State has won the last three meetings and the Penguins have not defeated the Vikings since Feb. 7, 2002, with an 82-74 victory in Beeghly Center.

Up Next
YSU continues its short homestand against Loyola on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 5:15 p.m. It is the first half of a YSU women’s and men’s basketball doubleheader.

Scouting The Vikings
Cleveland State, who dropped a 62-46 to UW-Green Bay on Monday evening, lost to IPFW, 82-81, on Jan. 26 - two days after the Penguins defeated the Mastodons, 72-62, in Beeghly Center. The Vikings have two of the Horizon League’s top scorers - league scoring-leader Shannon Sword (18.2 ppg) and Ashley Schrock (4th - 14.3 ppg) - leading the Viking offense. Sword, a senior, also owns a 18.6 scoring average against league foes while Schrock is second in the circuit in scoring and rebounding with 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per Horizon League contest.

Last Time Out
The Penguins are coming off a disappointing 62-56 loss to UW-Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon. After trailing by as many as 24 midway through the second half, the Penguins out-scored the Panthers 32-14 to close out the game, but it was not enough for victory. Junior Cathy Hanek scored a team-best 13 points while junior Tara Fleming added 10 points.

Perugini Improving Game
Over the last three games, junior Jen Perugini has really picked up her offensive production for the Penguins. The 6-foot-2 forward is averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the 3-point line.

Gaudiose Hits For Career High
Freshman Kristy Gaudiose set a career high with 15 points in YSU’s 56-51 loss to Illinois-Chicago on Thursday evening. The 5-foot-7 connected on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers.

Fabianova Making Most of Minutes
Junior Barb Fabianova is making the most of her increased role over the last few games. The 6-foot forward is averaging 7.3 points per game while shooting 42.1 percent from the floor, including 40 percent from behind the 3-point arc.

Five and Dime
In YSU’s 72-62 defeat of IPFW, five players recorded at least 10 points. Junior Jen Perugini led the Penguins with 14 points while Cathy Hanek added 13, freshman Ashlee Russo hit for a career-high 12 points and senior Jessica Forsythe and junior Tara Fleming scored 10 points apiece. It marks the first time this season and the first time since Jan. 27, 2003, against IPFW that five YSU players scored at least 10 points in one game.

Russo Sets Career High
Redshirt freshman Ashlee Russo was crucial in YSU’s 72-62 win over IPFW. The 5-foot-7 point guard scored a career-high with 12 points against the Mastodons. She connected on 2-of-3 from the floor, including a 3-pointer, and converted 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

Charitable Contributions
For the first time since Dec. 28, 2003, the Youngstown State women’s basketball team made at least 70 percent of its free throws when the Penguins converted 17-of-21 for 81 percent against IPFW.

Fleming Sets Blocks Standard
Junior Tara Fleming etched her name in the YSU record books on Wednesday against Butler. The 6-foot-3 center set a YSU single-game record with seven blocked shots against Butler. Fleming also led the Penguins with 12 points against the Bulldogs.

Close Ones Hurt
Of Youngstown State’s 18 losses, 12 have been decided by 10 points or less. The Penguins have lost by 10 four times, twice by seven, once by six, three times by five, once by four and once by three.

3-Point Streak At 262
With seven 3-pointers against UW-Milwaukee, Youngstown State extended its three-point streak to 262 consecutive games. The Penguins streak is currently the seventh longest in the nation since Mississippi State’s streak ended at 320 on Sunday. The last time the Penguins did not make at least one three-point basket was against Chicago State on February 4, 1995.

Penguins Second In FG Defense
Youngstown State has made it difficult for its opponents to score points all season. Currently, the Penguins rank second in the Horizon League in field goal percentage defense, allowing their opponents to shoot just 39.4 percent from the floor.

Fleming Second In League
Thanks in part to her record-setting game against Butler on Jan. 21, junior Tara Fleming now second in the Horizon League with 1.4 blocks per game.

Gaudiose Dishes Dimes
Youngstown State freshman Kristy Gaudiose has played solidly at the point guard position this season. The 5-foot-7 guard ranks sixth in the Horizon League with 2.84 assists per game.

Penguins Set School Record
On Dec. 19, Youngstown State set a school record for most 3-pointers in a single game with 15 against Clemson. The old record of 14 was set against Western Illinois on Jan. 19, 1998.