YSU Penguin Women's Basketball News

Cindy Martin Resigns as YSU’s Head Women’s Basketball Coach

Monday, March 15 2010

Courtesy of: ysu

Youngstown -- Cindy Martin has resigned from her position as the head women’s basketball coach at Youngstown State University, announced Ron Strollo, YSU’s Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. A national search for Martin’s replacement will begin immediately.

Martin was the head coach at YSU for two seasons, and the Penguins went a combined 3-57 in her tenure. The Penguins were 3-27 in 2008-09 and 0-30 in 2009-10.

“I have decided to step down from my position because I feel in my heart it is what’s best for the program at this time,” Martin said. “I want to thank Youngstown State University and the athletic department for the wonderful opportunity. We signed back-to-back recruiting classes that are committed to their successes both on and off the court.”

“I hope my ladies and staff have learned as much from me as I have learned from them over the last two years.”

Martin inherited a roster that was heavy on relatively-inexperienced seniors and had one incoming signee when she took over the program in April 2008. After a 3-27 season in which she depended on many first-time contributors, Martin and her coaching staff signed a total of 10 student-athletes who would have been eligible to play in 2009-10. However, only three of those appeared in a game during the year as the Penguins had a maximum of eight players in uniform. Three incoming players had season-ending injuries, three players did not meet academic requirements and another left the university on the first day of the fall semester.

Those that did play were effective as newcomers Brandi Brown and Bojana Dimitrov were the team’s top two scorers. Brown was runner-up for the Horizon League Newcomer-of-the-Year award and had one of the best freshman seasons in school history.

“We were surprised at Coach Martin’s decision to resign at this time,” Strollo said. “She accepted a difficult challenge in rebuilding the winning tradition of YSU women’s basketball, and she and her staff worked tirelessly the past two years toward that end. We understand the end results of this past season put their efforts to the test, but a full examination of the extenuating circumstances that led to this year’s outcomes makes those familiar with the situation supportive of the progress she made.”

“However, Coach Martin’s unselfish attitude has led her to decide that the perceptions are too difficult to overcome, and, in the best interest of the future of YSU women’s basketball, she needed to step down. She has brought two solid recruiting classes to our program, most notably All-Newcomer Team selection Brandi Brown, so the foundation is much stronger than before her arrival. The integrity she has displayed in resigning only magnifies the reasons she was the right choice when we chose her as our head coach. We wish her nothing but the best in her future coaching endeavors.”

Off the court, the women’s basketball team was a model program. The Penguins were a fixture in the community as they completed at least 30 community service projects in the past two seasons. The team was also strong in the classroom as it had a combined 3.29 grade-point average in the fall 2009 semester.

Penguins Go Down Fighting in Elimination Loss at Wright State

Tuesday, March 9 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Fairborn, Ohio -- Wright State scored 18 straight points early in the second half and eliminated the Youngstown State women’s basketball team from the 2010 Speedway Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship with a 61-43 win on Monday at the Nutter Center.

Wright State moves on to play the second-seeded Butler Bulldogs in a quarterfinal round game on Wednesday while Youngstown State ends the season with an 0-30 record.

Wright State junior guard LaShawna Thomas scored a game-high 20 points and went over 1,000 career points in the contest.

Kenya Middlebrooks led YSU with eight points, and Rachael Manuel and Bojana Dimitrov had seven apiece. Manuel added three blocks and four rebounds in her final game in a Youngstown State uniform. Both she and fellow senior Kaitlyn March had the best individual season of their respective careers.

Brandi Brown scored five points and grabbed four rebounds to wrap up one of the most impressive freshman campaigns in school history. She finished the season with 342 points and 318 rebounds.

The Penguins were down 29-21 at halftime, and Brown scored the first bucket of the second half to cut the margin to six. YSU, though, went without a point for nearly eight minutes as Wright State pulled away. The Raiders went ahead by double digits for the first time on Erica Richardson's bucket with 16:36 left, and a Tanni Scott bucket in the lane capped an 18-0 run that put the Raiders ahead 47-23 with 11:52 remaining.

Youngstown State kept fighting, and a Maryum Jenkins triple cut the margin to 18 with 6:41 left as YSU put on a full-court trap. The Penguins forced 28 turnovers, but they were only able to turn those into 12 points.

Thomas scored the first six points for Wright State in the first half as both teams were careless with the ball early. Through four-and-a-half minutes, the Raiders had six turnovers, and the Penguins had four. The first half went back-and-forth with three ties and eight lead changes in the first nine minutes before Wright State took a 29-21 lead at halftime.

The Penguins got the line eight times in the first 8:30, and they were able to take a 13-12 lead on two Macey Nortey free throws with 12:38 remaining. The Penguins went scoreless for more than five minutes, and Thomas scored four straight points as Wright State went ahead 16-13 with 8:57 left. Nortey ended the drought with two more free throws, but Wright State answered with an 8-2 run to go ahead 24-17 with 3:22 left.

YSU was able to stay in the game in the first half by forcing turnovers and going 10-for-15 from the free throw line. The Raiders had 14 turnovers in the opening period, 13 of which came in the first 15 minutes.

Thomas scored 12 of her points in the first period, going 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Middlebrooks had eight points on two buckets and four free throws in the first period.

Brown Named to Horizon League All-Newcomer Team

Monday, March 8 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Indianapolis -- Youngstown State women's basketball freshman Brandi Brown has been named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team in a vote of coaches, sports information directors and media representatives from the league.

Brown, a phenom from Pomona, Calif., was the only player in the Horizon League to average a double-double during the regular season with 11.6 points and 10.8 rebounds. She led the league with her 14 double-doubles and 10.8 rebounds per game, and she led all true freshmen in scoring.

Brown finished second in the vote for Newcomer of the Year to Yar Shayok, a redshirt freshman from Detroit who averaged 11.7 points and 9.7 rebounds.

Brown had even better statistics against Horizon League opponents, averaging 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds. Both of those were tops among all newcomers, and she had 11 of her double-doubles in 18 league contests.

"Brandi has just been phenomenal this year, and she is the most-polished freshman I have ever coached" YSU head coach Cindy Martin said. "She rebounds, defends, scores, communicates and executes her screens. I am so happy that she chose to attend YSU, and I know that the record books will continue to be updated over the next three years."

"This is also a team award," Martin added. "Our team has done a great job of helping her receive this award, and we are all happy and proud for Brandi."

Meredith Baugher, Brown's position coach who helped her develop, also praised the freshman.

"Brandi worked really hard this year, and she is very deserving of this honor," Baugher said. "She's consistently improved over the course of the season and has been an immediate impact for our program. This is the beginning of a bright future for her here at Youngstown State"

The 5-foot-11 post has already surpassed the previous Youngstown State freshman rebounding record by 75. Brown is one of only three players in school history to grab 300 rebounds in a season, and she is likely to become the only player in YSU history to lead her team in scoring, rebounding and steals in the same season.

Brown is the fifth Youngstown State player to be named to the Horizon League's All-Newcomer Team since the school joined the conference prior to the 2001-02 season. She joins Jen Perugini (2001-02), Lauren Branson (2004-05), Heather Karner (2006-07) and Tiara Scott (2007-08).

Brown and the Penguins will play at Wright State in the first round of the 2010 Speedway Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship on Monday at 7 p.m.

Penguins Open Tournament Play at Wright State Tonight

Monday, March 8 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Fairborn, Ohio -- The Youngstown State women’s basketball team begins its second season on Monday when it takes on familiar postseason foe Wright State at the Nutter Center at 7 p.m. Coverage on 570 WKBN will begin at 6:40 p.m. The 10th-seeded Penguins and No. 7 Raiders will meet in the tournament for the fourth time in nine seasons. Wright State has won all three previous meetings. The winner of Monday’s game will play at No. 2 Butler on Wednesday.

Scouting Wright State
Wright State is the No. 7 seed in the tournament by virtue of owning the tiebreaker with Valparaiso (No. 8) and Milwaukee (No. 9). The Raiders lost their last two contests to Cleveland State and Detroit, and their last win came over YSU on Feb. 25. LaShawna Thomas ranks 15th in the league in scoring (11.5 ppg), and Kanisha Ward’s 2.5 steals per game earned her a spot on the all-defensive team.

Brown Named to Horizon League’s All-Newcomer Team
Freshman Brandi Brown has been named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team in a vote of coaches, sports information directors and media representatives from the league, the conference announced on Sunday.
Brown was the only player in the Horizon League to average a double-double during the regular season with 11.6 points and 10.8 rebounds. She led the league with her 14 double-doubles and 10.8 rebounds per game, and she led all true freshmen in scoring.
Brown is the fifth Youngstown State player to be named to the Horizon League’s All-Newcomer Team since the school joined the conference prior to the 2001-02 season. She joins Jen Perugini (2001-02), Lauren Branson (2004-05), Heather Karner (2006-07) and Tiara Scott (2007-08).

Wright State Has Been Tourney Nemesis
The Penguins are 1-8 all-time in the Horizon League Tournament. Of their eight losses in postseason play since joining the league in 2001-02, three have been to Wright State. YSU picked up its first win in the tourney in 2008-09 when it defeated Detroit 65-54 in a first round game. YSU has also been eliminated twice by Butler and once each by Green Bay, Loyola and Milwaukee.

Brown is First Freshman at 300 Points in 15 Years
With 19 points against Detroit on Saturday, YSU freshman Brandi Brown became the first Penguin freshman to reach 300 points since 1994-95. Ann Marie Martin and Caroline McCombs both surpassed 300 points that season, and McCombs’ 346 points is the YSU freshman record. Brown currently has 338 points, which means she’ll need 10 points against Wright State to break McCombs’ record. Brown has already smashed the freshman rebounding record by 75.

Brown Surpasses 300 Rebounds
With 16 rebounds against Milwaukee on Saturday, Brandi Brown became the third player in school history to grab 300 rebounds in a season. Wanda Grant and Dorothy Bowers both grabbed at least 300 twice in their careers, but Bowers is the only YSU player to do it at the Division I level (326 in 1985-86, 325 in 1987-88). Bowers is the only women’s basketball player to have her number retired at YSU.

Brown Can Play Defense, Too
Brandi Brown showed off her defensive prowess on Saturday as well as she finished with seven steals against Milwaukee. Six of those came in the first half. Brown’s seven steals were the most in a game since Brianne Kenneally had seven versus Cleveland State in 2000. Brown has a team-high 49 steals, which is eight more than Macey Nortey’s second-place 41. Brown ranks seventh for steals by a freshman in school history, and she has the most by a freshman since Caroline McCombs had 58 in 1994-95.

Trying to Avoid a Winless Season
Youngstown State will have its final shot at a win for the 2009-10 season against Wright State on Monday. If the Penguins falter, they will become the ninth women’s team to go winless for a season in the past 10 years, according to STATS LLC.

All Returners Set Highs in Scoring
With Kaitlyn March’s 21-point game on Feb. 27, all five of Youngstown State’s returners have set a new career high in points for a season. Rachael Manuel (143) and Kenya Middlebrooks (135) have made the biggest jumps.

Nortey Reaches 200 Career Assists
Through 59 games in her young career, sophomore point guard Macey Nortey has 208 assists. She had 80 last year, and she’s posted 128 through 29 games in 2009-10. Her 80 assists last year ranked sixth on YSU’s freshman record list, and her 128 this year rank fifth on the sophomore list. Nortey’s 208 assists are the fourth-most by a Penguin in her first two seasons. Only Dianne Rappach (246), Margaret Peters (233) and Caroline McCombs (229) have had more.

Brown Breaks Freshman Rebound Mark, Closing in on Scoring Record
With 14 rebounds against UIC on Feb. 6, Brandi Brown broke YSU’s freshman rebounding record. She now has 314 rebounds, surpassing Jen Perugini’s mark 239 that was set in 2001-02. Brown also has a chance to break Caroline McCombs’ freshman scoring record of 346 points. Brown has 337 points, which means she’ll need 10 points against Wright State to pass McCombs.

Brown, Dimitrov Among Top-Scoring Newcomers
Brandi Brown and Bojana Dimitrov continue rank among the Horizon League’s top-scoring newcomers. Brown averages 11.6 points, which leads all true freshmen, and Dimitrov’s 10.2 points ranks third among newcomers.

Up Next
The winner of Monday’s first round game will play at second-seeded Butler on Wednesday in a quarterfinal game in the tournament. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Brown Gets 14th Double-Double as Guins Fall in Finale

Saturday, March 6 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Milwaukee -- Brandi Brown notched her 14th double-double and added seven steals in the regular-season finale as the Youngstown State woman's basketball team lost 73-39 at Milwaukee on Saturday.

Brown finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds to go with her seven steals, which were the most since Brianne Kenneally had seven on Dec. 16, 2000, against Cleveland State. The freshman had a chance for a triple-double as she had six steals at halftime, but she had just one in the second half.

Amanda Viehauser countered with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Milwaukee.

The Panthers opened up the second half on an 11-2 run, and Youngstown State went without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes as UWM built a 52-28 lead. The Panthers outscored the Penguins 38-16 in the second half after the deficit was a manageable 35-23 at halftime.

Kaitlyn March added 11 points for YSU, which shot 19.4 percent from the game (13-for-67). Milwaukee made 29-for-60 for 48.3 percent. The Guins were 4-for-26 from 3-point range.

YSU had 15 steals as a team and forced Milwaukee into 22 turnovers.

After Milwaukee hit on its first two shots to take a 5-0 lead, YSU scored the next five points to square things up at 5-5 with 17:06 remaining. Brown became the third player in school history to grab 300 rebounds in a season with her board with 18:15 remaining.

A Dimitrov triple made the score 9-8 in favor of Milwaukee, but the Panthers went on a 10-1 run to go ahead 19-9 with 11:28 left. Of UWM's first 17 points, 12 were off offensive rebounds. YSU scored the next five points and held UWM without a field goal for almost six minutes, and the Penguins trailed just 20-16 on a Kenya Middlebrooks bucket with 6:39 left.

UWM scored the next five points as part of a 12-4 run to take a 12-point lead with 1:20 left in the half, and March and Viehauser traded 3-pointers in the final 20 seconds.

Viehauser scored the final 12 points of the first half for Milwaukee and finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in 11 minutes. Brown had six points, 10 rebounds and six steals in 15 minutes in the first period.

Milwaukee shot 38.2 percent in the first half, but YSU was held to 21.6 percent. The Penguins were 3-for-18 from behind the arc in the period.

The Penguins will play at Wright State in a first round game in the 2010 Speedway Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Coverage on 570 WKBN will begin at 6:40 p.m.

Kaitlyn March Ties School 3-Point Mark on Senior Day

Saturday, February 27 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Youngstown -- Senior Kaitlyn March saved the best game of her career for her last home contest, scoring a career-high 21 points and tying a school and Beeghly Center single-game record with seven 3-pointers. But despite her efforts and another double-double from Brandi Brown, the Youngstown State women's basketball dropped a hard-fought 80-62 decision to Detroit on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center.

March becomes eighth player to record seven 3-pointers in a game and the first since Kristi Gaudiose tied the mark against Cleveland State in 2006. It's also the ninth time a YSU player has made seven triples in a game - Leslie Majewski accomplished the feat twice during the 1999-2000 season.

Brown recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Its the most double-doubles in a single-season since Jen Perugini's 13 in 2004-05.

Jalesa Jones led five Titans in double figures with 16 points. She and Lauren Allen both had five assits. The Penguins had 19 assists on 23 buckets.

The Penguins trailed by as many as 20 points, 49-29, with 17:48 left in the second half, but they clawed their way back into the game over the next eight minutes by outscoring the Titans, 22-12. The Guins used a barrage of 3-pointers from Bojana Dimitrov, Macey Nortey and two more by March - her sixth and seventh - to spark the run. March's record-tying three came at the 11:44 mark of the half and made the score 59-47.

Senior Rachel Manuel's layup at the 11:05 mark brought the Guins within 10, 59-49, and Brown's jumper at the 9:40 mark made the score 61-51, but the Guins would not get any closer.

The first half was nip and tuck for the first 14 minutes with neither team owning a lead of more than six points. The Penguins jumped out of a quick five-point edge, 8-3, after two 3-pointers from March and a jumper by Macey Nortey at the 17:02 mark.

Detroit, though, used a 15-4 run over the next six minutes to take a six-point lead, 18-12, with 11:55 to go. March answered with two more 3-pointers to bring the Guins within two, 20-18, with 8:42 remaining. Following a jumper by Detroit's Yar Shayok, Brown's layup at the 5:46 mark got the Guins back to within two, 22-20.

Detroit broke open the game scoring the next 15 points to take a 17-point lead, 39-22, with 2:24 to go. March connected on her fifth 3-pointer of the half to cut the deficit down to 14, 39-29, but Sierra Spaude's jumper with three seconds left gave the Titans a 41-25 halftime lead.

The Penguins shot 40 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range, but committed 13 turnovers that led to 20 Detroit points. The Titans also shot 50 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Penguins, 18-13.

The Penguins visit Green Bay, Thursday, March 4, at 8 p.m. at the Kress Events Center.

March, Manuel to Play Final Home Game vs. Detroit

Saturday, February 27 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Youngstown -- Youngstown State will play its final home game of the 2009-10 season against Detroit. Seniors Kaitlyn March and Rachael Manuel will be honored prior to the game for their contributions to the program. YSU is coming off a 57-38 loss to Wright State on Thursday, and Detroit lost 70-60 in overtime at Cleveland State.

Scouting Detroit
Detroit had the best record in the Horizon League until a loss at Cleveland State on Thursday dropped it to third. The Titans were 1-9 through their first 10 games, but they’ve gone 13-4 since, which includes a 12-4 mark in league play. Brigid Mulroy ranks fifth in the league in scoring (14.2 ppg), and Jalesa Jones is second in assists (4.9 apg).

Looking for Repeat of Senior Day Magic
Youngstown State will hope that Senior Day will bring success for the second straight season. Last year, the Penguins defeated Valparaiso 54-38 at Beeghly Center in the final home game for five seniors. That win snapped an 18-game losing streak. The Penguins shot 47.9 percent and held the Crusaders to 23.2 percent.

Manuel, March Wrapping Up Careers
Seniors Rachael Manuel and Kaitlyn March are playing the final home games of their Youngstown State careers today.
Manuel is having the best year of her career by far, averaging career highs in virtually every offensive category. She has more than doubled her career scoring total from her first three seasons combined with 182 points, and her 139 rebounds are nearly double her career total entering this year. She is in her second year at YSU after transferring from the University of Southern Mississippi.
March is a fourth-year senior, but she’s accrued most of her statistics in her last two seasons. She scored 59 points in 23 games last year after having nine points in 14 games combined in her first two seasons. This year she has 45 points in 24 games.

Brown vs. Shayok in Battle of Elite Posts
Youngstown State forward Brandi Brown is the only Horizon League player averaging a double-double, but Detroit’s Yar Shayok is the closest player to equaling that. Brown is averaging 11.3 points and 10.7 rebounds overall and 11.9 points and 11.2 rebounds in league games. Shayok is averaging 11.6 points and 9.9 rebounds overall and 11.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in league play.

Middlebrooks Scoring Well at Home
Sophomore guard Kenya Middlebrooks has an impressive scoring streak at Beeghly Center entering the final home game. Middlebrooks has scored at least 11 points in six straight home games dating back to Jan. 14. In fact, eight of her 11 double-digit scoring games have come at Beeghly Center. She averages a team-high 10.2 points at home and 6.5 points on the road. Middlebrooks scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high-tying nine rebounds against Wright State.

Brown Assembling Notable Year
Through the first 26 games of the season, freshman Brandi Brown has established herself as one of the best posts in the Horizon League. She has recorded 12 double-doubles, nine of which have come in league play. Brown leads the Horizon League with 10.7 rebounds per contest and ranks 16th in scoring. Her 11.3 points per game is the highest among league newcomers.
Brown also has a chance to be the first Penguin in school history to ever lead the team in scoring, rebounding and steals in the same season. She is averaging 5.4 more rebounds more than her closest teammate, but the other two categories are much closer. She has four more steals than Macey Nortey and Kenya Middlebrooks, and she is averaging 0.5 points more than Bojana Dimitrov.
Only six players have averaged a double-double in school history: Linda Fredericks (1976-77), Wanda Grant (four times), Holly Seimetz (twice), Dorothy Bowers (twice), Donna Djorovic (1992-93) and Jen Perugini (2004-05).

Nortey Ranking Among League Leaders
Sophomore point guard Macey Nortey has posted 113 assists through 26 games for an average of 4.3 assists. That rate ranks her fourth in the Horizon League. Nortey has the seventh-most assists by a sophomore in school history. Assuming she keeps up her average of 4.3, she’ll get to at least 130 depending on YSU’s finish in the Speedway Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship. That would rank her fourth on the class chart.

Up Next
The Penguins wrap up the regular season with road games at Green Bay and Milwaukee.

Guins Struggle Shooting in 57-38 Loss to Wright State

Thursday, February 25 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Youngstown -- Youngstown State played well enough defensively to win, but the Penguins shot 29.2 percent and were outscored 21-1 off turnovers in a 58-37 loss to Wright State on Thursday evening at Beeghly Center.

Sophomore Kenya Middlebrooks was a rebound shy of collecting her first career double-double, finishing with a game-high 12 points and nine rebounds. She was matched in scoring by Wright State's LaShawna Thomas and Maria Bennett.

Wright State led for more than 38 minutes and trailed just once when Macey Nortey's free throw gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Wright State scored the next five points and went ahead by 10 for the first time on a Molly Fox jumper with 12:21 remaining in the first half. The Raiders were 8-for-12 from the floor at that point.

YSU chipped away and cut the deficit to 18-14 on two Nortey free throws with 8:21 remaining, but Wright State went on a 10-2 run to go ahead 28-16 on a Bennett bucket. Bennett made the score 34-21 just before the first-half buzzer with her second banked triple of the period.

The Raiders scored the first four points of the second half, and the lead ranged from 14 to 19 points in the period.

Bennett scored 10 of her dozen points in the first half to lead all scorers.

Wright State shot 43.3 percent and 37 percent in the second half and ended at 40.4 percent. The Penguins shot 34.8 percent in the first half, but they were just 6-for-25 in the second half and finished at 29.2 percent.

Nortey finished with nine points, making 3-for-7 from the field, to go with her four assists and four steals.

Wright State also outscored YSU 34-14 in the paint, and the Raiders' bench outscored YSU's substitutes 22-2.

The Penguins will play their final home game of the season on Saturday against Detroit. The contest will start at 4:35 p.m. and will be the second half of a doubleheader with the YSU men. Seniors Kaitlyn March and Rachael Manuel will be honored for their contributions to the YSU program prior to the contest.

Brown Picks Up Another Double-Double in Front of Penguin Alumni

Saturday, February 20 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team welcomed home almost 20 former players on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Brandi Brown made the former Guins in attendance proud as she picked up her league-leading 12th double-double of the season in a 68-38 loss to Cleveland State at the Beeghly Center. Brown finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

With the defeat, YSU now falls to 0-25 overall and 0-14 in the Horizon League. Cleveland State improves to 13-12 and 8-6.

For the game, the Penguins made 15-of-55 shots (27.3 percent) while the Vikings hit at a 43.9 percent (29-of-66) clip. Only one CSU player reached double figures while 10 found their way into the scoring column.

Brown picked up her double-double with 12 minutes left in the contest. She grabbed a rebound on a miss on a 3-pointer by Angel Rogue and drove the length of the court for a fastbreak layup.

Kenya Middlebrooks scored 11 points for the Guins and she finished with eight rebounds.

In the first half, the Penguins tied the contest three times and grabbed a brief lead seven minutes into the game at 8-6.

The Guins tied the contest 10-all on a Boki Dimitrov basket at the 10:42 mark. After a Jessica Rogue basket gave the Vikings a 12-10 cushion, Middlebrooks' free throw cut the deficit to one. Angel Rogue drained a 3-pointer as CSU went up 15-11 before Brown cut the deficit to 15-13 at the 7:29 mark.

However Cleveland State scored the next 16 points to forge ahead 31-13 with just under two minutes left before the break.

Brown, who had six points and seven rebounds in the opening frame, stopped the run with a layup at the 1:33 mark. Leading the way offensively for Cleveland State was Angel Rogue who had 11 points. Angel Rogue made three 3-pointers in the first half, while her teammates failed to connect on seven other attempts. For YSU, Middlebrooks had seven points and five rebounds in the opening half.

The Vikings shot 42.4 percent from the field in the first half (14-of-33) while the Guins connected on 7-of-29 shots from the floor.

The Penguins continue their three-game home stand on Thursday when they entertain Wright State. Tipoff for the contest is set for 5:15 p.m. as part of a men's-women's doubleheader.

Guins Host Alumni Activities, Cleveland State Today

Saturday, February 20 2010

Courtesy of: YSU

Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team will welcome previous players across three decades for its annual alumni day on Saturday when the Penguins take on Cleveland State at 2:05 p.m. The contest will open up a three-game home stand for the Guins, who will be home the rest of February and on the road for all of March. The Vikings have lost four out of six since defeating YSU 57-43 on Jan. 22 in Cleveland. YSU had its best defensive outing of the season in that contest, holding the Vikings to 28.3 percent shooting.

Alumni Day Festivities
Student-athletes from three decades of YSU women's basketball teams will come together for the annual alumnae game at Beeghly Center at 11 a.m. The contest will go for an hour and be officiated by the women's basketball support staff. The former student-athletes will also be honored at halftime of YSU's game against Cleveland State. Following the contest between the Penguins and Vikings, fans are welcome to join the current and former student-athletes in the Coaches Court in Beeghly Center for a reception.

Scouting Cleveland State
Cleveland State sits tied for fifth in the Horizon League standings as the conference schedule has three weeks remaining. The Vikings are tied with Loyola and one game behind UIC, but both of those teams play Thursday evening. Senior Kailey Klein is the defending conference player of the year, and she leads the circuit in scoring with 17.3 points per game, which is nearly two points more than any other player. Junior Shawnita Garland ranks ninth in scoring with 13.2 points per game, and she leads the league with 2.7 steals per contest.

Looking for Repeat Performance on Defense
Youngstown State had, by far, its best defensive outing of the season at Cleveland State on Jan. 22. The Penguins limited the Vikings to 57 points and 28.3 percent shooting, both of which were season lows by opponents. The previous lows were 66 points by Valparaiso and 36.1 percent shooting by ULM. The Horizon League’s leading scorer, Kailey Klein, was held to five points in the contest. YSU also had 18 steals, which was the most by the Penguins since having 18 against Wright State on Jan. 24, 2002.

Brown, Dimitrov Are Top Scoring Newcomers
Freshman Brandi Brown and junior Bojana Dimitrov continue to lead all Horizon League newcomers in scoring. Brown averages 11.3 points, which ranks 16th in the circuit, and a league-leading 10.8 rebounds. Dimitrov would rank 17th with 11 points per game, but she is one game played shy of qualifying after missing seven contests with various injuries.