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YOUNGSTOWN -- Frustration, knowing the inevitable is that close.
With a simple blip on the Youngstown State women's basketball radar, the hard work is all for naught.
Mental mistakes have cost this Penguins team in different parts of each game.
It's not like YSU has been playing our sisters of the poor and downtrodden teams. This Penguins team has faced teams picked in the top three of their conferences.
Tonight, it'll be no different as YSU travels to Robert Morris, picked second in the preseason Northeastern Conference poll. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
Both teams are 2-3, but YSU has aspirations of being better offensively. Defensively, the Penguins are back to their lockdown selves.
Redshirt junior Sarah Cash is the constant in the YSU offense, but has been limited this season because of constant knee problems. When she's in, the Lordstown native gives the Penguins a force inside and opens up the YSU 3-point shooters.
The Penguins rely on Indiya Benjamin, Mary Dunn and Alison Smolinski as the returning force, solidifying this YSU roster. Even this year's batch of freshmen have been key contributors.
The problem has been those blips.
"It's only takes you a bad two-minute stretch to cost you a game against a good team," YSU coach John Barnes said.
Putting things together starting this four-game road trip is going to be essential.
No excessive turnovers, missed assignments or other faux pas that have been costly through five games.
It has to be more of a 40-minute game instead of one that has been around 25 to 30 minutes of solid basketball for the Penguins.
"We need to figure out a way to put it all together and have four good quarters instead of on and off," said YSU junior redshirt shooting guard Nikki Arbanas.