YSU women try to forget injuries
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YOUNGSTOWN -- John Barnes came into Monday's weekly basketball press conference upbeat. He, more than anyone, was happy to put the regular season behind him.
It's a new season for the Youngstown State women's basketball team, which lost three starters in Sarah Cash, Nikki Arbanas and Kelsea Newman for the season with knee injuries. That was more than half of the team's offense.
Today, eighth-seeded YSU (9-20) squares off against ninth-seeded Valparaiso (9-20) at 2:30 during the Horizon League Tournament at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The winner plays top-seeded Green Bay on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
A local reporter joked by asking if all of his players would be back for the tournament.
"(The season) is not that new," Barnes laughed.
YSU improved as the season went along, being within a couple points of beating No. 2-seeded Wright State and closing the gap to four in the fourth quarter last Saturday versus No. 3-seeded Detroit Mercy.
"We just want to give it everything we have," Barnes said. "We've worked way too hard and gone through so much adversity to not fight right through the end. We're going to see what we can do in this tournament. You never know during tournament time."
If YSU wants to make a run during the tournament, it must play better defense, according to Barnes. The Penguins can't rely solely on scoring or the shooting of sophomore Alison Smolinski, who leads the league in 3-pointers. She's averaged 16.5 points in the two games against the Crusaders.
"She's literally carried us for about five weeks," Barnes said. "This weekend she struggled shooting. It's tough on our offense. You can't rely on shooting night in and night out. That's why your defense has to be good. Our defense has struggled this year."
The Penguins have given up more than 74 points per game and averages 14 turnovers per contest.
"Just being really mentally sharp, being in the positions we want them to be in is crucial," Barnes said. "With as many young players as we've had out there this year, there's been a lot of ups and downs on that side. Being in the right position sometimes. Other times, not. We're trying to be in the right position as much as we can. That will help us."
YSU sophomore guard Melinda Trimmer said her team must do a better job of controlling the rebounds. Valparaiso outrebounded YSU by 12 in both meetings.
The Crusaders' 6-4 center Amber Lindfors had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the last meeting, when Valparaiso beat YSU, 77-60, on Feb. 2.
The Penguins counter with 6-3 freshman Mary Dunn, who had 18 points in the first meeting against Valpo in a 76-70 win on Jan. 14. Dunn was out with an ankle injury in the February meeting, as was Valparaiso guard Meredith Hamlet, who had 29 in the loss at YSU.
"We've had a lot of mental mistakes," Trimmer said. "We're looking to try to improve that each day. We have struggled with that this season.
"Watching the film, we can go back and see if we're in help side. That's a big thing for us. They are so big. They try to get lobs in there, we have to make sure they get help side. Really just try to make them shoot outside. We have to be in the right position and pressure them."
The Crusaders finished the regular season winning five of their last seven.
"It's going to take everything to get past Valpo," Barnes said. "They've won three of their last five games, gaining confidence. It's going to be a challenge to beat them."