Feb. 15, 2008

Women's Basketball Searches For Second Straight Win At Wright State

    The Youngstown State women’s basketball team (11-12, 6-6 Horizon League) seeks its second straight road victory when it takes on Wright State (10-12, 7-4 Horizon League) on Saturday, Feb. 16.
    Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Nutter Center and will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN-AM and the Horizon League Network.

Last Time Out
    Junior Tiara Scott scored a game-high 22 points and junior Velissa Vaughn hit a mid-range jumper with 38 seconds remaining to lift Youngstown State to a 62-59 over Detroit on Thursday evening at Calihan Hall.
    Detroit’s Zemora Davis hit a jumper just under a minute remaining to give the Titans a 59-58 lead.
    After Vaughn’s jumper put the Guins back up by one, senior Heather Karner, who scored 12 points, canned two free throws with 13 seconds left to seal the victory.

The Series
This will be the 35th meeting between the Penguins and the Raiders with the Penguins owning a 20-14 advantage in the all-time series. The Penguins snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Raiders with a 61-58 win at the Beeghly Center earlier this season. The last time the Penguins won at the Nutter Center was a 54-42 victory in 2004.

Last Time Against the Raiders
    Four players scored in double figures to lift Youngstown State to a 61-58 triumph over Wright State on Jan. 17 at the Beeghly Center.
    Senior Heather Karner led the Penguins with 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior Velissa Vaughn posted 14 points while senior Jessica Schloemp added 13 points and junior Tiara Scott contributed 10 points.

Scouting The Raiders
Wright State is currently 10-12 overall but 7-4 in the Horizon League and rank third in the league standings. The Raiders are coming off a 51-43 win over Cleveland State on Thursday evening. Erica Richardson led the Raiders with 14 points while Whitney Lewis added 10 points. Freshman Shey Peddy leads the Raiders with 15.2 points per game while Lewis is averaging 12.2 points per contest.

A Win Will
• Mark YSU’s 12th victory of the season.
• Give Head Coach Tisha Hill her 43rd career victory.
• Mark YSU’s 21st win over the Raiders.
• Mark the first win at the Nutter Center since 2004.
• Give YSU its seventh Horizon League win of the year.
• Mark the 466th win in program history.

Great Scott
Junior Tiara Scott is turning an outstanding campaign for the Penguins. The Denver, Colo., native leads the Penguins with 17 points per game against Horizon League foes. As well as averaging 7.2 rebounds per game, Scott has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 league games and has scored at least 20 points four times, including the last two games.

Double OT = Double Trouble
Only four times in school history has Youngstown State played a double-overtime game and both times the outcome has not been in the Guins’ favor. After a 94-87 loss to Milwaukee on Feb. 9, the Guins record in double overtime tilts is 0-4. The other double overtime games were a 67-62 loss at Akron on Dec. 21, 2003, a 91-81 loss to Middle Tennessee State on Jan. 19, 1985, and a 99-98 loss to Austin Peay on Feb. 16, 1984.

Three Reach 20
For the first time in almost 12 years, three players scored at least 20 points in the same game on Feb. 9 against Milwaukee. In the 94-87 double overtime loss, junior Tiara Scott led the Guins with 24 points while senior Heather Karner and junior Ashley Pendleton each added 20 points. The last time three Penguins scored at least 20 points in a game was on Nov. 30, 1996, when Liz Hauger scored 23 points, Colleen Cook posted 22 points and Shannon Beach contributed 21 points.

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 ninth with 109 3-point baskets.

Pendleton Hits Career High
Junior Ashley Pendleton scored a career-high 20 points last Saturday against Milwaukee. The Farrell, Pa., native went 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Her previous career best was 18 points against Long Island on Nov. 23.

80 A Bad Omen
Surprisingly, bad things happen when the Guins score 80-89 points this season. On both occasions the Penguins suffered a defeat. YSU lost to Green Bay, 85-80, on Jan. 12, and 94-87 to Milwaukee on Feb. 9.

Branson Inching Toward Fifth
Senior guard Lauren Branson continues her move up the YSU all-time assist chart. With three assists against Detroit on Feb. 14, Branson ranks sixth with 445 career assists and needs three more to move into fifth place past Colleen Cook (447, 1994-98).

Need To Lead
The Penguins have led at halftime in 13 of 23 games this season and own an 9-4 record in those games.

Karner, Branson Nationally
Seniors Heather Karner and Lauren Branson are two of the country’s best in their respective specialties. Branson ranks ninth with a 2.3 assists-to-turnover ratio and 29th with 5.3 assists per game. Karner is 36th nationally with 2.5 3-pointers made per game.

Schloemp Streak at 96
Senior Jessica Schloemp owns a games played streak of 96 straight. Schloemp has also played in 105 of 106 career games.

Assist Me, Please
Senior Lauren Branson continues to prove her value as a point guard. This season, the 5-foot-6 guard has tallied 116 assists to just 50 turnovers in 33.9 minutes per game. She leads the Horizon League with 5.3 assists per game and is second with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Branson Nets Academic Award

    Senior Lauren Branson was named Academic All-District IV by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)    Branson, a 2006-07 Academic All-Horizon League pick, carries a 3.93 grade-point average in special education and is the fourth Youngstown State student-athlete in 2007-08 to earn academic all-district laurels.
    She joins football players Bob Perez and Tom Zetts and volleyball player Jessica Fraley as YSU student-athletes to earn that distinction.
    She also becomes the fifth Youngstown State women’s basketball to pick up the CoSIDA award.
    The last women’s basketball player to earn academic all-district honors was Jen Perugini in 2004-05.

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 in-state rival Cleveland State, Saturday, Feb. 23. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m.