Women's Basketball Seeks Second Straight Road Victory at Butler Saturday

    Youngstown State (10-9, 5-3 Horizon League) closes out its two-game swing through the Hoosier state when it visits historic Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on Butler (13-6, 3-5 Horizon League), Saturday, Feb. 2.
    Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN-AM and the Horizon League Network.

Last Time Out
Youngstown State made 14 3-pointers and erased a nine-point second-half deficit to earn its first Horizon League road win in a 92-79 victory over Valparaiso on Thursday evening at the Athletics and Recreation Center.

Senior Heather Karner, who made a career-best five triples, led four Penguins reaching double figures with 21 points while junior Tiara Scott poured in 20 points and grabbed nine boards. Junior Velissa Vaughn added 16 points and senior Jessica Schloemp recorded a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The Series
This will be the 15th meeting between the Penguins and Bulldogs since the series began in 2002 with the Bulldogs owning a 9-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Guins won the first four meetings but have won just once in the last 10 games. Youngstown State has not won at Hinkle Fieldhouse since an 80-74 overtime victory in 2003.

Scouting The Bulldogs
The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s game with a 13-6 overall mark and a 3-5 record in the Horizon League. Butler after starting the season 10-1 has gone 3-5 in the last eight games and has dropped its last three contest played at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Leading the Bulldogs is Lade Akande with 15.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Susan Lester also averages double figures with 13.8 points per game.

A Win Will
• Mark YSU’s 11th victory of the season.
• Give Head Coach Tisha Hill her 42nd career victory.
• Mark YSU’s sixth win over Butler and the first at Hinkle Fieldhouse since 2003.
• Snap a three-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
• Give YSU its sixth Horizon League win of the year.
• Mark the 465th win in program history.
• Mark YSU’s fourth road win this season.
• Mark the first time YSU won consecutive road games since winning at No. 23 Green Bay (60-56) on Feb. 19, 2005, and Milwaukee (75-67) on Feb. 26, 2005.

Karner Joins Century Club
In less than two seasons, senior Heather Karner moved into the top 10 all-time for 3-pointers made and became the 10th player in school history to make at least 100 3-pointers in a career. Karner ranks 10th with 100 3-point baskets and needs just two more to move into ninth place on the all-time list. Karner also made a career-best five 3-pointers in YSU’s 92-79 win over Valparaiso on Thursday.

Raining Three’s
The Guins used a dynamic 3-point attack in their 92-79 win over Valparaiso on Thursday evening. YSU made 14 3-pointers which rank tied for the second-highest single-game total in school history. The last time the Guins made 14 3-pointers was against Western Illinois on Jan. 19, 1998. The school record is 15 3-pointers made against IPFW on Jan. 18, 2005, and against Clemson on Dec. 19, 2003.

Vaughn Shining Versus League
Since Horizon League play started, junior Velissa Vaughn has been outstanding. After scoring just 17 points in the first 11 games, Vaughn has scored 103 points for an average of 12.9 points per game, including a season-best 19 points against Detroit on Jan. 19. The 5-foot-8 guard is shooting 42 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from behind the 3-point line.
 

Branson Inching Toward Fifth
Senior guard Lauren Branson continues her move up the YSU all-time assist chart. With seven assists against Valparaiso on Thursday, Branson ranks sixth with 427 career assists and needs 21 more to move into fifth place past Colleen Cook (447, 1994-98).

Second-Half Resurgance
After scoring just 26 points in the second half against Cleveland State on Jan. 26, the Guins returned to their potent second-half ways against Valparaiso with 48 points. YSU scored 34 against UIC (Jan. 3), 35 against Loyola (Jan. 5), 42 against Milwaukee (Jan. 10), 56 against Green Bay (Jan. 12), 33 against Wright State (Jan. 17) and 45 against Detroit (Jan. 19).

Home Sweet Home
The Guins are doing an outstanding job protecting their home court this season. YSU is 6-1 in games played in Beeghly Center and averaging almost 64 points per game. Three players average double figures led by Heather Karner’s 12.9 points per game. Juniors Tiara Scott and Velissa Vaughn average 11.4 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.

Need To Lead
The Penguins have lead at halftime in 12 of 19 games this season and own an 8-4 record in those games.

Schloemp Streak at 92
Senior Jessica Schloemp owns a games played streak of 92 straight. Schloemp has also played in 102 of 103 career games.

Scott’s Efficiency
Junior Tiara Scott is currently on pace to set the fifth-highest single-season field-goal percentage in school history. Scott’s .564 field-goal percentage ranks fifth on the single-season list.

Assist Me, Please
Senior Lauren Branson continues to prove her value as a point guard. This season, the 5-foot-6 guard has tallied 101 assists to just 43 turnovers in 33.5 minutes per game. She leads the Horizon League with 5.3 assists per game and is second with a 2.35 assist-to-turnover ratio. She also ranks 12th nationally in assists-to-turnover ratio.
 

Scott Among League Leaders
Junior Tiara Scott is taking the Horizon League by storm. In the first seven league games, Scott ranks second in second in field-goal percentage (.613), fourth in scoring (16.9 ppg), fourth in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and seventh in free-throw percentage (.804).

Seniors Tabbed Team Captains
Guards Lauren Branson, Heather Karner and Kira Mowen and senior forward Jessica Schloemp have been named team captains for the 2007-08 basketball season.

Karner Nabs Preseason Laurels
Senior Heather Karner was named to the Horizon League Preseason All-League Second-Team in a vote of the circuit’s head coaches, sports information directors and select media. Karner led the Penguins with 10.9 points per game and was named to the all-newcomer team last season.

Up Next
The Guins return home to host league leader Green Bay, Thursday, Feb. 7. Tipoff is slated for 5:15 p.m. at the Beeghly Center and is part of a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader.