YSU has its eyes on the prize
Penguins take game-by-game mindset into important conference road trip
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YOUNGSTOWN -- There's no time to sulk.
Not if you're Youngstown State, anyway.
Coming off their second Horizon League loss of the season, a 56-52 defeat against Oakland, the Penguins (18-3, 12-2) are beginning a four-game road swing, beginning with a visit to Green Bay (10-5, 6-3) at 7 p.m. tonight (ESPN+, 1390 WNIO). The Phoenix are sixth in the Horizon League standings.
Head coach John Barnes says Oakland was a "good learning game," but that the team's focus is on Green Bay and then a Saturday visit to Milwaukee.
Nearly two months to the day since their last meeting, Barnes is expecting a tough test from the Phoenix. YSU took the initial encounter at the Beeghly Center, 67-58, back on Dec. 4.
"Green Bay is a very young team. ... They're playing really well lately, they've won five of their last six and beat a really good Northern Kentucky team on the road (last Saturday)," he said. "So they're one of the hottest teams in the league, and it will take a great effort from us."
The matchup also will mark Green Bay's first home contest since Dec. 20, as their three games at the Kress Center in January were canceled due to COVID-19 protocol. That Dec. 20 game against Central Michigan was Green Bay's only home game in December, as well.
Hailey Oskey, a junior guard and the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week, paces the Phoenix at 12.8 points per game, while Cassie Schiltz (R-Fr., G) adds 8.6 per game and true freshman Maddy Schreiber (G/F) scores 8.2.
YSU, meanwhile, will have Lilly Ritz this time around. She missed both the Green Bay and Milwaukee games in December with an illness.
Barnes said her absence put more pressure on the Penguins' guards to make shots, and added, "Green Bay does a good job of taking away the inside game as it is, so ultimately, we'll have to make shots. We made a bunch the first time around, and we'll have to do the same this time."
Megan Callahan filled that scoring void with 20 points, while Malia Magestro added 15. YSU shot 15-for-33 from 3-point range in the win.
Milwaukee (8-11, 7-5), meanwhile, sits right behind Green Bay at seventh in the Horizon League, and is in search of a late-season push to secure a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Unlike Green Bay, though, UWM features plenty of veteran experience, Barnes said.
"They're one of the oldest, if not the oldest in the Horizon League," he noted. "They play well at home, and they're very talented."
Forward Megan Walsted, who Barnes described as one of the best forwards in the Horizon League, scores 13.9 points per game and adds 8.8 rebounds.
Around her, UWM has an arsenal of guards that can bolster her performances. Miquela Santoro adds 9.1 points per game.
The Panthers have struggled with turnovers a bit, committing 17.3 per game for a -1.1 margin.
For YSU, the trip represents an opportunity to knock a couple lurking teams back from the top four. Though the Penguins sit at first overall in league standings, the race has tightened.
IUPUI sits a game behind YSU, while Northern Kentucky and Cleveland State are 9-3 and 8-3 in league play, respectively. Oakland is fifth at 8-4, and then the Wisconsin schools follow.
Barnes says the team isn't focused on postseason positioning, and is instead taking the final month of the regular season a game at a time.
"Every game is important; we do our best to win every game," he said. "We're not too worried about where we'll finish or not finish. We're more worried about Green Bay and getting that win, and then we'll move on to the next.
"If we do that, then where we finish is where we finish. If you look ahead, you lose track of what's important, and that's focusing on the game at hand."